Selling Jewellery Online: 3 Do’s and Don’ts

The world of jewellery selling – or rather, online jewellery selling – has developed drastically over the last twenty years. 

According to a recent study, e-commerce jewellery sales reached over $105 billion in 2024, marking a 13.2% annual increase, and this is only set to rise higher before 2030. If you’re a brand delving into this market, the opportunities are sparkling – pun intended – but that’s not to say it won’t be challenging. 

In actual fact, selling jewellery online can be very difficult, especially considering the highly competitive nature of the industry – as well as the obvious drawbacks that come with selling jewellery online rather than over the counter. 

Unlike physical stores where customers can touch, try on, and examine jewellery up close, online jewellery sellers must find ways to replicate that experience virtually, but because jewellery is such a big investment, building trust and loyalty is far harder than in other online markets. 

For the most part, customers would rather go with well-known, recognisable brands that have already forged a strong reputation, opting for the big brand experience no matter how well your smaller brand has utilised the online space. With this in mind, it’s your job to not only give customers the best experience possible, but stand out from the crowd and focus on building credibility quickly. 

So how exactly do you do this? To help you out, we’ve listed out 3 do’s and don’ts of online jewellery selling that can give you an idea of how the market works, and how you can step into it in the most successful way possible.

Do: Find a Niche

One of the best ways to stand out from the crowd immediately is to find a niche and stick to it. As mentioned before, there are thousands of online jewellery stores out there, but the most successful are the ones that carve out a unique identity and offer something different from mainstream competitors. 

To give an example, let’s look at Nadav Art by Avi Nadav. With faith-inspired jewellery coming back into fashion over the last ten years, this brand focuses solely on Jewish jewellery with numerous different designs that reflect the heritage and traditions. This gives them a strong brand identity that appeals to a specific target audience, and it’s the same thing your brand will need to do if you want to attract a dedicated audience that has a specific reason for choosing you.

Do: Invest in High-Quality Visuals

One of the hardest things about selling jewellery online is that customers do not have the option to see the pieces up close and feel them in their hands. This is a serious setback considering the investment that customers are being asked to put into these items. 

It’s your job, then, to make sure that your photos and videos are enough to resonate with customers and give them as full a shopping experience as possible. Use high-resolution images, 360-degree product views, and perhaps even invest in AR try-on features if you have the budget for it. Whatever you can do to capture the sparkle and texture of your jewellery, do it.

Do: Be As Transparent as Possible

Since customers can’t physically connect with your jewellery, trust is everything. With this in mind, it’s important to clearly display authenticity certificates, customer reviews, and return policies to reassure potential buyers, and make sure your team is ready to help with any complaints or issues that are raised.

Don’t: Ignore Customer Service

While trying to find your niche and focus on the shopping experience, it can be very easy to forget other crucial areas of a successful e-commerce website, such as customer service. Luxury buyers, of course, expect fast, professional, and personalised service, so if you’re slow to respond to inquiries or dismiss customer concerns, you easily run the risk of losing credibility. 

To get around this, make sure you offer live chat options, or perhaps even AI-powered chatbots that can help your customers 24/7. Whatever you do, you need to make sure the experience for shoppers is hassle-free, so they can focus on buying your items and you can focus on selling them!

Don’t: Overlook SEO

Yes, you’re competing with some pretty big brands, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your SEO strategy before you even get started. No matter how stunning your jewellery is, if your website isn’t optimised for search engines, there’s every chance people won’t find you. 

Try to use strong keywords, high-quality product descriptions, and blog content to improve your rankings and attract organic traffic to your brand. To avoid being drowned out by your competitors, look mainly at unique keywords that are specific to your niche, and focus on long-tail terms that align with your target audience’s search intent.

Don’t: Drop Your Prices

Lastly, one of the ways new brands try to undercut competitors is by lowering their prices, but in the jewellery industry, this is not always a winning strategy. On the contrary, e-commerce jewellery stores with low prices don’t tend to incite confidence in visitors, with many assuming that low prices equal low quality.

Instead, showcase the quality and craftsmanship that have gone into your items, and make sure to tell a story that customers will emotionally connect with. Cutting prices is the easy option, but in the world of online jewellery, it’s important to take a step further and ‘make the sale’, just as you would in a physical store.