I’ve had a few retailers ask me this question recently…”Is anyone buying clocks?”

The short answer? Yes!

The long answer? Not if you don’t have them in your store. The offer to order a clock is the same to a customer as ordering a clock online from an e-tailer. The main benefit of shopping in-store, which is being able to see and touch the item they’re considering, is completely nonexistent if the retailer has to order the clock. Customers love to shop local and support local businesses, but they’re not going to do that if it requires significantly more effort on their part without the product-confidence and tactile experience they’re seeking from a brick-and-mortar business.

Many retailers think that all clock business is conducted online. This is simply untrue.

Customers vastly prefer to buy their clocks in store.

People don’t need clocks to tell time, they have an iPhone for that. The appeal of buying a clock in 2020 is the interior decor aspect, a meaningful long-lasting gift that can be displayed like a trophy but appreciated as if it’s art.  What does this mean for the retailer?

#1. If you don’t have clocks in stock, you won’t sell them and people will buy online.

#2. The clocks you stock need to have an “interior design” feel, a progressive design that speaks of modernity and youth. Yes, young people decorate their houses with clocks — they’re just particular about the style. Crack open any interior design magazine, you’ll see plenty of clocks…New clocks.

#3. The experience of buying a clock needs to outweigh the ease of shopping online. If you are a jewelry store, this should be easy. Offering a killer customer service experience to a clock customer builds a significant bond between you and the customer. They will remember you when they need jewelry repaired, watches or clocks worked on or evaluated, or when they need to make a jewelry purchase. 

Customers already assume jewelry stores carry clocks.

Poll a handful of people and you’ll see what I mean. Ask them “Where do you think people go to buy new clocks?” and they’ll likely respond “A jewelry store.”

This means you don’t have to spend any advertising dollars to market to clock customers, they already expect you to have them.

Customers do want clocks.

Not every customer is a clock customer. However, many people have strong sentimental attachments to clocks. They remember a clock hanging over their grandfather’s favorite chair or the chimes of their parent’s pendulum. Many people associate clocks with family, as they’ve long been given as awards from companies and as gifts for anniversaries.  If you connect to that nostalgia and emotion, you’ll be surprised how many people are actually wanting to buy.

In an effort to target young customers, some retailers don’t want to “date” themselves. However, if young people want clocks (and once they see them, they do like them!) they won’t know to buy them from you unless you have them. If they’re not seeing clocks in jewelry stores, they’ll think buying online is the only option.

What do you think about selling clocks?

Does your store carry them? Are you looking to carry them?

Let me know!