De Beers bids to make brand more ‘approachable’ with in-store iPad app

De Beers is launching an in-store iPad app aimed at making buying diamonds a more personal experience and opening up the brand to new customers.

The “For You, Forever” app, developed with mobile marketing company Somo, lets customers compare the different styles, cuts and weights of diamonds using technology called “Iris” and customise the style of jewellery they pair it with. Users will be able to create a shortlist of their favourite designs, share their picks with friends and reserve their final selection.

Brand director Jennie Farmer told Marketing Week that this is the first step in making the De Beers brand more accessible by making customers feel more comfortable buying diamonds. It is already making its stores more open, light and inviting and is planning a website relaunch next year that will include Iris, letting customers check out styles and prices online before going in store to make a purchase.

“We want to be aspirational, but we also want to be approachable. This is about creating a personal experience for our customers and delighting them,” she said.

The app also enables De Beers to capture more data on the people that come into its stores but don’t buy. Customer that use the app will need to input their email addresses to save their preferences, allowing De Beers to capture their information and communicate directly with them in future.

Farmer said the app should also help to boost conversions by letting customers choose exactly which diamond they want and take the pick from the entire De Beers range, not just what is available in a particular shop. She claims that in tests De Beers found it was selling quite unique diamonds, highlighting a desire from its customers to customise their purchases.

Going forward, this is where De Beers wants to focus its marketing, moving from highlighting its diamond expertise to diamond design. The brand is launching a whole new collection of diamonds in 2014 that emphasise design, which will be followed by a marketing campaign later in the year.

“De Beers is known for its diamond expertise, now we want to push the design side to increase our brand equity. This is expertise meeting emotion,” she said.

  App, De Beers, Diamonds, Digital, iPad, Marketing, Mobile, Somo, Technology