We offer a retailer playbook for connecting with clients, doubling down on your strengths, and using the power of social to channel your strongest brand messages  

With a whipsawing stock market and threats of a trade war hanging over their heads, it’s no wonder many Americans aren’t feeling as financially flush as they once did. Consumer confidence took a swan dive in the first quarter of the year. Even the wealthiest households, which had seen their homes and portfolios grow tremendously in value over the past half decade, began to pull back.

“It’s harder today than it was in 2022,” says Jackie Brooks, CEO of Loudr, a Denver-based marketing agency. Three years ago, American shoppers still had accumulated pandemic-related savings and were willing to spend that extra cash on jewelry. That’s no longer the case, she says.

In an atmosphere of political polarization and alarming headlines, independent jewelers say they have doubled down on messaging that emphasizes connection and community. They are courting top clients more assiduously with in-store events, focusing on their strengths—whether that’s bridal or customization—and using their social channels to promote a unique brand image.

Face-to-face marketing goes the distance.

Jewelers swear by in-person events, in particular, as a foundational tactic for building and maintaining relationships with clients and keeping the store at the top of people’s minds.

“Walking into the store is a social event,” says Yael Reinhold Lipnik, president of Reinhold Jewelers, a four-store retailer headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She adds that hosting face-to-face gatherings, from creative activities to designer trunk shows, keeps things interesting for clients.

Sarah Markle Harrington, chief operating officer of Thomas Markle Jewelers, with two Houston-area stores, echoes that sentiment. “We’ve had to up our game on our experiences,” she tells JCK. “Our events have a lot better food, live music, a big cocktail list.” They’ve been more successful, she reports, both for generating buzz about the brand as well as for boosting sales.

The renewed emphasis on brick-and-mortar sales is part and parcel of today’s retail dynamic. “It’s not only about the physical traits of the product or what discounts you can give, but being able to invite them in without an expectation that they’re going to buy,” says Thomai Serdari, clinical associate professor of marketing at New York University.

Make sure your brand has a face as well as a name.

Brooks says the key to a well-designed brand “face” is establishing “a brand identity that’s approachable and authentic.”

At Thomas Markle Jewelers, that principle is reflected in the company’s approach to social media. “We take our own photos and do our own reels,” Harrington says, rather than using vendor images or stock photos. “I feel like people still want a story. They want to feel like they’re spending their money at a place where they feel special.”

In some cases, this means being the literal face of the brand. “It’s not just marketing,” says Brandon Katzeff, CEO of Joyce’s Jewelry in Uniontown, Pa. “You need to be networking, you need to be involved in charities. I sit on a couple different boards and volunteer my time. It’s very important to me to be out in the community.”

Lipnik says her company is doing the same. “We’re leaning a little more on the fact that we’re really active in the community,” she says. “We partner with a women’s basketball league and a women’s business group and different nonprofits in the Puerto Rican community.”

In general, marketing should reflect the relationships that retailers have built with clients, Serdari says. “Retailers should think of these customers as more of an extended family,” she says. “People should feel that they can trust the people from whom they buy a bracelet for tens of thousands of dollars. It’s not a transactional relationship, especially for something so emotional as jewelry.”

Lean into your strengths and invest for the long term.

Faced with an uncertain economic environment, independent jewelers are concentrating their marketing on their strongest sectors.

“I would really lean into bridal because, no matter what, people are going to get married,” Brooks says.

That’s what Katzeff is doing. “We heavily market our bridal,” he says. “We have a huge bridal inventory, and we try to continue that relationship.”

Katzeff says his store has multiple social channels, and posts emphasize items that can be purchased through those platforms. “We made the investment last year to update our website and become Shopify-enabled to coordinate with our inventory” so that customers don’t have to leave the social platform to make a purchase, he says. “We only promote products we have available. We’re seeing instant feedback from it.”

Viviana Langhoff, owner of Chicago-based Adornment + Theory, says she has had success posting about the customization process. “When money is tight, I think it’s important to demystify each of the steps and say things like, ‘We work within your budget,’” she says. “When people hear custom, they think expensive. Demystifying makes it more accessible.”

Talk about the issues of the day—within reason.

Some retailers say they are succeeding by posting content that speaks to people’s economic reality today. The trick is to do so without magnifying their anxieties. “I don’t want to come from a source of fear,” Langhoff says. “The goal is not to pile onto existential dread.”

In practice, this might mean a tutorial about what the climbing price of gold means for shoppers, or what differentiates lab-grown from natural diamonds.

“Our demographic is Gen Z and millennial,” Langhoff says. “A lot of it is education right now.”

This has the advantage of helping customers feel empowered, which can give them more confidence when navigating uncertainty.

“Right now, people are scared and overwhelmed,” Andrea Hill, founder and CEO of Chicago-based Hill Management Group, says. “Give people a reason to think, ‘I want to pay attention to that company—they make me feel good.’ Because a lot of things don’t.”

Top: The bar at Thomas Markle Jewelers