Over the past few years, e-commerce has reshaped shopping habits, with physical stores taking on a different role on the high street as brands look to draw customers in. There have been some brands that have taken to this challenge like ducks to water, offering consumers experiences that are worth coming in-store for. For example, originally online-only sportswear brand, Gymshark’s expansion into cities including London, New York and Dubai has seen shops that host workouts, athlete appearances and community-led events, with customers moving between retail and participation in the same space. Its Regent Street flagship has become a focal point for the brand, regularly drawing queues for collection launches and in-store sessions that run alongside the core retail offer.
That approach is translating into sales growth, with the brand reporting revenues of £646m in its most recent results, continuing a run of year-on-year increases as it expands its physical presence. Lululemon has long done something similar, running classes from its stores and building local communities around them, with its store network contributing to consistent global growth. In both cases, physical retail sites are used to bring customers into the brand in a way that creates repeat visits and ongoing engagement. This is a trajectory that jewellery brands have also begun to follow.
Rather than expanding square footage, the jewellery stores have been adapted to accommodate chairs and consultation areas alongside product displays, allowing the same space to support both service and retail.
Founded in 2008, Monica Vinader built its position on high-quality jewellery at accessible price points. For much of that time, its stores were centred on display, browsing and a single purchase, but in the early 2020s, and particularly in the period following the pandemic, it introduced piercing into its growing physical retail presence. Sebastian Picardo, CEO of Monica Vinader told us: “We’re now seeing piercing services as a natural extension of the jewellery category. It has moved from being rooted in function to being something that is rooted in styling and self-expression.”
Monica Vinader is not the only jewellery brand to expand in this way. Astrid & Miyu, which now operates around 40 stores across the UK, introduced piercing services in the late-2010s and has seen revenue grow from £12.7 million in 2021 to £34 million in 2023, with a projection of roughly 50% growth in 2025. Further afield, Mejuri, which operates more than 60 stores globally and continues to open new locations, including 25 new sites in 2025, has had a similar trajectory. Growth began in earnest in 2021, and 2026 is predicted to see a further rise in revenue.
The success of these stores works in tandem with their ability to operate within a relatively small footprint, which becomes increasingly important as rents rise. According to Savills, prime retail rent in central London has increased by around 10 to 15% between 2021 and 2024 whilst the Centre for Retail Research reported more than 6,000 store closures across the UK in 2020 alone. Vacancy rates have remained at around one in seven ever since, above pre-pandemic levels. Rather than expanding square footage, the jewellery stores have been adapted to accommodate chairs and consultation areas alongside product displays, allowing the same space to support both service and retail.
However, the positioning of piercing in this context is different to traditional operators. In many tattoo studios, the service carries the majority of the cost, with jewellery priced more accessibly. Here, piercing is offered at an accessible price point, often with multiple piercings available in a single appointment, while the jewellery carries the higher value. At Monica Vinader, for example, you can book in for three piercings for £20, but the pieces in the piercing range which have to be used typically sit between around £30 and £150. Astrid & Miyu is the same, charging £20 for three piercings and offering a piercing range that sits between £50 and £330.
In-store, the process is structured around consultation. Customers sit with a piercer to map out placements, considering how multiple piercings will sit across the ear before anything is done. That interaction changes the role the brand plays. Decisions are made with input from someone trained to carry out the procedure, with placement agreed before the piercing takes place. It is a different level of involvement, one that requires a degree of trust that traditional jewellery retail has not needed to establish.
As Sebastian explains, “The piercing services, whether in our stores in Manchester, Edinburgh or our shop in Selfridges in London, help us provide a much deeper personal experience that in turn helps build a relationship with the customer beyond the product that we offer.
“We’re seeing customers really resonate with this idea of expressing themselves in different ways, whether that’s curated ear stacking, choosing multiple piercings in one sitting, or opting for permanent jewellery like our welded 14k solid gold bracelets.”
Customers are returning to build on existing piercings, layering combinations over time. “The category is extremely strong for self-expression,” Sebastian says, “and is becoming increasingly fluid. It’s resonating with a broader audience, including male customers, which we’re continuing to lean into.” The introduction of the Monica Vinader men’s edit, featuring rings and bracelets, has been particularly successful, reflecting growing interest from a more diverse customer base in purchasing jewellery.
“We’re seeing customers really resonate with this idea of expressing themselves in different ways, whether that’s curated ear stacking, choosing multiple piercings in one sitting, or opting for permanent jewellery like our welded 14k solid gold bracelets.” – Sebastian Picardo, CEO, Monica Vinader
Online has been positioned as somewhere customers can explore styles, placements and combinations before visiting a store, in the same way as one might look at the menu before going to a restaurant. “We think of online as an inspiration channel,” Sebastian explains, “a place where you start your discovery journey.” The decision is made in-store, where placement is agreed and the piercing carried out.
In jewellery, piercing has become the mechanism through which brands are able to attract customers into the store for a defined interaction, but the real value sits in how that interaction extends beyond a single visit. What begins as an appointment often leads to multiple purchases, further visits and an evolving relationship with the brand. In a market where space is under pressure and attention is harder to secure, that ability to generate repeat, high-value engagement within the same four walls is where growth lives.
