A recent report by IDEX Online shows that sales of fine jewelry and fine watches in the US were strong in February 2017, rising 6.2% year-on-year to an estimated $7.1 billion. February marked the “sixth consecutive monthly gain that has been well above more modest gains reported during the early months of 2016”, according to IDEX Online.
According to the report, “February sales reflect Valentine’s Day demand for jewelry”. February is “the third largest sales period in the U.S. market, after Christmas and Mother’s Day”. This was the sixth consecutive monthly gain that has been well above more modest gains reported during the early months of 2016.
Specialty jewelers, however, posted a 2.3% sales decline in February, while “multi-line merchants who sell jewelry generated an estimated 11.8% sales gain” year-on-year. This decline marks a deviation from the historically solid sales gains by specialty jewelers during the three key selling seasons during the year: Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, and Christmas / Holiday.
But in 2016, specialty jewelers took market share in only two of the three key jewelry sales periods: Valentine’s (February and March) and Christmas (November and December). In 2017, “specialty jewelers lost market share to multi-line merchants in the important Valentine’s selling period”. According to IDEX, “specialty jewelers are struggling while multi-line merchants are enjoying strong jewelry sales”.
During the same period, “fine jewelry sales were up about 6% in February, and fine watch sales rose by 6.2%”. While watch sales lagged behind jewelry sales for several months earlier in 2016, demand for them has picked up at the end of last summer. However, according to the analysis, “watch demand is typically muted for the Valentine’s selling period”.
As for the rest of 2017, IDEX keeps an optimistic outlook, saying that, in their estimation, jewelry sales in the US will gain “in the four percent range, year-over-year”.
Read the full analysis by IDEX Online here
