Jewelry Store Holiday Checklist: 12 Things to Do Before Thanksgiving

The jewelry store holiday checklist at a glance

For example, on December 20 a customer wants a ring sized for Christmas Eve, a vendor's special order hasn't shipped, and 2 part-timers have called in sick. How that day goes depends mostly on decisions you make in October.

This season is shorter than usual. Thanksgiving falls on November 28, and the National Retail Federation notes that the 2024 shopping period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is 26 days, 5 fewer than last year. NRF expects November and December sales to grow 2.5% to 3.5% over 2023 (NRF, October 15, 2024 (opens in a new tab)).

Reorder best sellers and set special-order cutoffs

1. Reorder best sellers early

Pull a sales report for last November and December and for the past 90 days. Look for pieces that sold more than once: the same diamond studs, a tennis bracelet in 2 lengths, a bridal style in sizes 6.5 and 7. Those are your reorders, and they should be on order by the end of October.

Count what you have before you buy. A slow style that has sat in the case since spring is a candidate for a holiday price, not a reorder.

2. Set special-order and custom cutoff dates

Ask each vendor for its holiday cutoff in writing, then add your own buffer. For example, if a casting house needs 15 business days and promises delivery by December 20, your counter cutoff for custom pieces might be November 22. That leaves time for a second fitting or a stone that arrives wrong.

Repair and sizing cutoff dates

3. Set repair and sizing cutoffs

Estimate how many sizings, prong jobs and solder repairs your jeweler can finish in a December week while still handling custom work. When a week is full, the next job gets a January date.

Example cutoffs for a store with one bench jeweler:

• Jobs sent to an outside vendor, such as watch repairs or engraving you don't do in-house: November 22
• Prong retipping and stone setting: December 6
• Sizings and simple solder repairs: December 13
• Watch batteries and cleanings: no cutoff, done while the customer waits

Post the dates at the counter, print them on repair envelopes and put them in your holiday emails. If you track jobs in software, sort open jobs by promised date every morning, so a late job shows up before the customer calls. Our page on jewelry repair software shows what that tracking can look like.

Holiday staffing, schedules and extended hours

4. Lock staffing and the schedule

Post the December schedule by early November so part-timers can plan around it. Put your strongest bridal and diamond salespeople on Saturdays and the last 10 days before Christmas, and schedule at least 2 people on every shift so nobody shows a case alone.

Train seasonal staff on the jobs they will do most: ringing a sale, selling a gift card, printing a gift receipt and taking in a sizing with the right cutoff date. Pair each new hire with a regular for their first few shifts.

11. Set extended hours

Look at last December's sales by day and hour to see which evenings were worth staying open. Then decide your hours once and update them everywhere on the same day: the door, your Google Business Profile, the website, the phone greeting and your email signature. Late nights add security risk, so close with the same 2-person routine you use on a normal night.

Gift cards, wish lists and your email and text calendar

5. Gift cards and gift receipts

Order gift card stock, gift boxes and receipt paper now. Make sure every salesperson can print a gift receipt, which shows the item but not the price, and offers one on every sale from Thanksgiving on.

If you sell your own gift cards, federal rules apply. Under Regulation E (opens in a new tab), the money on a store gift card can't expire sooner than 5 years after the card was issued or last loaded, and inactivity fees are allowed only after 12 months without use and only if the card discloses them. A bonus card from a promotion, such as $50 back on a $500 purchase, follows different rules: label it as promotional and print its expiration date on the front. Some states go further, so check yours. This is not legal advice.

6. Wish lists and important dates

Before November 15, ask each salesperson to go through their clients and update wish lists, ring sizes and anniversaries. For example, a husband comes in on December 22 and asks what his wife was looking at in October. If her wish list is current, that's a 10-minute sale.

7. The email and text calendar

Write the season's messages now, with send dates, so nothing goes out in a rush. Send marketing texts only to customers who agreed to receive them, and honor opt-out replies right away.

Website stock, gift returns and security

8. Check website stock, prices and photos

Every piece online should be in your cases, at the price on the tag, with a clear photo. Take down pieces that sold, add the best sellers you just reordered and set a last order date for shipped delivery. USPS recommends sending Priority Mail by December 19 for delivery before December 25 in the contiguous US, so give an insured jewelry package a few extra days on top of that (USPS, October 8, 2024 (opens in a new tab)).

9. Confirm the gift return and exchange policy

Decide now how December gifts can come back. One simple option is to accept returns and exchanges on November and December purchases until a single date, such as January 15, 2025. Say plainly what can't be returned, such as custom work, engraved pieces and rings sized for the recipient, and whether a gift receipt gets an exchange or store credit.

Print the policy on the receipt and post it at the counter. Some states regulate how this is done. California, for example, requires a store that doesn't give full refunds or exchanges for at least 7 days to post its policy at the register, at the entrance, on the item or on the order form (California Attorney General (opens in a new tab)).

10. Security and case counts

Count high-value cases at open and close every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's, with 2 people. Keep a short list of pieces over a set price, for example $2,500, and check those by tag number. Show one piece at a time, lock cases between customers and keep keys on staff, never left in a lock. Agree in advance on who staff call if a piece is missing.

A post-holiday plan for January

12. Write the January plan

The week after Christmas brings its own rush: exchanges, gift card redemptions, surprise rings that need sizing and new engagement rings that need an appraisal for insurance. Write the plan before Thanksgiving.

• Schedule enough staff for exchanges and sizings from December 26 to the end of the first week of January.
• Send a thank-you to every December buyer, then an invitation for a free cleaning a few weeks later.
• Set a date for a full inventory count and decide what happens to pieces that sat all season.
• Return or pay for memo goods you didn't sell, on the vendor's terms.
• Hold a 30-minute review with your team: what sold out, what didn't move, which cutoffs held and what to change next year.