Jewelry store with new iPads

Jewelry store with new iPads

New York—For nervous grooms-to-be, stepping into Michael C. Fina, a high-end Manhattan jewelry store with glass-enclosed baubles, isn't the most inviting of experiences, but lately the guys entering the jeweler's Fifth Avenue building are letting their guards down quickly.
 
The store's secret? It has gadgets. In April, just weeks after Apple unveiled its much-buzzed-about iPad tablet device, Michael C. Fina scooped one up to use in-store, allowing visitors to use the iPad to surf the Internet, check e-mail, play games and keep tabs on sports scores, all while getting down to the business of ring shopping.

"The iPad has definitely helped to make the store feel more approachable to our potential customers," says Stefanie Hinojosa, Michael C. Fina director of sales. "It can certainly feel like a very intimidating process for a guy to come into a jewelry store and prepare himself to make a larger purchase, and this helps put our customers at ease, even if just a little bit."

The iPad isn't just for fun and games, however.
 
Zhoe Garcia, the store's digital production manager, says that one of the first functions the iPad has served—and one of its most valuable uses—is the data it has yielded about the store's shoppers.

Garcia and his team created a two-minute survey page for the iPad, in which customers provide their names and e-mails, and then simply tap a few boxes to respond to questions such as "Where did you hear from us?"

"[Prior to the iPad], we didn't know where [customers] were coming from, what their shopping experience was and what vendors they were shopping for," Garcia says. "These are things we wished we were able to get, and now it's stuff we're actually getting."

Attempts to gather the same information via paper surveys were simply not reaping big results, Garcia says.

Whether it's the brief time required to fill out the survey on the iPad or the novelty of the device itself, the retailer reports seeing "exponential growth" in the number of surveys completed since the digital transition—and that includes a big increase in customer e-mail addresses, an important marketing vehicle for the company.

Since purchasing the store's first iPad, Michael C. Fina has added two more from vendors: a branded iPad from Tacori and another from Hearts on Fire (HOF).

The Tacori iPad features the brand's full product catalog, with pricing and styles that update at one's fingertips. Meanwhile, the HOF version features its own order-entry system that allows sales associates to access HOF's product line and place orders for pieces not in the store.

"We have floor samples of over 1,000 rings and can get additional samples in from the designers to show customers, but if they want to see something instantly, the online catalogs are helpful and easier for the designers to update with correct pricing, info, etc.," Hinojosa says.

Sales associates are not required to use the iPad with customers, Hinojosa says, but most choose to do so as an education and entertainment tool, and many have heard especially positive feedback about the retailer's iPad videos.

Over the last year, the retailer has hosted a number of buzz-generating events, such as a Diamond Dash and a launch party for Tacori's "18k925" collection, an event that drew Whitney Port of MTV's The City. Through video, Michael C. Fina has been able to keep the excitement going long after the party has passed.

"It's a whole experience with us," Garcia says. "We can say that we did these events, but we have actual videos and photos to support that. It makes it a lot easier to understand."

Videos have also helped Michael C. Fina explain the free concierge-type service that the retailer offers to engagement ring buyers in need of a plan for how and where they will pop the big question.

"They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, right?" Hinojosa asks. "Well, we think a video is worth more. It is hard to describe what we are capable of planning for our customers without showing examples."

The retailer isn't able to show customers video of all the proposals it has helped to plan—such as one prefaced by a sleigh ride on a private horse-drawn carriage in the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyo., or an intimate yacht proposal in Barbados—but Michael C. Fina has captured local proposals in locations such as Central Park and penthouses in the sky. Sharing these videos provides an opportunity for customers to witness the ways the retailer goes above and beyond in customer service.

One issue though: With all that the hands-on device has to offer, sales associates sometimes have to give their customers a friendly tap on the shoulder.

"Usually we have to remind them to give it back," Garcia says.

Tips:

Look to online inventories. Michael C. Fina has floor samples of over 1,000 rings, but the retailer can expand its offerings further with digital catalogs featuring pieces not in the store.