To Pull Out

All The Stops

This Valentine’s Day… 

Total spending on jewelry is expected to reach $4.1 billion, up from $3.5 billion last year.

Second to jewelry, those with a case of the love bug will spend more than $3.5 billion on a special evening out.

Consumers will also spend $1.8 billion on flowers, $1.5 billion on candy, $1.4 billion on clothing and $1.1 billion on gift cards.

For Immediate Release

Kathy Grannis (20)783-7971 or grannisk@nrf.com
www.nrf.com/consumertrends

Here is the link to the entire article:

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1304

Click here to download complete survey results

Americans to Pull Out All the Stops This Valentine’s Day
-NRF Survey Finds Total Spending to Reach $17.6 Billion-

Washington, February 1, 2012 – Love may not cost a thing, but consumers this year are set to spoil their friends, family and loved ones this Valentine’s Day in a very big way. According to NRF’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGinsight, the average person celebrating the holiday will shell out $126.03, up 8.5 percent over last year’s $116.21 and the highest in the survey’s 10-year history. Total spending is expected to reach $17.6 billion.*

“As one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year, it’s encouraging that consumers are still exhibiting the desire to spend on discretionary gift items, a strong indication our economy continues to move in the right direction,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Anticipating high foot traffic in the coming weeks, retailers have replenished their inventories and will entice eager shoppers with great deals on everything from special menu items at restaurants to clothing to flowers and, of course, chocolates.”

Couples, Men to Spend the Most; Jewelry, Gift Cards Top Gift Ideas

Consumers’ “better halves” will shell out the most on their partners, with the average person planning to spend $74.12 on their spouse or significant other, up from $68.98 last year. Additionally, consumers will spend and average of $25.25 on their children, parents or other family members and $6.92 on friends. Valentine’s Day is a great day for pet owners to show their furry friends just how much they mean: the average person will spend about $4.52 on their pets.

The survey also found the average male is expected to spend $168.74 on clothing, jewelry, greeting cards and more this year – nearly twice as much as women who are expected to spend an average of $85.76.

In addition to traditional gift ideas, those celebrating the holiday will also put some serious thought into the perfect gift. Nineteen percent (18.9%) of celebrants will buy jewelry, up from 17.3 percent last year and the highest percent in the survey’s history. Some will give the gift of choice: 13.3 percent will buy gift cards, up from 12.6 percent last year. Additionally, half of all celebrants (50.5%) will buy candy, 36.0 will buy flowers and 35.6 percent will treat someone to a nice evening out.

Total spending on jewelry is expected to reach $4.1 billion, up from $3.5 billion last year. Second to jewelry, those with a case of the love bug will spend more than $3.5 billion on a special evening out. Consumers will also spend $1.8 billion on flowers, $1.5 billion on candy, $1.4 billion on clothing and $1.1 billion on gift cards.

“Celebrated by children who give Valentines to their teachers and classmates, family members who make sure to send greeting cards across the miles and couples who wish to show their appreciation for each other, Valentine’s Day means more than what’s simply on the surface,” said Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director at BIGinsight. “This year we could very well see some consumers searching high and low and stopping at nothing to make sure their loved ones receive the perfect gift.”

Though discount stores are expected to see the most traffic (37.0%), one-third of shoppers (33.6%) will head to department stores, up from 30.5 percent last year. Online retailers will also see a nice boost from the business of love – nearly one out of five (19.3%) will shop online for gifts this Valentine’s Day, up from 18.1 percent last year. Others will shop at specialty stores (20.2%), floral shop (17.8%), jewelry stores (10.6%) and specialty clothing stores (6.6%).

More than Half of Tablet Owners to Use Device to Buy Valentine’s Day Gifts

After honing their mobile and tablet shopping skills this past holiday season, Valentine’s Day celebrants are looking to hit their smartphones and tablets once again to research and purchase gifts. According to the survey, more than half of all tablet owners (53.8%) will use their device to research products, compare prices, redeem coupons, look up retailer information or purchase products. Four in 10 (40.4%) smartphone owners will use their mobile device to do the same.

About the Survey

The NRF 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey conducted for NRF by BIGinsight was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Valentine’s Day. The poll of 9,317 consumers was conducted from January 4-11, 2012. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGinsight™ consumer intelligence provides analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. The Consumer Intentions and Actions® Survey (CIA®) of 8,000+ respondents is conducted monthly and the Media Behaviors and Influence™ Survey of 15,000+ respondents is conducted semi-annually.

As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s Retail Means Jobscampaign emphasizes the economic importance of retail and encourages policymakers to support aJobs, Innovation and Consumer Value Agenda aimed at boosting economic growth and job creation. www.nrf.com

Is the Time Finally Right for Google Drive?

To view the full article please visit the link below:

http://www.wired.com/cloudline/2012/02/gdrive-back/

• Mike Barton
• posted in Blog, Featured ⋅ 1:36 pm

Valentine’s Day gifts are gifts that are remembered by people all through their lives. The Valentines’ Day is that one day when everyone has a chance to express their emotions, love and respect to the other person. Gifting objects such as a gold ring will only add to the emotion and sanctity of the occasion. 
Allergies: Some people have allergies to certain metals, materials and even precious metals. Before you decide on the type of ring or the material from which the ring is made, try to find out whether the person has an allergy to any material.  Technically speaking, 100% pure gold does not exist, because gold requires some other alloy or metal to give it the shape and structure. Therefore, there are chances that the person may not be allergic to gold itself, but the metal or alloy that is used to mix with the gold.
Purity: The more pure the gold is, the more beautiful it seems and therefore the more valuable it becomes. People value the purity of gold because the more pure the gold, the more it retains the shine and luster.   There are several levels of purity in gold that increase their value.
Design: The design is another integral part that counts while you are checking for the gold ring for Valentine’s Day. While deciding on the design, make sure that the design complements the lifestyle and basic style of the person. It would help if you know the person for a while. For example, some people like subtle and slinky jewelry while others still like the chunky jewelry. Also, a gold ring is something that a person would wear on any occasion. Depending on the design, some would even wear the gold ring on a day to day basis. Therefore, try to find the right design.  The design and the pattern are the most important aspects that one should keep in mind while looking for a gold ring present for Valentine’s Day.
Delicate: A gold ring is an accessory that is used on an everyday basis, depending on the design and emotional value. Therefore, you have to make sure that the ring is not so delicate that it may just break and fall off during everyday life.

Gold and other precious metals are a very good idea as a gift for Valentine’s Day. You can gift several kinds of gold ornaments, like earrings, necklaces, rings and gold pendants. Gold pendants stand out in all these gifts, simply because a person can say a lot more in a pendant than in a ring or a chain. Here are some ideas for gold pendants for Valentine’s Day gifts.

Hearts: The hearts design is one of the simplest and most popular designs used while creating romantic and love themed pendants. If you are looking for a heart shaped or heart themed gold pendant, you would simply be spoilt for choices. Make sure that you look through carefully, as there will be tons of options for heart shaped gold pendants. The only aspect that you will have to keep in mind while deciding on a pendant is whether the pendant complements the body structure and lifestyle of the person whom you are gifting to.

Customized Pendants: Sometimes, people like to wear jewelry which is a callback to their professions or lifestyle. For example, if a person is a doctor, you can gift them a cute health cross shaped pendant, or if a person is a photographer, you can gift them a camera shaped gold pendant. There are several customized Valentine’s Day gifts that are available today.

Words: Another popular type of gold pendants is the one with words. One can use the words design pendant to express their love in various ways. The words or alphabets can spell out the name of a loved one, or just be the initials or beginning letter of the loved one’s name. The only aspect that one has to keep in mind is that the font used should not be so delicate that the word or alphabet breaks off. This will render the pendant simply unusable and would defeat the entire idea of a Valentine’s Day gift.

These are just some of the gold pendant designs that are generally used by goldsmiths. Of course, if you have something special in mind, you can have your own customized pendant. If you come up with your own idea for a gold pendant, it will always stand apart from all the other jewelry and accessories that your loved one has.

Men Loving Diamonds for Themselves

In case of men jewelry collection, the diamond trends have been completely transformed. Initially, simple wedding bands and rings for other occasions were the items, which were related to men. However, the men started developing liking towards these precious stones and as a result, you can see diamond embedded rings and bands, exclusively designed to match the masculinity of this gender. Now, men have joined their female counterparts for purchasing diamonds for everyday wear.

Men Purchasing Customized Diamonds

Rather than choosing a diamond engagement or wedding ring for their would-be wives, men have started learning the essence of the word customization. As a result, our men have started instructing jewelers to prepare diamond rings from the scratch, by following the preferences given by them. Men have started gaining knowledge about various attributes of diamonds like their colors, cuts and clarity. You can see your man learning about details of diamond jewelry preparation, so that they can get the most awe-inspiring designs sculpted for their women.

Men Purchasing Loose Diamonds

Men have also started taking interest in purchasing a loose diamond, meeting the taste of their women and matching their personality, to construct a ring around it. Thus, all types of diamonds like colorless and colored fancy diamonds, round cut and square cut diamonds have started getting noticed by men from all sections of the society. Men have also initiated the idea of gifting a loose diamond to their women, so that they can use their own preferences to provide beautiful settings around these precious stones.

In a nutshell, men have started accepting diamonds as parts of their life just like the individuals from opposite gender have been doing since ages. This is the reason that top online jewelry stores like Gem Find have started providing space to men’s collection in diamond jewelry. Apart from diamond jewelry for men, the store also offers men watches with diamond accents and other accessories as well.

Factors Affecting Diamond Valuation

Various kinds of techniques are available for identifying a diamond’s worth but difficulties arise when other materials such as platinum, gold and silver are to be assessed with it as well. Value assessment can be accurately done in case of custom jewelry pieces, including family heirlooms and wedding rings. Loose diamonds cost differently as compared to set options on account of the extra costs incurred due to creation and mounting of jewelry. Diamond jewelry prices also get increased due to factors such as metals used, necklace chains, and so on.

Analyzing a Diamond’s Worth

Loose diamonds should be analyzed on the basis of cut, clarity, carat weight, and color. Certifications and shape also play a major role in deciding a diamond’s worth. Following aspects will help you in deciding the correct worth of a diamond:

• Cut: This factor deals with the diamond’s brilliance and is usually described as ideal, shallow, or deep. Loose diamonds that are shallow are less brilliant as light tends to escape from its bottom. In case of deep cuts, the light tends to escape from the diamond’s sides, providing a duller and darker appearance to the diamond. Diamonds having ideal cut are the rarest and most beautiful as almost all light is reflected from its surface.

• Color: Loose diamonds belonging to better grades contain less color within them. D-class loose diamonds enjoy the highest color grade and are absolutely colorless. F-class diamonds are considered to be high-quality diamonds whereas the rare ones are categorized into E-class diamonds.
• Certification: Grading certifications from institutes such as Gemological Institute of America and American Gem Society Laboratories have a huge influence in deciding a loose diamond’s worth. Factors that are taken into consideration are cut grade, gem symmetry, proportion and polish.
• Shape: A gem’s shape influences its value in a huge way. Loose diamonds that are round than finer “fancy” ones having non-round cuts. Fancy-shaped diamonds can come as pear-shaped or heart-shaped.

With proper evaluation of all the factors listed above, you shall be able to accurately find out the worth of loose diamonds. After all, it should be worth it!

If they follow your brand then that means that you have a 1 in 5 chance for them to buy a product from you. Americans said they have bought a product after first hearing about it on Facebook or another social network.

Becoming your social communities’ leader is quite the task to accomplish.

You must first:

1.) Let your community get to know you.

Ask yourself: What makes myself and my business unique?

Then express that online.

Differentiate yourself and your competitors.

2.) Educate them on products, brands and your industry and how to navigate your website.

3.) Be attentive, fun and creative with your content.

4.) Inspire your community with a cause, or your passion.

Read entire article here:

http://mashable.com/2010/06/11/top-20-mashable-reader-responses-to-what-is-social-media/

1. Collaboration: Ask not what the Internet can do for you, but what you can do with other Internet users. – Jonny Rose

2. Network: Social media is a phenomenon which creates a personalized network for sharing digital content among all people in the cyberspace. - Rohan Aurora

3. Conversation: Tools or platforms that allow anyone/everyone to share information or engage in conversation. – Veena Mathew

4. Sharing: Social media = Sharing information through conversation. – Scot Chisholm

5. Relationships: Relationshipping on steroids. – Pat Graham-Block

6. Multi-dimensional: Social media is a multi-dimensional communication information system connecting people to people. -Peter Feuersenger

7. Inclusive: It’s a conversation in an instant with anyone, anywhere, anytime that gives control back to the individual & consumer in unpredented ways.” – Charles Ubaghs

8. Information: Information funneled to users from all angles. – Sarah Thomson

9. Community: Set of updated communication tools that allow us to build new communities at a time when our local community had almost been lost. – Jerry Daykin

10. Personalization: It is the ability to connect and see the world in your own way. The personalization of one of the greatest human achievements: communication! – Benjamin Fischbein

11. Empowering: Social media is an online renaissance empowering people with influence to facilitate conversations around shared ideas. – Mark Blackman

12. A Radical Shift in Communication: The radical shift from one-way broadcast type communications to dialog and conversation using web based tools. - Joe Buhler

13. Real-time: “Social Media is on-demand, real time interaction, that uses technology to enable genuine engagement with others around media vs simply sharing data with them.” – Corina Newby

14. People: Social Media is the instantaneous aggregation and creation of content by the people, of the people, for the people, on the social web. – Eric Pena

15. Content Distribution: Social media consists of online technologies that facilitate the creation and distribution of content. – David J. Perdue

16. Self-expression: Social Media’s my friend. I can finally broadcast my belief in God, my likes in music, my emotional state & my dinner all from my fingertips – E. A. Freire

17. Unity: The never ending drive for humans desire to unite. – Sean Farrell

18. Dynamic: Social media is dynamic user-generated content coming from the bottom up, which bypasses static media forms through adding a social layer. – Anees Younis

19. Discovery: Social media is communication, friending, family, media, learning and discovery at one click. – Glenn K. Bolton

20. Power of the Crowd: Social media is the ability to put out a message and having worldwide responses via email, text, tweet, or whatever form in a matter of seconds. – Lilian Ongelungel

Vadim Lavrusik

A Facebook profile for a business is a way to fuel your Facebook Fan Page with the “Suggest To Friends” tool which is located underneath the profile picture of your Facebook Fan Page. I always see business owners that use their personal facebook profile as their business profile. This is not what you want to do. The reason for this is that you are not giving the consumer the option to “like” your business. This is extremely important because it has become an essential branding tool that is vital for businesses. Your personal facebook profile should strictly be about you. As a business owner you are giving your consumers the ability to get to know you as a person. For some business owners making the leap about sharing who you are personally, can be a difficult plunge. The way I look at it is this, if you don’t want to share with consumers, who you are, then why own a business?

Do’s and Don’ts

On a personal profile, you don’t want to advertise your business all the time. People come to facebook to connect with family and friends. People do look for businesses online and to find their “likes,” but the main purpose is to socialize with people they know. You can talk about your business, but keep it fun and educational. You don’t want to seem like you are trying hard to sell your “friends” on your business. That is what a facebook fan page is for.

Having a private profile. If you are a business, it can be a big turn off that your profile is on private. It is very uninviting for people when they are trying to find you. Maybe one of your consumers only remembers your name, but can’t find your business online.

No profile pic. That is creepy. Make sure to have a facebook profile picture. Also make sure to create photos albums with pictures about your life. You don’t have to share everything about your life. Pick and choose what information you think is comfortable for you to share with others. A good train of thought is to keep it lite and fun.

Be creative with your status updates, quotes, funny pictures, interesting information, videos, and educational articles are a great way to engage your facebook friends that could eventually convert into your consumers.

In the “Info” section of your facebook profile. Make sure to list a least couple paragraphs about yourself. People read it. Then talk about your business. Make sure to list your website. It is so important to list your website. Something people use your profile as a quick link to your website.

The “Tabs” at the top of your page is a great way for people to quick link to important info that you would like to share with them. By using the + button you can add all different types of tabs, like welcome pages, photos, videos, links, etc.

Facebook Fan Page

Where to find:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Create a Page This link is located on the sign in page of facebook.

Facebook Fan pages are one of the best ways to brand your business online. I think the move of changing from a “fan” to a “like” was a great idea. Think about some consumers may not want to be your fan, but really like your business. Talk as much about your business as you like. This is different than your profile. People and your eventual consumers are going to go to this page to see product, check out your latest events, and see any promotional things that you might be doing in-store. I still use the same philosophy with your facebook fan page as your personal profile. Don’t try and sell people. Make it fun and educational.

Why is a facebook fan page so important for your business?
Well eventually when you create a social community of “likes,” it will drive traffic to your website. Why is that so important? Well in the past most businesses had to spend a lot of money trying to advertise their new website. Now you have the ability to go to a social network with 350 million people and target market people. Your facebook fan page is like a mini version of your website with great interactive tools to engage your “likes.”

Here is a great article on how to optimize your Facebook Fan Page.

To see the entire article click here: http://mashable.com/2009/09/22/facebook-pages-guide/
HOW TO: Set Up a Winning Facebook Fan Page

Susan Payton is the Managing Partner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an Internet marketing firm specializing in blogger outreach, social media, and PR. She is also the blogger behind The Marketing Eggspert Blog.

With more than 300 million active users, Facebook is nearly the size of the United States in terms of population. In fact, odds are that you’re a Facebook user, perhaps using it to keep in touch with family and friends, with a dash of business thrown in for good measure. Maybe you look at some of the 2 billion photos uploaded each month, or contribute a few of the 40 million daily status updates. In short: Facebook is where it’s at, and you’re already there.

But what about your business? Does it use Facebook? If you’re a business owner, you really need to set up a Fan Page, or else you risk being left behind as more businesses shift to social networks like Facebook. This post is a beginner’s guide to setting up and getting the most out of a Page on Facebook for your business.

Facebook Pages 101

Facebook Pages are different than profiles. You have a profile for you, Jane Doe, but your businesscan’t have a profile — it can have a Page. A Page is a place to house all the pertinent information about your company. They’re so useful because you can include everything that relates to your business in one place with a built-in potential audience:

- Overview of company
- Website and contact info
- Press releases
- Videos
- Blog RSS
- Twitter updates
- Company news and status
- Customer interaction

One of the major benefits of a Page on Facebook over (or in addition to) a webpage is that it’s so simple to update. With a website, if you’re not technical, you have to contact your web developer, who will then charge you to make even a tiny change. With Facebook, updates are as easy as logging in and typing or uploading. The fresher your content, the more you will engage people.

Setting Up Your Page

Once you’ve logged in to Facebook, scroll to the bottom and click on Advertising. Then click Pages andCreate a Page. Select the type of business you own and start filling in all the details. The more info you add, the better your page will be (and remember: Google thinks highly of Facebook in its search engine results).

Make sure to include your company logo, any RSS blog feeds that are relevant, videos, images — the whole nine yards. Once you’re satisfied with the Page, publish it, then get ready to dive into promotion.

Enhance Your Page with Apps

You can also enhance your Facebook Page by adding applications to it. Apps add particular functions to your page, such as drawing in your blog’s RSS feed (the Social RSS app is a good example of this) or YouTube videos. They are a great way to further engage visitors to your Page and provide them reason to come back, and there are hundreds of apps designed to help you do business better on Facebook.

Another option you have is to internally develop a new app. Pizza Hut’s Order App which allowed fans to order their pizzas directly through Facebook was a huge hit, for example. Red Bull has a custom application on its Page that pulls in Twitter updates from all of the athletes they sponsor. Developing a custom app for your Facebook Fan Page can be pricey, but if you can afford it or have in-house development talent that can get the job done, it can be very rewarding.

Promoting a Page

The tricky thing about Facebook Pages is that you can’t friend someone the way you can from your profile. People can elect to become fans of your Page, but only if they know about it. So you’ve got to spread the word organically (and keep doing it) to introduce people to your Page and to your company.

First identify contacts from your profile that are either business connections, people working in a field related to your business, or who would otherwise benefit from the information your company provides, and invite them to become a fan of the Page. Send a short note explaining what you want to offer from the Page (remember, people are thinking “what’s in it for me?”) and include a link to the Page.

You should also promote your Page elsewhere online by putting a Facebook Page button on your website to help others find it, spreading the word on Twitter if you’re there (and you should be), sending out an email notification, or putting a link on your business cards. Do whatever it takes to help people know that you’re on Facebook and you want them to become a part of your community.

Get the Most Out of Your Page

If you’ve got a brand that already has a strong following like Zappos.com or True Lemon, a Facebook Page can be a great way to launch a community. Encourage discussion among fans by asking questions like: “what’s your favorite product?” or “what could we do to improve our product?” Post updates weekly, if not daily and point your fans to any off-site promotions, such as giveaways hosted on different web sites.

And keep it fun! Nobody likes straight up business all the time! Zappos, for example, has crazy videos and posts that aren’t related to shoes, which is why their fan base is well over 21,000.

It will take time to build your fan base, so remember to keep sending out invites to new contacts asking if they want to become a fan of your business Page. Constantly promote the Page in any way possible, and keep your content fresh — give people a reason to check in on your page regularly.

Check your analytics: before long you should see a large portion of your website’s referrals coming from Facebook!

Wrapping it Up

Your Facebook efforts will be ongoing, so plan to dedicate a few hours each week to getting new fans and updating content. You’ll quickly appreciate the instant ability to connect with customers and future customers through this social media tool!

Facebook Groups

Groups are a great way to create public or private interest that you and other group members can share. It is extremely specific to the interest of the group. This can be a great way for a business to hone in on something that makes you, your product, service, or store unique. It is a great way to bring people together that share this same interest. Groups can be an extension of your personal profile, or facebook fan page that specifically focus on something.

Do you give your retailers and consumers, as a supplier the ability to see all of your products online?

Branding your product and directing potential consumers to your retailers is a great way to utilize all of that web traffic. Just make sure the process is a simple click away from the consumer being able to make a purchase.

Have you thought about virtual distribution to your retailers? It could help you to save a lot of money and increase sales for your retailers.

As a retailer, do you give your consumers the ability to see all of your custom collections and brand’s, virtual inventory online?

Why not?

Think about it people want to research before they buy. What can they see on your website?

This article can help you to understand the importance of an online presence as well as one of the largest parts of the formula…virtual inventory.

What is virtual inventory?

Virtual inventory is created when a photo and information on an item is uploaded to the internet. The media and information can be as simple as a cliff note or as extensive as the entire history of a piece.

Virtual inventory is everywhere and having some is critical.

It grants someone the ability to see and learn about an item without having it physically in front of them.

Think of it as the new “Brass & Glass” for the digital age. The cost to show virtual inventory is basically nothing once a system is in place. Customers can view virtual inventory via a web site,  social network, video, in-store kiosk, mobile device, etc. If interest is expressed in an item, that item can be quickly shipped to the store to complete the purchase. An added benefit is that the item can be sent from supplier to retailer in the correct metal, size, and stone type as requested by the customer upon digital inspection … It’s inventory On Demand.

Typically suppliers create virtual inventory and package it up on their website. This forces the retailer to link to the supplier’s web site in order to show the inventory to their customers. Although this is an easy route for the retailer and good for the supplier it forces the customer to navigate many sites in order to find something of interest leaving the customer lost and frustrated.

Some retailers take the initiative to add a supplier’s digital content to their own site manually. This can take time and more often than not ends up being presented in a way where the supplier is not happy with how the final presentation ended up. This is a big reason why suppliers have rules on putting their digital content on a retailer’s website. Some don’t even allow it.

These rules and practices only hurt the sale of an item. People buy what they see and if an item is hard to find it limits its chances of ending up on a screen of an interested buyer, and these days … screens are everywhere.

Independent retail jewelers have an advantage over e-tailers. They can get away with supplying less information on an item as they are generally reaching a local base which is more likely to come into the store to purchase and learn more than to buy it online. This concept is one we have learned from working with independent stores and is a major concept within our GemFind Network and expressed to the end consumer through the GemFind Master Link.

Independent retail jewelers don’t have to sell online to be successful. Many who do sell online see online sales represent a very small percentage of their sales. However, there is one very powerful reality to understand. You don’t have to sell online but you need to be online. There is a difference which many do not understand. Online presence is required.

Its 2012 wake up and smell the information floating in the air … its everywhere and if you are not in it where are you?

The GemFind Network has a simple goal. We focus on the relationship between the independent retailer and their suppliers and how that relationship can become stronger with the added support of virtual inventory distribution.

Beyond that we are able to track the performance of inventory across all systems. This allows the retailer to understand in real time what they should be physically stocking based on click demand. For the supplier they are able to see their product performance across all of their retailer’s systems to help them create better selections to choose from. This level of connectivity and reporting helps every entity within the distribution channel. All the way down to the end customer who is essentially creating the demand from the bottom up. Consumer demand has always been a driving factor in determining what is created for sale. We are just utilizing new concepts and tools to make it easier to listen.

These days, you have to be agile. Being able to effectively listen to your audience in real time and quickly adjust what you offer is powerfully essential.

The jewelry industry is waking up to a new world full of tools made to empower them.

The way in which very small and expensive goods have been distributed is obsolete. Its time to cut down the risk, reign in the cost, and focus on selling what people want.

You can always present loose diamonds to your loved ones and express the profound love and respect you hold for him or her.

Many people prefer buying loose diamonds rather than purchasing a pre-designed jewelry. It is extremely important for them to check the certificate of authenticity. You will not be fooled or become a part of any scam when you have the proof right in front of you.

Diamonds are huge investments and it is therefore necessary to check the authenticity of the gemstone that you are buying.

The world is dominated by false people always trying to fool others. Certified loose diamonds are risk free from all sorts of forgery.

People are often skeptical buying expensive things like diamond on the internet, but when you get the certificate from the jeweler, you can be assured of the purity and authenticity.

Another important benefit of certified diamonds is that they are tested thoroughly and graded properly. They are examined with the best possible techniques.

Before certifying a diamond, the gemstone has to undergo lots of processes. It is done by trained, reputed and highly professional gemologists.

You can buy any shaped diamonds and need not worry about the genuineness once it is being certified. Loose diamonds can be of any shape like round, pear or heart etc.

Heart diamonds look extremely beautiful when you gift it to the person you love. The cost of loose diamonds increases by manifold after they are used in jewelry.

If you are planning to gift something to your beloved on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, you may want to consider heart diamonds.

There are ten shapes of diamond known as the round, princess, emerald, asscher, oval, radiant, marquise, pear, heart and cushion. There is a new shape introduced very recently known as the trilliant shape diamonds.

Each of the diamond is differentiated from other by the number of facets. Emerald diamonds resemble stair steps whereas princess diamonds are square in shape with many facets. Both these diamond shapes look attractive with longer fingers. However, it is crucial to check the color and clarity of each and every diamonds that you buy.

The cost of emerald diamonds is not that expensive as a round brilliant shape. Hence, people having low budget may also prefer buying this step cut diamond which looks good as a solitaire on the engagement or wedding rings.

There are many wholesale stores available on the internet from where you can buy diamonds for lot cheaper prices than any retail store or jewelry showrooms. These online stores also have free shipping facilities for the convenience of their customers.

Buying loose diamonds are beneficial because you can sell them at any point of time without any difficulty. On the contrary selling jewelry items studded with diamonds is a little difficult because the metal used may fade its color or texture. Diamonds are the closest to the heart of a women and gifting diamond jewelry is the best way to impress your lady love.