Adding a Personal Touch: How Isaac Mayer Fine Jewelry Elevates the Customer Experience

The Isaac Mayer Fine Jewelry showroom is nestled in the bustling shopping district of downtown Montreal. Located next to department stores and shopping malls that stretch for blocks, this established jewelry store is a rare gem. 

Founder Isaac Mayer personally chooses every stone and works with clients to offer an experience that’s impossible to replicate. A third-generation jeweller, Mayer grew up in the industry but ventured out on his own at 19 years old. Fast forward 15 years, he’s busy crafting dream-worthy pieces for once-in-a-lifetime moments. 

Isaac Mayer Fine Jewelry has been putting care and creativity into every piece since 2008. Mayer is especially passionate about bridal—expertise highly-sought after when the COVID-19 pandemic saw a notable rise in engagements. Thankfully, Mayer had already entered the new era of commerce and was taking orders through his web shop and corresponding with customers on his social media platforms. 

Busier than ever, Mayer took some time to chat with us about growing his business, preparing for the holiday season and being at the center of so many special moments. 

Tell me about your business and what makes it unique? 

I like to say that we’re fine jewelry you could easily buy online.

The beauty with us is that everything’s done in-house. I have my jeweler, my designer and my diamond setter on hand which cuts down production time. For example, making engagement rings typically takes two to three weeks, but if you call and say you’re proposing tonight and need a ring in two hours, I can also do that. Almost nobody offers that in Montreal. If you’re much bigger and have a manufacturer or are a wholesaler then you might be able to do it, but for someone of my size, it’s rare. 

Also, customer service is very important to me. I’ll redo a ring several times at no extra cost just to make sure that our customers are happy with the end result. I always ask for reviews which are 100% honest from beginning to end. Excellent service is what we stand for and it’s been working for us. 

You mention that your business is fine jewelry that’s accessible online. How have you seen your customers take to this omnichannel way of selling? 

It’s been great—our website has been doing amazing. Three months ago we doubled our numbers from last year so we’re super happy with that—and that’s only online. Despite this, I still consider myself new to the online world. We’re growing, but I still want to sharpen it. 

Also, I always have a thought in the back of my mind to eventually open a flagship in Toronto, ON, but that won’t happen for the next three to five years I’d say. We’re thinking of growing and of how to scale the business, but I want to grow in a healthy way. 

It’s clear that your business has been especially successful online. What role does social media play in attracting new customers? 

We started on social media about five years ago. Thanks to these platforms, more and more people see my work. We have customers from Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton—people from all over Canada—emailing and calling us. 

Because I’m a third generation jeweler, I thought everything had to be in-store—that’s what my family and I are used to—but social media definitely proved that wrong.  

With the holidays right around the corner, what are you doing to prepare for one of the busiest retail seasons of the year? 

This year, we’ve actually started holding stock. Before, we’d have one of each piece and now, I make sure I have lots of sizes and pieces in stock at all times so we can ship quickly. We’re also preparing new merchandise—creating new designs and new pieces all the time.

As busy as we get in the store with last minute shoppers, we can still adjust everything on the spot. This flexibility has always helped us during the holiday season.

Was there anything you learned from last year’s holiday rush and you’re doing differently this year?  

This year, we’re starting a Christmas campaign featuring our new shipping boxes. It’s a new personalized box as opposed to a regular mailer. They’re sleek from the outside with the whole kit inside. I worked on it for the past seven months and put a lot of thought into the design. We also have our brand new bags with our logo on both sides. They’re beautiful and our customers can feel good walking around with them.

I have to ask—during the pandemic there was such a big increase in couples getting engaged. Have you seen any change in your business during this time?

We’ve been much busier with engagement rings during the pandemic. We’ve been doing probably seven to 10 engagements per week and now, as gatherings are opening back up and couples are having smaller events, wedding bands are also very much in demand. 

I see that you share many of your customer’s engagement stories on your social media. What’s it like to be a part of those special moments? 

I have a very personal relationship with my customers. When I see someone getting engaged, it’s a happiness like no other—and again, it’s not about the profit. I don’t even think about that. It’s knowing that my rings are out there and people are happy. 

A customer texted me this morning and he wanted to make sure his rings were in our Isaac Mayer box. It makes me so happy knowing that people are following the brand. It’s a good feeling and something I never thought I would have, to be honest. 

Recently, I was at a wedding and the bands came from me. When I saw the ring bearer walk down the aisle, I could see my box in his hand. It was a Jewish wedding, so the rabbi asked if the groom knew the wedding bands were real gold and everybody started laughing because I was in the room, so he turned around and pointed to me and said, ‘Yes, don’t worry, he’s the one who did it.’ There’s no better feeling.

Using technology to power human connection 

The right technology never gets in the way of dedicated, personalized service—instead, it can elevate the customer experience and help create unforgettable moments. 

That’s why Mayer has been using Lightspeed Retail to power these special moments in his showroom since 2018. With a sleek and modern interface, the one-stop commerce platform fits right in with this trend-forward brand.

Are you ready to take your retail business to the next level with Lightspeed’s one-stop commerce platform? Talk to one of our experts to see how you can get started.