Jewelry brand Pandora is overhauling U.S. stores to focus on experiences - Glossy
Other jewelry companies, like Kendra Scott, have taken similar approaches to the in-store experience to drive sales. Kendra Scott holds over 10,000 annual events in its 80-plus stores, which also house the customizable “Color Bar” where shoppers can design their own pieces.
Pandora plans to use Black Friday and the holiday season to test the store’s success in the U.S., but already has plans to open “a handful” of these stores in existing U.S. locations across the country in 2020, said Charisse Ford, CMO of Pandora Jewelry. From there, into 2021, the brand plans to accelerate those openings, but declined to share specifics on location and quantity. The company has over 2,700 stores worldwide, with over 330 in the U.S., which is the company’s largest market.
“We hit a really rough patch in 2017 and 2018. We started to see a decline, and what we realized is that we had not paid enough attention to our core consumer. We had not delivered as much innovation to the consumer,” said Ford.
For many retailers, launching in-store experiences has been a key strategy to drive more customers to physical retail. Nordstrom’s first New York City store, for example, offers in-store shoppers 110 beauty services, like LED facial treatments, lash treatments and blowouts. For Pandora, engravings will be a key way to get shoppers to the store.
“The customization aspect of their business model is the greatest strength. It allows consumers to create something unique and personal, which has become an important driver in the jewelry business,” said Beth Goldstein, accessories and footwear business analyst at The NPD Group.
Charms will be another big focus, as they’re a big revenue driver for the company. In 2018 and 2017, the charms category made up a bulk of Pandora’s revenue, outselling other categories including necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings. In 2018, charms brought in roughly $1.8 million in revenue for the company.
While this is Pandora’s first “Expressions” concept store in the U.S., the company opened a pop-up to test the concept in the Turnstyle Underground Market at Columbus Circle in New York City on Oct. 2. Pandora launched engraving there for the U.S. market, as well as its new charm bar, in an effort to learn how consumers will navigate the new stores and how interested they are in engraving.
“That gave us a cue that engraving will be a huge hit for us, especially going into the holiday time period,” said Ford.
Going forward, as Pandora looks to open more of these stores, Goldstein said the company will need to pay close attention to whether or not customers are actually finding value in these experiences.
“Pandora will need to be constantly monitoring how consumers are interacting in their store and then evolving accordingly. If the experience doesn’t align with the brand, or if it is not executed well, or if sales associates aren’t properly trained, or the checkout process isn’t smooth, the other updates won’t matter,” Goldstein said.
