At The Kingswood Company, we sometimes hear from retailers that they are leery of carrying jewelry cleaning products in their store because they believe that if they offer the customer a free in-store cleaning instead of an at-home product, the customer will come back to the store more frequently.

We get it. Retailers want traffic, and offering enticing ways to get customers to your store is key. But does offering free in-store cleanings really increase store traffic? And on the flip side of the coin, does offering at-home cleaning products discourage traffic? We’ll take a look at both sides.

Is offering an in-store cleaning really the best way to drive traffic?

Your goal is traffic and offering a free cleaning seems like a great idea, but your customers need their jewelry cleaned more often than they can reasonably come back to the store. Jewelry that is worn frequently needs to be cleaned routinely, weekly or even daily, so if the customer did come to the store each time she needed her ring cleaned, mayhem would ensue. Every jewelry store would have a line out the door with people waiting to have jewelry cleaned, and every salesperson would spend his day cleaning jewelry rather than selling it.Jewelers don’t really want to see their customers for every cleaning, any more than a dentist wants to brush her patients’ teeth each day.

But offering a service to your customer as an enticement to come back to the store is a good idea. Offering an annual or semi-annual inspection, which includes a professional cleaning, is a better solution. It encourages your customer to come in within a more reasonable timeframe, once or twice a year, and the service you are offering is of greater value.

Does offering at-home jewelry cleaning products deter customers from coming back to the store?

Many jewelers have expressed concern that selling at-home cleaning products in their store will discourage their customers from returning to the store for cleanings. This is not the case, especially when the jeweler clearly explains to the customer the difference between at-home routine cleaning and an annual inspection and professional cleaning. Think about it; does your dentist not give you a toothbrush because she is worried that you won’t come back for your next check-up? Not at all.

If jewelers do not offer at-home products to their customers, there are three outcomes. First, your customer really does come to the store every time her jewelry needs to be cleaned, draining your store of time and energy that could be spent in better ways. Second, they are buying at-home cleaning products elsewhere, depriving you of an add-on sale or follow-up sales when she needs more cleaner. The third option is that your customer is wearing dirty jewelry or has stopped wearing the piece because it is dirty. That means she is not fully enjoying her purchase or is wearing something that no longer looks beautiful.

When jewelers offer jewelry cleaning products, they know that their customers are cleaning their jewelry properly. And when she is wearing beautiful, sparkling jewelry that gets attention, she is referring her friends to your store.

Care and cleaning of jewelry can indeed be a driver of traffic. But by offering jewelry care products, you can help ensure that it is the right kind of traffic