Study: Entertainment, travel, home improvement could squeeze holiday jewelry sales

Paso Robles, Calif.—Jewelers will find fierce competition for consumer dollars this holiday season, according to a new study from the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC).

The survey, conducted between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4, found that half of the 2,792 respondents plan to spend up to $300 on holiday entertaining this year, while another quarter have earmarked $1,000 or more. Over a quarter said travel is in their holiday plans, while another quarter put home improvement on their holiday to-do list. Of these, 66 percent plan to spend more than $500.

Despite these results, the survey also found that jewelers have an opportunity to win a good share of holiday discretionary dollars this year. According to the JCOC, interest in purchasing fine jewelry and watches is up 21 percent compared with last year, with over a quarter of respondents planning to purchase these items for the holidays. Almost three quarters intend to spend between $100 and $1,000 on jewelry, and almost a third expect to spend more on the category this year.

With opportunities for strong holiday sales, Elizabeth Chatelain, president of MVI Marketing, encouraged jewelers to flex their marketing muscle this year. She said niche markets such as men, youth and female self-purchasers were overlooked as add-on sales during the holidays last year. She also noted that the peak sales period is from Black Friday through the second week of December.

To learn more about the study, visit www.jcoc.info.