In this segment of "Industry Focus" on Motley Fool Live, recorded on Dec. 7, Fool analyst Emily Flippen discusses the unique digital experience that Brilliant Earth (BRLT 1.47%) offers its customers.
Emily Flippen: I think it goes to show about the power of improving the digital experience for digital buying.
A lot of skeptics of Brilliant Earth will point out and say, well, look, this is oftentimes when the largest purchases somebody will make in their life, especially when it comes to jewelry, they want to go in and try it on in-person, and that's very true, but we've seen a lot of industries that we never thought would become digital go digital. A bit more of a willingness for people to make that leap and make that purchase.
What Brilliant Earth has done, has created a top-notch digital experience that includes things like virtual try-ons, digital appointments ... a virtual appointment with a jewelry expert to talk about your needs, you can create your own ring digitally. Use the blockchain to track those diamonds.
It's a great digital experience, but as you mentioned, Asit, they combine that with an omnichannel approach. They have a very limited retail footprint. Mostly in big cities, for instance, I'm working from Texas right now. There's one in Dallas and what is generally an appointment-only retail experience.
I could go online if I was going to get this engagement ring that my mom was so excited about, I could set up, customize that ring myself, then have them send a few options over to their Dallas appointment location, go in, try them on, see how I feel about them and then make that purchase.
They combine that with a 30-day back guarantee. If at any point I would order a ring, and I would decide I didn't like it, you can always send that ring back. I like this approach. I think it meets a nice middle ground of being digital-first, while also still allowing those consumers that want to visually see the purchase that they're making, have somewhat of a limited opportunity to do so.
