By Invitation

How seasonal discounts are decisive factors in increasing Jewellery sales

By Shivaram A

Published

1 year ago

June 14, 2025

Festivals and auspicious occasions are intricately woven into the tapestry of Indian culture and the Indian jewellery trade. Every second month comes up a festival or auspicious occasion and with it comes a downpour of discounts and deals. The Indian customer is ready to lap up the discount offers like milk and honey! So, like other retail businesses, the jewellery retail industry too, depends on seasonal offers and discounts to increase the sales.

Why do seasonal discounts and offers matter?

● The Indian calendar is dotted with festivals and occasions every month. Such festivities are normally associated with jewellery purchase to augur good fortune to the family. To attract customers, offering special festival discounts have become the norm.

● During festivals like Diwali or Pongal, the government employees get their bonus which is a bulk amount used often for investment in gold. To lure the customers to invest heavily in gold purchase, higher discounts are offered.

● Certain auspicious days like Dhanteras or Akshaya Tritiya are specifically linked with gold purchase as families buy gold on these days and worship God with gold coins.

● Occasions like Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day are being highlighted recently to push sales further with special offers.

● Certain festivals like Varalakshmi Pooja, Karva Chauth or Vijayadashami have become occasions for women to buy new jewellery. With gold being such a high-priced commodity, frequent purchases are not easy for an average customer. Thus, the only option for a retailer is to offer such discounts and offers during festivals to boost sales.

How to boost jewellery sales using seasonal discounts and offers

Read your customers Assess the footfall of customers during festive seasons. This

may vary from one shop to another shop in another location depending onthe type of customers you cater to- For example. middleclass customers find it convenient to purchase gold during Diwali, New Year or Akshaya Tritiya. For theaffluent, every day is an occasion.

● The locality your store is in- If your store is located in a North Indian niche, you can expect customers during Dhanteras. In a South Indian locality, Akshaya Tritiya, Onam, Uganda, Pongal, Diwali or Dussehra are the best for buying gold. In a Muslim dominated area, sales are bound to shoot only during weddings. Christians normally purchase gold for their engagements and weddings or during Christmas. Make a list of the days or occasions where you had maximum sales. Some festivals may attract crowds to your store but how many actually bought and why? Analyse.

How seasonal discounts are decisive factors in increasing Jewellery sales

1. Offer a seasonal discount only if it is worth it.

During a festival, every jeweller in town is offering a discount and the competition is intense. Do not just join the competition blindly and offer heavy discounts. Instead, evaluate whether giving a discount of this size has worked for you earlier. If not, you can test-market by offering this discount moderately for a few days and judge the outcome. Offer a seasonal discount only if you think it is worth the trouble. or if you are desperate to liquidate stock.

2. Be different in your discounts

10% off on making charges, zero wastage- all this has become common phrases during festive time. Try something different.

● Tanishq offered a 20% discount on making charges with an additional 5% with State Bank debit and credit cards

● GRT offered silver items free for the weight of gold etc.

● PC Jewellers has cleverly coined its discount deal as “20% off on diamond jewellery” and “20% off on making charges of gold jewellery”. Here the 20% looms large and draws the customer to the store.

● Durga Jewellers of Bangalore goes a step further with its ‘Buy 1, get 2 ” offer on Solitaire jewellery.

3. Make an impact with the discount offer

Evolve print or social media campaigns based on this discountoffer and spread the word around. Intimate your customers of this offer by email, SMS, voice call, WhatsApp or FB messages. Make sure that your discounts make an impact on the customer and draw her to your store. Kamdhenu Jewellers of Chennai has marketed this ad across Facebook and received good response.

4. Special discounts as a mark of loyalty or regular purchase.

Discount depends on your discretion. Turn it into a favourable asset. Yes, it is possible if you offer discounts to

● Loyal customers who have been purchasing jewellery from you for ages, from generation to generation.

● Customers who have brought in many referrals through friends and relatives.

● Frequent shoppers who make small but regular purchases. This not only enhances your customer loyalty but also assures of more purchases in the future years.

The How, When and Why of discounts

It is not just the discount that matters. It is the How, When and Why that matter.

1. How– How do you present your discount? A 20% off on diamond jewellery sounds lame but a Celerio car or an LCD TV sounds huge. The price of both may be equal but, to the customer, yes, the physical representation as a car has great bearing like in this ad.

2. When -When to offer the discount? Offer discounts when your competitors are not even close. Make a difference in the timing of the discount to render it exclusive.

3. Why –Why are you offering the discount? Convey the reason for the discount to the customer- as a

● Festive gift

● Profit-sharing measure

● Mark of the customer’s loyalty.

This will increase the respect and trust among your regular customers. Dishing out discounts, anyone can do. But offering well thought out discounts is the key to successful jewellery retailing.

Related Topics:2025 byinvitation jbinsights

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By Invitation

Owner vs. Staff

The Contradiction At The Heart Of Every Jewellery Store

Published

4 weeks ago

October 5, 2026

JewelBuzz Spread The Buzz

By Shivaram A

The Core Issue

The owner carries the entire risk of the business — investment, gold stock, working capital, loans, everything is in their name. The long-term asset also belongs to the owner — reputation, brand, the customer base built over years, often meant to pass to the next generation. But the moment that matters most — when the customer is standing at the counter, when trust is being built or broken — that moment is entirely controlled by the staff.

The person with the most risk is not present at the decisive moment. And the person with the least to lose holds the most power in that moment. This structural mismatch creates frustration on both sides — and it’s rarely discussed openly.

Making the Conflict Explicit

The real tension is this: the owner wants business growth and profit, while staff are under pressure to hit targets.

The owner thinks long-term — how does the brand grow, how does a customer come back after ten years, how does the business pass to the next generation. For the owner, every transaction is a building block toward something bigger.

The staff’s reality is completely different. Their monthly target is fixed. Their salary, incentive, and sometimes even job security depend on how much they sold this month, this Diwali. For staff, every customer is a chance to hit today’s number — right now, this moment. They cannot afford to think about whether this customer comes back in three years, because their performance is reviewed at month-end, not three years later.

So when the owner says “build the relationship, be patient,” and in the same breath increases the target by 20%, these two instructions directly contradict each other. Staff are not confused about what they should ideally do — they understand it perfectly. But they don’t have the choice. The target has to be met, so pressure-selling becomes necessary — even if it means pushing a customer slightly, or using lines like “buy today, rate will go up tomorrow” that create small cracks in trust.

These cracks don’t show up immediately. But after Diwali, when that customer doesn’t return a second time, the owner assumes it’s the staff’s fault. The staff believes the owner set an unrealistic target. Both are right, and both are wrong — because the real problem is in the system, not in the people.

The Challenges on Both Sides

Owner wants both profit and brand, but only measures the profit number
Owner puts pressure on staff to hit targets, then also expects “relationship-building” — without acknowledging the two often can’t coexist
Owner hesitates to invest in long-term things (training, ownership, trust) due to fear that staff will leave anyway
Staff’s target pressure is so real that there’s no time left to think about the long-term customer
Staff gets no financial or professional credit for the relationships they build
Incentive structures reward only this month’s number, not next year’s loyal customer
Both sides see each other as a risk factor rather than a partner — the owner assumes staff will eventually leave, staff assumes the owner only cares about numbers

What Owners Can Actually Do — Starting the Mindset Shift

Stop treating targets and relationships as separate — align them. Don’t set targets purely on sales numbers. Tie a small portion of the target to repeat customers or referrals, so staff know that long-term customers count too.
Name the asset explicitly. Tell staff directly: the relationship you’re building with a customer is your professional asset, not just the store’s. This has to be shown in practice, not just said out loud.
Extend the reward horizon. Don’t reward only Diwali-week sales — when a customer returns six months later and asks for that staff member by name, recognize that, even if the sale itself is small.
Give staff ownership of the follow-up. Make each staff member the named owner of their customers’ after-sale journey — repairs, exchanges, the next occasion. This helps them feel the relationship is theirs, not just a transaction.
Show patience even under pressure. If Diwali week only rewards closed sales, staff will only chase closing. If a staff member who handles a “not buying today” customer well is also appreciated, that’s when the mindset actually starts to shift — because staff notices what the owner actually rewards, not just what they say.

Top 3 CTAs for owners this Diwali

Review your target structure this week. Does it only measure sales numbers, or does it also give weight to repeat customers and referrals? If not, try a small adjustment starting this Diwali.
Ask each staff member to list their top 20 known customers. Tell them this is their list, not just the store’s. This builds a sense of ownership.
After Diwali, start a “best follow-up” recognition. Base it not on the sale number, but on how patiently and well a difficult customer was handled. Staff need to see that patience is rewarded too, not just closing.

Shivaram A
Retail Gurukul