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Consumers' Taste for High-End Jewelry Grew in 2006

New Unity Marketing study finds that jewelry consumers traded-up to higher-end styles and more expensive designs in 2006

Stevens, PA September 4, 2007 -- For jewelry and watch shoppers in 2006, there was nothing like the 'real thing.' According to new research by Unity Marketing, consumers traded up to more luxurious jewelry and watch choices -- and the more luxurious the better.
In 2006 American consumers spent $62.2 billion buying jewelry and watches, posting a dramatic 6.5 percent increase over sales in 2005 of $58.4 billion. But it was the luxury end of the jewelry market that experienced the strongest growth last year with sales of fine watches rising 39 percent and fine jewelry up 10 percent.

By contrast the fashion or costume segment in the jewelry market declined by 8 percent and sales of costume watches were off by 20 percent, according to the latest statistics on the jewelry and watch market reported by Unity Marketing in a new market research study.

"The jewelry market went even more luxurious in 2006," said Pam Danziger president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience. "Jewelry shoppers moved more up-market in 2006, choosing to buy fine jewelry and watches more frequently, rather than their cheaper costume counterparts. With their eye on more expensive designs, they turned more often to specialty jewelry stores where they got expert advice which boosted their confidence to spend the substantial amounts they did for their purchases."

Latest Trends in the Consumer Market for Jewelry and Watches

The shift in the jewelry consumer market toward more luxury is one of a number of important new trends discovered in the latest survey among 750 recent jewelry and watch consumers conducted by Unity Marketing. Other trends uncovered in the new study include:

The men's jewelry market came into its own in 2006 and is no longer an after-thought.
Jewelry stores came surging back after losing share for several years.
Demand for gemstone jewelry exploded, especially for colored semi-precious stones and diamonds.
The market for fine watches grew dramatically in 2006, but the future looks less certain as younger consumers reject watches as a status symbol.

New Consumer Insights about Jewelry and Watch Shoppers, What They Bought and Where They Shopped

Unity Marketing has completed a new study of the jewelry consumer market based upon in-depth qualitative focus group research and a quantitative research study of recent jewelry buyers' shopping preferences, behaviors and attitudes. Demographics of the jewelry consumers surveyed are: average income $74,400, in line with the national average income of $72,906 among U.S. households aged 65 and under; average age 41.6 years; and gender split 60 percent female/40 percent male. Results of this latest survey are compared with a similar survey conducted in 2004.

This research study includes research data and statistics about:

Jewelry Market Size and Growth: What is the size of the jewelry market and how rapidly is it growing? How is the jewelry and watch market segmented by the type of jewelry product and material of composition?
Demographics of the Jewelry Market: What kinds of households buy jewelry and how do different demographic characteristics impact and influence jewelry buying behavior, (e.g.: HHI, size, composition, ethnicity/race, education, etc.); what are the different demographic segments within the jewelry market? How similar or different are households/consumers who purchase jewelry for personal use and for gifting.
Jewelry Buying Behavior: What are the primary characteristics of the consumers' buying behavior related to jewelry and why they buy, e.g. for self or for gift? Where do they shop for jewelry; how do they decide to purchase one piece vs. another; how do they set a budget for jewelry buying; what is the role of brand in jewelry buying behavior; how much do they purchase and how much do they spend on key categories of jewelry. How do men and women differ in their jewelry shopping and buying behavior?
Psychographic Profile and Segmentation of the Jewelry Market: The psychographic profile of jewelry consumers will reveal their different drives and motivations in purchasing jewelry; what factors are more or less important in driving jewelry purchasing decisions; how can jewelry marketers and retailers better understand the hearts and minds of their consumers. In essence, we will discover "why people buy jewelry."

Specific Jewelry and Watch Data Included

This study examines both the fine and costume jewelry market segments, as well as the preferences and behaviors of gift buyers and jewelry self-purchasers. It provides details about jewelry choices and spending in these major categories of jewelry:

Fine women's jewelry
Fine men's jewelry
Women's costume jewelry
Men's costume jewelry
Fine watches, including men's and women's
Costume watches, including men's and women's

For the fine jewelry category, detail data is also included about metal of composition, such as fine gold, platinum, sterling silver; and gemstones, such as diamonds, precious gemstones, such as rubies, emeralds, etc., pearls, and semi-precious stones, such as amethyst, topaz, etc.

It explores what type of jewelry is bought within each category, such as necklaces, earring, bracelet, brooches and pins and how much shoppers spend on specific items of jewelry. Through the level of purchase detailed analyzed, marketers and retailers can discover the typical pricing parameters for each type of jewelry based upon what the typical jewelry buyer spends.

Jewelry Shoppers and Their Shopping Preferences Are Also Examined

Details about different types of jewelry shoppers are included, with special emphasis on the differing motivations and buying behavior of men and women, as well as gift buyers as compared with self-purchasers.

The study is of great value to jewelry retailers, both those that already compete in the category and those that want to grow their share of the market. It reveals the stores where jewelry consumers prefer to shop, including the top ten jewelry retailers, as well as the nation's leading jewelry retailers in these categories:

Department stores

Discount stores

Chain jewelry stores

Fashion clothing stores

Non-stores, including mail order, television and internet

The report reveals why shoppers choose the stores that they do to shop for jewelry. It explores many strategies for retailers to capture greater share of the jewelry shoppers' wallet.

This important new research study is an investment in the future of jewelry marketers and retailers. It provides data and insight so that jewelry marketers and retailers can maximize their opportunities in the jewelry market today, as well as to plan for their future.

Special Features in Jewelry Report, 2007

Included in this report are:

Brand preferences in both jewelry brands and watch brands.
Profile of the affluent, luxury consumer market for jewelry and watches, including the luxury jewelry and watch brands that luxury consumers favor.
Powerful guidance on pricing for retailers and marketers, including the popular price points for different jewelry items based upon research findings of what the majority of consumers paid when they made their latest purchases.
13 research-based Business Building Tactics to help jewelry marketers and retailers grow a more vibrant business.
7 Major Marketing Opportunities that will mean greater success for jewelry companies and retailers that develop strategies to take advantage of these emerging opportunities.

For Media: Charts, tables and graphs are available upon request.

About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing
Pamela N. Danziger is an internationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights, especially for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences to the masses or the �classes.� She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992.

Advising such clients as PPR, Diageo, Stearns & Foster, Waterford/Wedgwood, Lenox, Prudential Fine Homes, Ritz Carlton, Orient-Express Hotels, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate and master the changing luxury consumer marketplace.

In recognition of her ground-breaking work in the luxury consumer market, Pam received the Global Luxury Award presented by Harper�s Bazaar for top luxury industry achievers in 2007.

Her latest book is Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, published by Kaplan Publishing in October 2006. Her other books include Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses�as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) and Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).

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