Canadian jewelry brand Mejuri has launched its app as well as the Mejuri+ membership program which it says is a first in the fine jewelry industry.
Mejuri’s aggressive retail expansion strategy will continue in tandem with the launch of the app and membership program, as five more stores are expected to open in the second half of this year – Miami, a second store in San Francisco, Nashville, a third store in Los Angeles, and a third store in London, England.
“It’s simple to turn a website into an app, but we didn’t want to do that,” said Majed Masad, Co-Founder and President of Mejuri. “Instead, we created a personalized app that provides product curations and recommendations and ultimately feels native to you and your phone.”
Mejuri was founded in 2015 by Masad and Noura Sakkijha. It has expanded to become a global brand with over 560 employees and 24 stores, two million customers, and celebrity fans, including Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Oprah Winfrey, and Billie Eilish.
“We’ve always really believed in the importance of an enhanced experience mobile app. With mobile, you can do a lot more. We wanted it to be really focused on the customer, personalization and things like that. Some elements of that you can bring into the web but I think mobile enables you to do a bit more than what you would want to do in web,” said Masad.
“It’s been on the roadmap for I would say we’ve talked about it for three years now. It never got prioritized because there were a lot of initiatives that we wanted to move forward from a web perspective first and then we felt when we’re ready we’re going to launch the app. Fifty per cent of our revenue comes from repeat customers which is a substantial percentage of revenue.
“So when you think of mobile and making it really focused on the customer and personalization and emphasis on lifetime value and how can we really guide the customer through the buying journey . . . and how can we help the customer grow within the brand, the mobile app was the perfect place for that.”
Masad said the retailer has always talked about traditional loyalty programs but it’s never been sold on it from a discount perspective.
“We wanted to make something that really resonates with our customer. We did a lot of customer research. We spoke to our customers. Really wanted to do a program that enables perks and get closer to our customer, know their birthday, we can send them a gift. We launched with free shipping on Tuesdays. Things like that,” he said. “We’ve really pushed the envelope on what membership can look like. It’s free. We want to make fine jewelry accessible and part of everyday wear. The membership program is really meant to complement that and keep us closer to our customers and even our prospects and bring them along the journey.
“So as you join as you become a member we also ask for your styling profile, what metal you’re most interested in, why, etc. so we can really accommodate the experience to your liking.”
Masad said the retailer is currently strategizing its next expansion moves.
“It’s premature to say exactly how many stores or where at this moment but we are still bullish on retail expansion. Our doors perform. As jewelry, ultimately our customers and community want to engage in it, see it, try it on. A lot of what we’re doing is also experiential jewelry like our piercing studios, styling appointments and things like that. And we do events in our stores,” he said.
“So we want to get closer to our customers, our community. It’s definitely a part of our strategy. We’re going to our third store in the UK. We’re talking about what potential could there be for international expansion beyond the UK. Canada and the U.S. are our primary markets. We’ll continue to expand in those markets first but potentially expanding beyond that.”
Since 2015, the brand said it has garnered a loyal community of two million customers and 1.2 million Instagram followers. Research has found that 25 per cent of those repeat customers return to buy in that same year.
The membership program will be free to join and members will receive exclusive perks such as priority sale access, exclusive product access, free shipping on certain days, a birthday treat and more. The first perk for members is a gift with purchase – a limited edition pair of Green Agate Hoop Earrings on their first order – while supplies last.
The Mejuri App will empower customers with a world of style at their fingertips. The app will provide access to latest collections, trends, and exclusive releases, providing a tailor-made shopping journey that is both convenient and delightful. In development, the Mejuri team conducted extensive research to evaluate the best in-class and luxury apps.
The retailer said 80 per cent of the brand’s site traffic comes from mobile, resulting in a 40 per cent increase in click-through rate YoY. In addition, since launching SMS in 2019, the brand has garnered 350,000 SMS subscribers.
To sign up for Mejuri+, customers can visit https://mejuri.com/member. The Mejuri App is available to download at The App Store, and will be launching on Android in the near future.
Masad said there are macro economic challenges currently impacting retailers with inflation having an impact on consumer confidence.
“Having said that, we still believe in what we’re doing in bringing value to the customer and bringing fine jewelry and making it part of everyday wear and ensuring that there’s a value to the customer ultimately,” he said. “We feel that segment of the market is pretty resilient and so we continue to focus on creating value for our customer in every product that we launch.”
