Cracking Chinese Puzzle the Challenge for Luxury Retailers

(idexonline.com) - Russian mining giant ALROSA this week released details of research into diamond jewelry consumers in the US and China. The main conclusions? Consumers in both countries are interested in buying diamond jewelry, are planning to buy it in the future, and purchase jewelry for themselves much more often than as a gift to others. I was somewhat surprised to read that 86% of Chinese respondents, but only 59% of respondents in the USA, plan to buy at least one piece of diamond jewelry next year. Given that the USA is the world's largest consumer market of diamond jewelry, and despite taking into account that China is a fast growing market, one might have expected the figures to be the other way around. The research was conducted last Fall among a total of more than 4,000 men and women from the USA and China aged 25 to 55 years, with average or above average income, who bought or received diamond jewelry as a gift within the last 12 months people. Diamond jewelry buyers are not only loyal consumers thinking a diamond is a good acquisition for themselves, but they are also ready to share this opinion with their friends. According to the research, about 34% of respondents in China and 37% of those interviewed in the USA say that if their friends sought their advice on a present to a loved one, they would recommend diamond jewelry as a gift.