In India, jewelry purchase has always been driven by the touch-and-feel factor. But the pandemic has changed the scenario for jewelry retailers. They started adopting digital-first strategies to enhance the consumer experience. This includes initiatives like virtual try-on, video calls, personalization, live commerce, etc. One of the brands that has made innovations in its digital-first strategies is CaratLane.

CaratLane was founded in 2008, by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, with the objective of making beautiful jewellery accessible, affordable and wearable. The brand is known for its signature jewellery-buying experience across all platforms. Along with its website and app in India, CaratLane now has around 140 brand stores across the country.

At IReC (Industry of Retail and E-commerce summit) 2022, Muthukumar Kandasamy, Director of Engineering, Caratlane talked about the strategies the brand has adopted to enhance consumer experience and how important is technology in today’s time.

Digital initiatives taken by the brand include:

Virtual Reality

To address the customers’ problem of not being able to see how a product looks on them while shopping online, CaratLane introduced the world’s first virtual 3D jewellery Try-on app. The app uses facial recognition and 3D imaging technologies to offer a life-like immersive try-on experience for customers to discover a range of jewelry designs, try-on earrings, and buy jewelry

“We came up with an app for customers with the ability to try and buy jewellery designs virtually, aided with an innovative 3D mirror. We wanted our customers to discover the perfect piece of jewelry that was right for them and decided to embrace technology’s potential with enthusiasm. The unique feature of this app is giving a realistic view of how the earring will look on a customer’s ear lobe,” Kandasamy stated.

Try At Home

The brand launched the ‘Try At Home’ service where consumers can log on to its website or app, select the preferred jewellery and order it home for trial purposes and then decide to make a purchase. Once customers make their pick, they can make the purchase instantly or go online again and place an order.

“‘Try At Home’ is a unique service in the online jewellery market Traditionally customers prefer to touch, feel and try on jewellery before making a purchase. Addressing this need, we choose to pamper our customers by offering them a Try At Home Service,” he asserted.

CRM Tool

CaratLane built its own CRM tool, which it calls ‘One View’. This gives the brand the entire picture about of the customer views and data accessibility. CaratLane connects with the customer right through technology and technology is an integral part of its operations.

“Almost 80 percent of our orders are actually online influenced,” Kandasamy noted.

Machine Learning

The brand has implemented Machine Learning (ML) tools in performance marketing; the whole remarketing part is being carried out by tools equipped with ML. Another use case is that the brand tries to understand the customer journey with various data points like intent types, and then it accordingly serves the customer with relevant offers. 

It is working with a new chatbot involving ML technology. CaratLane is already using chatbot conversations to identify escalation prevention mechanisms through sentiment studies.

Campaign Management         

Recently, CaratLane launched its latest digital campaign, titled 'First Salary', dedicated to Mothers. The brand is constantly looking at micro-occasions that are very intimate in consumers’ lives and how jewellery can play an essential role in making them more memorable. Receiving one's first salary is a big milestone in anybody’s life, marking their foray into adulthood. Most people are looking to immortalize this moment with a special gift that would help express their gratitude to their loved ones, especially their mom.

With the launch of this first-of-its-kind campaign, CaratLane aims to tug at the heartstrings and show consumers how a memorable occasion such as making a first salary purchase can also double up as a touching gesture towards loved ones.