Consumers Who Shop Online Often End Up in
Bricks-and-Mortar Stores
By Teresa Novellino
Senior Editor
Web Posted: June 1, 2000.
New York (June 1, 2000)?Contrary to retailers' worst fears, the rise of online jewelry
retailers has actually brought some extra foot traffic into mom-and-pop jewelry stores.
The only catch is that customers are walking in with requests for repairs or appraisals of the
goods they bought online.
"We've had several people who come in who bought things on the Web, and they want to
know if they got what they were supposed to get," said Jim Inman, a salesperson at Williams
Jewelry in Bloomington, Ind.
The young adult customers in the college town want to know if the jewelry they purchased is
real, sometimes asking for a written appraisal, he said.
To try to turn the online customers into his own, Inman seizes the opportunity to promote
the store's various services and its good name.
"I try to put a little bit of fear into people doing it,'' Inman said. "I remind them that when
they come here, they're buying the service, they're buying the reputation. I haven't heard of
any diamond retailers who will do repairs and cleaning."
Many retailers contacted by National Jeweler said the online jewelry e-tailers have not had
much impact on their business, as far as they could tell. But when they do see signs of their
Web-based competitors, it's when customers comparison shop or seek repairs or appraisals of
online items.
Bill Reid of Reid-Vining Jewelers in Little Rock, Ark., has had customers come in with
requests for repairs or appraisals of bracelets and rings bought online. The repair requests
have been predominantly for "very, very poor quality" jewelry, though he holds his tongue
when the customer hands him a repair job.
"Basically, our store doesn't like working on them," Reid said. "We try not to run someone
else's merchandise down, but we usually will just tell the customers that it's a light piece [of
jewelry]."
At Centennial Jewelers in Littleton, Colo., owner Joe Kereszt had to inform a customer who
brought in a $180 cameo purchased online that it was made of plastic. But another woman
who walked in with a diamond and sapphire ring paid a good price at $270, he said.
"They mostly want to ask me about the price and the products," Kereszt said.
Beyond saying it was purchased online, customers do not say exactly where they got the
merchandise, he said.
If there are problems with the online products, it does not seem to be reflected in the return
percentages at some major jewelry e-tailers.
Jewelry is a top seller at Macys.com, which has taken pains to come up with a return policy
that makes it easy on the customers. Over the holidays, returns were under 10%, the same
percentage as returns to brick-and-mortar stores, Macys.com spokesperson Diane Pucko said.
"There are three ways to return items online: take it into any Macy's store, ship it back to
Macys.com, or have it picked up at your house, which can be tricky, because you have to be
home," Pucko said. "We do this because one of the things that people don't like about catalog
or online shopping is the possibility that they may have to return something."
Ashford.com, a luxury e-tailer that sells designer jewelry and, more recently, its own line,
planned for a 12% return rate, said Liz Greenfield, vice president of jewelry for Ashford.com.
The returns actually came in under 12%, she said.
Janet Sigler, vice president of merchandising for Bluenile.com, reported that the return rate is
also under 10%.
"It's very similar to traditional retailers," Sigler said.
Some customers have also used the Web to comparison shop for jewelry, particularly
diamond rings, retailers said.
"We had one customer who came in with a price for a carat and a half diamond he had seen
on the Web before he came to us," said Richard J. Serpentini, owner of Serpentini Jewelers in
Middletown, N.Y. "He was trying to buy it for my cost."
He told the customer that he could not sell it at that price.
"There's a lot of people buying on the Web, but the percentage is still very, very small,"
Serpentini said. "People still want to see it before they buy it. ... I don't think it's ever going to
replace the jeweler with a store."
Nevertheless, he has set up a Web site for his customers and promoted it within the store. The
computer revolution took a long time to take hold, and the Web will do the same, Serpentini
predicted.
"You have to prepare now for what's to come," he said.
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