The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) released the results of a new study by CXG, a leader in the luxury consumer insights space, verifying that natural diamond education at the retail point of sale is critical to sales conversion. NDC will launch a new Education Partner Program on 3rd April, 2023, to provide retailers and sales professionals with educational tools to increase sales.

The CXG study found that 93% of customers were more likely to purchase natural diamond jewellery when they felt sufficiently educated by a sales advisor. The research, conducted across national, regional, and exclusive retailers, evaluated 116 stores between December 2022 and January 2023.

CXG's analysis showed that 64% of customers did not find significant differences in in-store merchandising presentations of natural diamond jewellery compared to lab-grown diamond jewellery. Furthermore, 40% of customer interactions did not include proactive natural diamond education from sales advisors, which directly impacted sales conversion. The study also found that only 6% of respondents cited interactions with sales advisors that included ethical considerations, provenance, and traceability of natural diamonds to influence purchases.

To address gaps, the NDC's Education Partner Program offers a comprehensive curriculum of natural diamond insights through a digital library for retailers. The program includes six interactive learning modules covering topics such as the history of natural diamonds, their allure, commitment to sustainability, differences between natural and lab-grown diamonds, and fancy coloured diamonds. A new module focused on dispelling myths and misconceptions around diamonds will be launched in late spring.