Positioning jewelry in a display case or window in an artful manner can mean the difference between enticing shoppers to enter the store, or losing them to the next retailer.

However, a store’s color scheme is just as important to increasing foot traffic and driving sales, JCK’s merchandising editor MariAnn Coutchie writes in the November 1975 issue of the magazine. 

“Some customers like them bright, some subdued,” Coutchie wrote. “Some primary, some pastel. It’s important to choose wisely.”

Here are some tips she offers on how jewelers can turn on customers with the right color scheme:

• Paint your store red, white, and blue; flood it with bright light; and you’ll sell lots of $3.50 liberty bells.
• Texture the walls, roll out a matching carpet, lower the lights, and customers will order up diamonds.
• Customers will be turned off by colors that don’t harmonize. One color must be dominant and the other subordinate in order to achieve a happy balance.
• Red, orange, and yellow are warm colors. Red is a good choice because it has so many complementary colors.
• If you are trying to suggest a feeling of coolness, green, blue, or violet should be your dominant color.
• Too much color can be distracting to your customer.
• Make sure your colors call attention to your merchandise.
• Your colors should make your customers comfortable while they shop.
• Men and older people prefer more subdued shades. They are more serious shoppers and are more interested in merchandise rather than surroundings.
• Female shoppers prefer a more vivid combination of colors. The more sophisticated the shopper, the sharper her appreciation for your décor.
• Teenagers prefer a psychedelic mixture of the brightest shades. They live in a hurry and won’t slow down long enough to absorb a tasteful combination of color.
• Generally, the low price end or mass market prefers brighter, simpler colors. The higher end of the market produces a discriminating shopper who enjoys being different and will appreciate a décor that is unique.
• Color is not limited to the floors and walls. Proper color combination is necessary when displaying gems.
• Displaying rubies on a green mat is very effective. A diamond becomes breathtaking surrounded by black, dark red, or blue.
• A color wheel can be picked up at any art or department store and can be an excellent aid in selecting colors for your store.

JCK