• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, May 8, 2023

As the circular economy keeps expanding, even mainstream jewelers are jumping in. Zales is rolling out a jewelry rental offer in select stores in partnership with Rocksbox, the jewelry rental platform.

Signet Jewelers Limited, which owns retail brands like Zales, Jared, Blue Nile and Piercing Pagoda, acquired Rocksbox in 2021. The online platform offers monthly subscriptions, renting customers three pieces of jewelry for $21 monthly.

The Zales X Rocksbox offer is substantially more high-end, targeting weddings and special occasions. Rental styles start as low as $100. But for $1,000, customers can rent a $10,000 9-carat lab-created diamond bracelet set in white gold -- or, for $650, a 4-carat pear-shaped lab-created diamond in a pendant.

And unlike Rocksbox, these rentals require an in-store pickup, currently available in 28 locations. Zales reportedly plans to roll the offer out to more locations throughout the summer.

A company spokesperson tells Marketing Daily that Zales is promoting the offer with emails to targeted customers, which steer them toward a dedicated landing page where they can browse offers, styles and collections. “We’re hoping all customers love this new way to engage with Zales,” she says.

Signet’s most recent quarterly financial results topped analysts’ forecasts, offering a rosier view of the year ahead of expectations.

The Hamilton, Bermuda-based company reported sales of $2.7 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, down 5.2%, or 4.3%in constant currency. Same-store sales fell 9.1%. Operating income fell to $369.5 million from $402.4 million in the same period last year.

The company has pronounced the year ahead as one of marketing transformation for all its brands.

“Marketing has been a competitive advantage for Signet for some time given our scale and ability to build national brand recognition, coupled with a local marketing spend,” said Gina Drosos, chief executive officer, in a call webcast for investors.

With new technology coming online, “our marketing will be increasingly personalized. This advanced data-based and localized approach is important because we are seeing as much as a 40% increase in marketing efficiency.”