Social Distancing Is Improving Your Shopping Experience (1)

Before Covid-19, visitors to Jared The Galleria of Jewelry browsed glass cases of engagement rings and diamond earrings and paid at a pin pad. But now this routine—culminating in the furious printing of a receipt—has been turned upside down.

And it’s likely to stay that way.

With two-thirds of its 3,000 locations shuttered, Signet Jewelers, owner of the Jared brand and other chains, has sold thousands of pieces a day via a new feature: video calls. After browsing online with a sales rep and paying, the shopper drives to a nearby store. A gloved and masked emploƒyee makes the delivery, and maybe something extra—a few weeks ago, a dozen roses were included and the ...