E-commerce has become incredibly popular, with an estimated 2.64 billion people now shopping online. This trend extends to engagement rings, with more couples now opting to purchase them online rather than in-store.
But why is that the case? Why are couples entrusting one of the most important purchases to online retails? Why, with so much pressure to get it right, buy an engagement ring online instead of at the local jeweler?
The main reason is that online shopping alleviates much of the stress. It also lends a variety of benefits, which are discussed below. Keep reading to discover why an online purchase triumphs over buying different ring styles in-store.
Convenience
One major perk of online engagement ring shopping is the convenience it provides. With local jewelry stores, you need to commute to the location, find parking, and navigate crowds just to view inventory in person. This requires aligning schedules and making time for trips during business hours.
Driving to and from stores expends gas money and eats into free time better spent on other wedding planning tasks. Even more frustrating, many neighborhood jewelers operate by appointment only. So you must book a specific day and time just to step inside.
Once in-store, claustrophobic cases and pushy salespeople constantly peering over your shoulder rush the process. You likely won’t want to compare as thoroughly with someone pressuring you nearby.
And good luck if you come in right before closing time. The staff makes it abundantly clear they want to go home, subtly urging you to hurry up.
With online ring shopping, you avoid all these inconveniences. No traffic or struggles finding nearby parking. No need to schedule appointments or feel constrained by store operating hours.
And certainly, no hovering associates distracting your decision-making. Everything happens on your watch. You can explore engagement rings whenever and wherever it suits you best.
Even better, easily include your partner in the search process too thanks to the flexibility. Online shopping allows you both to engage comfortably around your own plans. Ultimately, the web convenience provides more joy and removes the disempowering friction stores create.
Wider Selection and Ability to See Different Ring Styles
Physical jewelry stores have limited display space, so they only showcase a small sample of their overall inventory at once. Walking in, expect to find the same old solitaires, halo styles, three stones, and other classics prominently presented. But venture into the case nooks and you might discover a random vintage piece here or there.
Shopping online unlocks the doors to a vast selection of trendy rings. Hundreds, if not thousands, of unique engagement ring styles become available at your fingertips. Options span a variety of eras and aesthetics, ranging from sparkly modern cuts with pave bands to Edwardian motifs and more.
Unlike local jewelers, online retailers don’t have to deal with the constraints of rotating only portions of the stock seasonally. They offer endless style options daily, and tools like filters make it easy to identify favorites. The same can’t be said for physical stores.
But scrolling online, diving into all the variety gets entertaining. Go down rabbit holes pursuing Art Deco designs one day and oval halo stunners the next without ever leaving home. Effortlessly save any styles catching your eye to revisit later.
Online stores even offer a superior experience when it comes to tailored solutions. You can leverage flexible design studios to create custom engagement rings. Choose your own diamond, shape, metal, and finish.
Match side stones to birth months, and add custom engraving.
Anything you can create becomes possible. The cost is lower compared to the premium charged at physical stores. So online or off, if variety and visionary design matter most, the web promises far richer creative selection.
Learn and Research Effectively to Make Informed Decisions
It’s not always easy to understand what you’re paying for when buying an engagement ring at a physical store. This is despite the best efforts of sales associates to explain diamond ring features. But the inability to retain the details is understandable, especially in the face of sparkling samples.
Online retailers take a different approach to educating customers. They offer extensive knowledge bases with guide videos, articles, lab reports, and more. Product pages even have links directing you to further resources.
You can leverage all this and more to learn as much as possible about gems, metals, and cuts. The idea is to make it easier to determine what styles and ring specifics suit your preferences.
It builds your knowledge while providing greater assurance about your purchase. You get to make an informed decision about your ring armed with facts.
Policies Make Shopping Low Pressure
One of the main concerns when shopping in-store is sales associates hovering nearby. This rushes your selection process, pressuring you to choose certain pieces. It’s distracting and often results in rushed engagement ring decisions.
Shopping online means you can steer the search without any hovering. Instead, retail sites have policies in place to ensure a low-stress environment when shopping.
Many offer home previews, allowing you to physically try on samples before committing. If the size, shape, or sparkle don’t meet your requirements, you simply return it. Some stores even offer prepaid return shipping labels for added convenience.
Other retailers have 30-day guarantees. This allows you to return your ring, no questions asked if something better catches your eye. It provides complete peace of mind when buying an engagement ring.
You can take all the time you need fine-tuning the possibilities without people hovering over your shoulders. And even after you find it, you still have the option to exchange it if desired without hassle.
You have complete control over the acquisition, which is important for such a life-changing purchase. The flexibility to change your mind means you don’t have to get stuck with something you don’t like.
Direct Cost Savings by Cutting Out Retail Markups
Everything in a jewelry store showroom looks luxurious – sparkling glass cases, sleek displays, and sharp employees. All these things come at a cost and retailers have to make up for it. As such, local stores jack up the price of engagement rings to recover their investment.
Online retailers bypass all these expenses because they deal directly with diamond dealers and designers. Without giant monthly bills to pay, they can offer lower prices for jewelry.
What does that actually mean for your budget?
Those dollars translate into potential carat boosts. An in-store $3,000 ring might scale up half a carat higher online for the same outlay. Or put cost cuts toward fancier designers like Verragio, Tacori, and Simon G versus no-name mall brands.
If status quo spending feels comfortable, apply the surplus savings to complement your purchase. Add diamond earrings as a gift for your future fiancé. Buy a jewelry protection plan for extra peace of mind. Or bank the money toward honeymoon upgrades. However allocated, keep thousands extra in your pocket buying online.
You can also save when it comes to custom engagement ring designs. This is because online retailers can offer tailored solutions without the same degree of markup as physical stores. With flexible design studios, you can personally customize every detail to your liking.
So, when sticker shock initially overwhelms your jewelry store visit, remember cheaper alternatives exist online. Get more, customize more, and pay less via online diamond dealers and designers passing manufacturing efficiencies directly onto you.
Shop Worry-Free With Reassuring Protection
Many people are hesitant to purchase online due to concerns about quality and authenticity. It’s hard to know without seeing it in person if the ring will match your expectations.
Thankfully, trustworthy online jewelry stores provide extra reassurance. They include official grading reports from independent gem testing labs with every order. These certifications verify all the key diamond quality factors like cut, color, clarity, and carat.
All you have to do is scan the document from authoritative grading institutions like GIA or AGS. This guarantees the credentials promoted on the website hold. It also gives you peace of mind knowing you get what you pay for.
Many retailers also allow no-questions-asked returns just in case you have any hesitations upon inspection. But armed with certification, you can be sure sparkle and quality shine as advertised.
So while buying something unseen online understandably raises some initial doubt, know protections exist in ring shopping! Official grading documents and lenient refund windows help ensure you get exactly what you pay for, with no surprises.
Shop Different Ring Styles at Barkev’s Today!
As you can see, there are many reasons why buying engagement rings online is better than buying them in a store. Online shopping offers convenience, wider selection, effective learning and research, low-pressure policies, cost savings, and reassuring protections.
If you are looking for the perfect ring for your partner, why not explore popular rings online and see what Barkev’s has to offer? You may be surprised by how easy and enjoyable online engagement ring shopping can be.
Shop our different ring styles today – we have something that’ll match your style and the event.