A new article published on IDEX Magazine delves into the ways in which the Hispanic population in the United States has become a growing force in jewelry retail and trade.
According to the piece, Hispanics account for 25% or more “of all buying visits, in-store or online, in the jewelry, off-price and footwear specialty retail channels”.
When asked about the most popular jewelry-centered venues for buying jewelry, the most popular fine jewelry chain store was Kay Jewelers (32%). This was followed by Zale’s (30%), Gordon’s (14%), Piercing Pagoda (13%), and Helzberg Diamonds (11%).
According to a study carried out by Univision and the NPD Group, bilingual Hispanics spend 20% of their money online – “higher than for white Americans of European descents, who spend 17% of their dollars online, and non-Hispanics, who spend 16% online”. Hispanics send an average $72 per online visit – “higher than the total market of $68”.
According to the article, the jewelry trade in general has long neglected the Hispanic market, including educating the population about the basics. 41% of the respondents reported that they are “extremely unfamiliar” with the four C’s of diamonds, while only 18% said they were “somewhat” or “extremely familiar” with the concept. Many respondents said they buy their pieces – including bridal jewelry – at mass marketers (such as WalMart). As a consequence, the report claims, Hispanics “are not spending as much as they would if they knew more […] the diamond message is that the Hispanic consumer is not knowledgeable enough, so they are not comfortable buying and investing large amounts of money in this product category”.
Phil Lempert, from Nielsen, is quoted as saying that the way to connect with Hispanics “is to address them as young, passionate and family driven, since their growth rate is three times that of the US population overall. Two thirds of the Hispanic population is under 35 […] so their lifetime spending value makes them a target for marketers. Their collective buying power is expected to grow by more than $400 billion to around $1.5 trillion”.
