How To Open An Online Jewelry Store

Marius Popei   

Opening an online jewelry store is an excellent way to reach customers on a global level. Online stores tend to require a bit less startup capital than traditional businesses but they do require that you take some time to plan. Before you begin, it is essential that you spend some time researching the latest jewelry trends and costs. You want to be certain that you earn a good income so knowing what jewelry will cost you as opposed to what you can charge your customers is important.

You will need to choose a domain name and purchase that domain. You also need to design your website and this is often best left to professionals. You want your site to be welcoming and easy to navigate and if you have no prior experience in website design, this can be a bit difficult to achieve. Your storefront is a very important aspect of your online business so ensuring that it is perfect is very important. Take the time to determine what you want with regards to format and how you want your products listed and then work with a designer to get the look that you need for a successful online business.

You will also need to think about how you are going to accept payment. Many online stores today offer various choices with regards to customer payment. You may choose PayPal for instance which allows customers to pay with their PayPal accounts as well as their credit cards or bank accounts. PayPal is a very popular online payment processor but if you have another preference, you simply need to take the steps to set up an account with that payment processor.

There are a few key things that you need to keep in mind when planning your online jewelry store. You will not be able to simply choose to sell jewelry and watch everything fall neatly into place. Setting up and properly managing any online business takes a bit of work and a bit of consideration in the first stages. Keep these things in mind when you are planning your business:

1. Choose a Good Name – You have to have a name that will be easy for your customers to remember. This is especially important when you are setting up your domain name. Your name should be as short and memorable as possible so that your customers will be able to easily find your site. Studies have shown that .com sites with shorter names are a bit more successful because they are much easier to remember.

2. Make Your Site Easy to Navigate – If you set up an online store that is difficult to navigate, you are not likely to see many repeat customers and repeat customers can account for about half of your business. Keep it as simple as possible. Adding too many categories for instance may confuse customers and make it difficult for them to find exactly what they want. Customers generally spend less than 5 seconds looking for the right category before they give up and move to another site. Make sure that every page on your site has a direction or button to send your customers to where they want to be. Add a return button to the previous page to make it even easier for your customers to navigate their way around your store.

3. Use Only High Quality Images – Your choice of images is extremely important. You need to use close-up pictures so that customers can see the detailing on each jewelry piece. Many customers may choose not to purchase jewelry items if they cannot see the fine details.

4. Use Multiple Images – It is not enough to just show your customers how the piece looks in general, you also need to show them how it will look when they put it on. Showing stock images of pieces is fine for the general image but you should also show images of each ring being worn, each bracelet gracing a wrist and each necklace around the neck of a model. This is important because it shows your customers just how each piece is going to look when they purchase it and helps them to determine the exact size of the jewelry that they want to order.

5. Have Many Selections – Jewelry stores online should have more than 500 pieces for sale as a general rule. This gives your customers enough choices so that they are sure to find what they want. Be certain that you can easily keep these items in stock and your pages should update with just one click. You are not going to be able to update your site by hand for more than 500 pieces of jewelry so choose a system that will update easily as soon as your customers order. This makes it easier on you and ensures that you never run out of product.

6. Focus on Customer Satisfaction – You have to ensure that your customers are satisfied if you want them to tell their friends about your site and if you want them to be repeat customers. Shipping is an important aspect of customer satisfaction. Make sure that you can deliver each item to your customers in no more than 10 business days. Choosing secure payment options and offering money back guarantee is also an excellent way to keep your customers happy.

Setting up and managing your online jewelry store is not difficult once you know what steps you need to take. It is important that you not try to compete with larger sites like Overstock or Amazon. These sites have special contracts with jewelry suppliers that offer them great prices on their product; something that you are not likely to have when you just start out. Think about selling unique, one of a kind pieces that are not offered in these larger stores and make your own store as unique as possible. Remember to keep your customers in mind with everything that you do. Offer them selections that they want and ensure that they are always satisfied and you will soon be enjoying a very successful online jewelry business.