Polishing your online presence: How to build a successful jewellery eCommerce business
If you’re thinking about setting up a Shopify jewellery store, you could be onto a winner.
Jewellery, like clothing, is always in demand and never goes out of style. The diversity in jewellery design means there are plenty of opportunities to make your store sparkle and shine. Whether you dream of selling velvet chokers, hand-beaded earrings, chunky gold bracelets, or precious stone pendants, setting up shop online is a practical and cost-effective way to reach a wide audience and grow brand awareness.
If you dream of building an online jewellery empire, we’ve put together this useful guide to help you get started. Learn how to start selling jewellery online in seven strategic steps, discover best practices, and get informed about potential challenges. Once you’ve finished reading, we’re confident you’ll be feeling inspired and ready to put what you’ve learnt into practice.
Why sell jewellery online?
Whether you already own a brick-and-mortar jewellery shop and want to reach a wider audience or aim to turn your jewellery-making hobby into a side hustle, opening an eCommerce store is a cost-effective way to make your products accessible to a wide audience.
As consumer buying habits increasingly shift online, the demand for online jewellery stores is growing. In fact, research indicates that over a third of Gen Z and Millennials would prefer to shop for jewellery online rather than in-store.
Launching an eCommerce store requires less commitment and capital than opening a physical store. With user-friendly eCommerce platforms like Shopify, you can get your store up and running in no time. However, opening an online store and running a successful one are two very different things. While it’s relatively simple and affordable to launch a jewellery store online, you’ll require a solid understanding of branding and digital marketing to attract visitors and generate sales.
That’s why we’ve put together this guide to offer support to entrepreneurs launching new online jewellery businesses to help them start their new venture on the right foot.
Jewellery trends in 2024
Understanding current market trends and demand can help you develop a range of relevant products that are more likely to sell.
According to Vogue, Net-a-Porter, and Cosmopolitan, some of the most in-demand and en-vogue jewellery trends of 2024 are.
- Chunky chain necklaces
- Cuff bracelets
- Chunky hoop earrings
- Choker necklaces
- Designs inspired by the animal kingdom
Staying informed about market trends and changes in customer preference enables you to adapt your business strategy accordingly to maintain relevancy and competitiveness in a market where competition is fierce.
Why choose Shopify for selling jewellery online?
Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world, and over 200,000 eCommerce stores in the UK are built using Shopify.
Shopify is a user-friendly website builder that’s designed to make it quick and easy to launch an online store without touching any code. It’s an all-in-one solution (which means hosting and security are included) and even offers access to over 8,000 apps for adding new features and functionality as your business grows.
Shopify is a smart choice for entrepreneurs who want to start selling jewellery online. Its drag-and-drop interface makes basic store customisation really straightforward and gives you autonomy over managing your store. If you require more unique or technical customisations, there are also plenty of Shopify experts around who can help you create something really special. Here at Create8, we’re a Shopify partner – if you require any support or advice with getting your new jewellery eCommerce store up and running, don’t hesitate to reach out!
How to start selling jewellery online? (7 steps to success)
If you’re excited to start selling, it may be tempting to jump right in at step six – but stop! For your new eCommerce jewellery venture to be successful, you need to have a solid strategy behind you. The online marketplace for jewellery is crowded with vendors, and competition is fierce. You’ll need a plan for driving traffic to your website and turning those visitors into paying customers. Let’s find out how you can plan and prepare for success.
- Define your vision—First, you need a brand vision statement. Think about what you want to achieve with your new jewellery business. Develop a clear purpose, identify what makes your concept unique, and set your business goals. This will help give your business purpose and direction.
- Develop your product range—A business isn’t complete without products. Are you selling handmade items or sourcing products? If you’re sourcing them, you’ll need to find reliable suppliers.
- Market and competitor research—The level of research you conduct can make or break your business. Think about who your target market is and carry out thorough research into their values and product preferences. Next, look at your competitors and identify ways that you can differentiate your business from those that already exist. Armed with this research, you can create a brand and products that stand out and appeal to your audience.
- Develop your brand identity—Your brand identity encompasses your brand’s visual elements, personality, tone of voice, positioning, and more. Crafting a compelling and cohesive brand identity that resonates with your audience and differentiates your brand from competitors requires extensive research and creativity. Here at Create8, our branding team run brand workshops to help new businesses develop winning brands.
- Design your brand visual elements—Next, translate your brand identity into tangible visual elements. This includes logo design, choosing a colour scheme, and selecting typography that reflects your brand’s ethos and appeals to your target demographic.
- Build your eCommerce website—Your website is your business’s online storefront. Its design should be cohesive with your brand identity, and the user experience should be easy and enjoyable. Don’t forget to implement SEO best practices to help your new store gain visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Create marketing material—Finally, it’s time to spread the word about your new jewellery business. Develop marketing materials tailored to your target audience and market your new business on various channels. This could include email marketing, social media posts, and PPC ads. The aim is to drive targeted traffic to your website.
Best practices for enhancing online jewellery sales
When you dreamt of opening an online jewellery shop, you probably envisaged selling more than a couple of bracelets a week. Diligently following this list of eCommerce best practices can help transform your shop from mediocre at best to a high-converting jewellery superstore.
Ensure your website has a mobile-responsive design
Mobile shopping has overtaken desktop shopping. Make sure your website’s design adjusts seamlessly across different devices and screen sizes to avoid losing a large portion of potential customers.
Spend time writing your product descriptions
Invest in a professional content writing service when writing jewellery product descriptions to ensure that they are well-written and compelling and that they effectively highlight each product’s unique features and benefits. Also, ensure that keywords are woven into your descriptions to boost your products’ visibility in SERPs.
Invest in professional product photography
When selling online, your product photography plays a critical role in building customer trust online and persuading visitors to buy. Be sure to include multiple photographs of each product, capturing various angles, close-up details, and images of the jewellery on models.
Integrate conversion optimisation Shopify apps
Examples of conversion optimisation apps include:
- Email sign up form
- Upselling/cross-selling
- Reviews/social proof
- Live chat and AI customer support
- Loyalty and rewards programs
- Countdown timers
- Personalised product recommendations
Implement SEO strategies
SEO can increase your Shopify jewellery store’s visibility in search engine results pages. Popular techniques include incorporating keywords into website content, optimising metadata, using alt text for images, and creating high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience.
Streamline the checkout process
Reduce the number of steps required to complete a purchase. A simpler checkout process can decrease cart abandonment rates and enhance user experience.
Offer multiple payment options
Offer customers multiple payment methods, including credit cards, digital wallets, and alternative payment platforms. This flexibility enhances the user experience and caters to a wider audience.
Optimise products for Google Shopping
If you plan to run Google PPC ads to attract more website visitors, optimising your product listings for Google Shopping will increase the likelihood of your product ads appearing on Google for relevant search terms and attracting clicks.
Jewellery eCommerce websites built using Shopify
Are you ready to learn from the best?
Thousands of jewellery brands, from tiny artisan creators to globally recognised names, have chosen Shopify as their eCommerce platform of choice.
Here, we’re showcasing three of our favourite Shopify jewellery stores and shining a light on how they use the platform to maximise conversions and run thriving businesses.
King Ice
King Ice is one of the most successful Shopify stores in the world. The store sells hip-hop jewellery inspired by urban culture and has collaborated with some of the biggest hip-hop brands in the world, including Snoop Dog, Notorious BIG, Death Row Records, Odd Future, and Wu-Tang.
The store’s design focuses on showcasing its latest collections and collaborations, with product photography and video content taking centre stage. Special offers and the option to buy now and pay later are also prominently featured in banners on the homepage.
Astrid & Miu
UK-based jewellery brand Astrid & Miu prides itself on creating products that are full of sentiment and innovative in design. Operating both online and offline, the brand offers an accessible and inclusive jewellery experience.
The Astrid & Miu Shopify store uses various strategies to optimise for conversions. The brand’s loyalty program is promoted prominently, and visitors are incentivised to sign up for their mailing list. Navigation is simple and intuitive, and product pages include a quick buy feature, customer reviews, and related product recommendations.
Splendette
Splendette is a fun and quirky, Bristol-based, vintage-inspired jewellery brand. Read our case study to learn more about how our web design team here at Create8 reinvigorated the Splendette website to improve user experience and boost conversion rates.
The Splendette website uses a mega menu to make navigation clear and structured and to make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for. We also integrated several Shopify apps, including Klaviyo, Yotpo Review and Loyalty, Wishlist Plus, and Klarna, to optimise conversion rates and elevate the user experience.
Partner with Create8 to launch a jewellery store online
Are you ready to sparkle and shine online?
If you’re ready to launch your first jewellery collection online, contact our Shopify web design team at Create8 to start your project and learn how we can help you bring your vision to life.
No matter what stage of the journey you’re at, our team can help make your concept a reality. We offer comprehensive services that are perfect for new startup businesses, including branding, product packaging design, logo design, web design, SEO, marketing services, and more. Let’s create something extraordinary together.
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