(IDEX Online) - Signet enjoyed a 61 per cent surge in e-commerce over the holiday season.Total sales for the nine-week period in 2020 were $1.8bn, the same as the previous year, according to its preliminary trading update.The emphasis is shifting from bricks and mortar, with the closure of 355 stores in lower-traffic shopping malls and the expansion of online channels as an alternative.Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, said the introduction of Buy Online Pick-up In-Store last October was a key driver of its e-commerce success, as well as its Ship from Store initiative.It also said that increasing its e-commerce fulfillment capacity to five times as much as 2019 had enabled it to deliver more than 98 per cent of orders in North America on time. "Our results were driven by new digital and fulfillment capabilities, increasingly personalized and insight-based marketing, banner portfolio differentiation, and a strong merchandising strategy that included competitive newness and a strengthened core assortment," said CEO Virginia Drosos.Signet currently operates 2,866 stores under the name brands of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, and JamesAllen.com.Pic shows a Jared store