Results: Learnings and Insights Gained

The information gained from the variety of research methods employed did in fact paint a very rich, comprehensive picture of the journey toward engagement. The research resulted in great depth and breadth of information about the various steps of ring purchase—the research conducted and knowledge gained on diamond rings, the stores and sites visited, the rings purchased—as well as a view of the journey’s emotional impacts.

As we learned during this case study, the shopping process for a diamond engagement ring is often viewed as an emotional or “sentimental” journey, and one that results in a story that becomes part of the couple’s history. Even before the story exists, couples anticipate that it will be part of their shared history as presented to others, much as a couple may expect a few funny anecdotes from their first meeting and their wedding ceremony to become part of the personal history they pass along. Thus there’s a need for the story of the engagement ring shopping process to be a good story, something that’s worthy of sharing with friends, relatives, and even future children. This need for creation of a unique shared history is strong but often unspoken—it isn’t openly recognized. And this need for sentimentality can greatly affect where someone will research and shop for the diamond ring; that is, the location and experience should ideally pass muster with the friends, relatives and children who will be sharing in the engagement story.

If the intended fiancée is involved in ring shopping, this may have some bearing on which shopping method is ultimately used: on-line or in-store. A woman’s strong desire for a good engagement story—one that her family and friends will be delighted by, not disappointed in—may drive the man to purchase in-store to attain the more personal experience. Alternatively, a woman who places value on individuality or exclusivity may find appeal in a unique or customized ring. An intended fiancée with such values may be more open to ring purchase on-line. Even if the woman doesn’t know about the ring shopping in advance, the male shopper often has a good idea of what she may or may not be comfortable with in terms of her engagement story, and he will shop accordingly.

In addition to insight on diamond ring shopping as a sentimental journey, we explored the unique needs of in-store and on-line diamond ring shoppers. As the research showed, these communities are two different breeds altogether in terms of their approach to and expectations around ring shopping.

• Those who prefer to shop and buy in-store have strong desires for an in-person experience, interacting face to face with a salesperson or diamond expert and interacting directly with the rings. These shoppers want to have conversations with experts to build trust and rapport. They want to feel good about whom and where they’re buying from. These shoppers also want to touch and feel the rings, to see the diamonds sparkle in the light, all to get a better mental picture of what the rings will look like when worn by the soon-to-be fiancée. The journey here focuses on having a more “personal” experience. The lack of personalized service and ability to see and touch the merchandise make on-line shopping a less desirable or even unacceptable path for these shoppers.
• On-line shoppers are drawn to the lower pressure of self-guided research and shopping (as compared to envisioned high-pressure sales in a store setting), along with the assumed larger variety of diamonds and settings available. These shoppers tend to dislike in-person interaction with salespeople, viewing it as overbearing and high-pressure. The journey here focuses on control—selecting the right ring at the right price via self-directed shopping, with the shoppers controlling their entire journey.

Knowing the unique preferences and aversions of each community, a company involved in ring selection and sales may develop a store presence and supporting ring shopping materials and services that cater to one community or the other.

Implications

This case study highlights ways in which unique benefits can be gained from traditional market research and ethnographic methods, leading to insights such as those detailed here. The market research components of this study provided both a way to introduce a sensitive research topic to participants in a non-threatening manner, and a way to capture information in a consistent, comparable fashion for high-level analysis. The ethnographic and participatory design components of this study provided rich information on the participants—delving into their hopes, fears, successes, failures, aspirations and many other emotionally-charged topics.

Additionally, the blended approach was effective in introducing ethnographic methods to some client stakeholders more familiar and comfortable with traditional market research methods. While a pure ethnographic approach for this research may have been rejected due to a lack of comfort from all stakeholders, this blended approach was embraced readily. As the project was ultimately deemed successful in terms of insights gained, this may well open the doors to future opportunities for ethnographic research among these client stakeholders, including the possibility of pure ethnographic approaches when they are merited.

For a project focused on a deeply personal, societally-influenced and life-changing journey such as diamond engagement ring shopping, we feel that a blended research approach that draws from both traditional and ethnographic techniques will prove highly successful. From the client perspective, the insights derived from such a blended project allowed greater understanding into this life journey and highlighted ways in which the client might best support the various steps in that journey for current and potential customers. Any company involved in new product development, purchase channel or service development could benefit from such an approach if the product or service in question engages the emotions in a similar way. We look forward to the successful employment of such blended approaches in the future as we continue to support clients in researching the ever-growing technology sector.

Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings 2006, pp. 41–48. © American Anthropological Association, some rights reserved.