According to NRF’s 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, U.S. consumers will budget an average of $832.36 on holiday-related shopping, a mere 1,9% increase over last year’s $816.69, www.israelidiamond.co.il reported. This amount constitutes the lowest increase in planned consumer spending since the survey began in 2002.
Respondents to the survey agreed that one factor will play the biggest role in buying decisions this year - prices. According to the survey, 40% of the consumers said that sales or promotions are the most important factor when determining where to shop; another 12.6% noted that everyday low prices are most important.
NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin noted: “Retailers are going into this holiday season with their eyes wide open, knowing that savings and promotions will be the main incentive for shoppers. No one is canceling Christmas because money is tight, but consumers will be sticking to their budgets and looking for good deals when deciding where to spend this holiday season.”
This year, the average person will spend $466.13 on gifts for family, $94.52 on friends, $26.70 on co-workers, and $43.50 on other gifts. For the first time in the survey’s history, people say they plan to spend less on gifts for family members.
Like last year, gift cards will be the most requested gift during the upcoming holiday season, says the www.israelidiamond.co.il portal. According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, 54.9% of consumers would like to receive a gift card this holiday season, as compared to 53.8% last year. Gift cards will be the most requested gift this year, followed by books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games (50.0%) and clothing or accessories (49.8%).
De Beers, which earlier decided to cut its expenses for the pre-holiday advertising campaign, has changed its mind. Now they will double their expenses. De Beers external and corporate affairs director Stephen Lussier in an interview to www.jckonline.com explained the decision was based on the results of their October research on consumer habits. According to him, the good news for DTC is that diamond jewelry is the most desired product in the luxury sector, even more than electronics like flat screen TVs. However, according to www.jckonline.com, Emmy Kondo, Diamond Promotion Service’s planning director, noted that consumer research yielded the finding that diamond jewelry is the «most desired gift» for the holidays, more so than consumer electronics. “Women clearly want diamond jewelry but they think that maybe a flat screen TV is a more practical choice,” she said.
Kondo noted that research show that consumers want “fewer, better things,” www.jckonline.com says. How do you deal with the fact that you have less to spend? According to www.jckonline.com, 80% of women said they would prefer one good thing. Kondo says that 66 percent of women agree that diamond jewelry is a wonderful gift to hand down to the next generation. “Among luxury consumers, diamond jewelry is perceived to be safer than stocks, real estate, fine art,” she said. “It even came out ahead of cash in a safe deposit box.”
In view of this, De Beers plans to double its marketing budget this Christmas to its highest level ever—with a campaign built around the idea that “diamonds are the ultimate icon of enduring value,” says www.jckonline.com.
Claudia Rose, director of brand strategy at JWT, told that this approach was geared towards today’s jittery consumers. The new campaign’s print ads attempt to “have a conversation” with the reader, said Richard Lennox, group account director for the De Beers account at JWT. They have longer body copy, a “whiter” look and are topped with lines like “Two Things Last Longer Than Time. Love is One of Them.”
The ad campaign will feature studs, diamond solitaire necklaces, «journey» pieces, three-stone jewelry, and engagement rings—a “classic line-up,” Lennox said.
In addition, there will be a massive PR effort, including a segment on the “Today” show, a diamond giveaway on “The View,” and in-person appearances by DIC personnel on local TV stations throughout the country, according to Diamond Information Center director Sally Morrison. “The idea is not just to make as much diamond noise as possible, but follow the footprint of the advertising campaign,” Morrison said.
Following the DTC’s presentation of the impressive and doubled generic advertising campaign for the US market, I thought I would see for myself what the luxury brands were doing to promote and defend their own very important segment, says Mark Boston of H.Goldie & Co LTD in his blog at hgoldie.blogspot.com.
I went into my local newsagent and purchased the Christmas issues of 3 leading UK ‘glossies’ Vogue (UK edition), Bazaar and Tatler. I am pleased to report that both publishers and advertisers are doing a terrific job of promoting diamond jewellery in particular and the diamond dream is very much alive in sparkling, imaginative diamond features and luxury brand advertising (as enticing and seductive as lingerie ads) featuring a range of creative diamond jewellery designs of unsurpassed beauty and variety.
Yes, there are of course some precious stones and a pearl or two amongst the overwhelming quantity of diamonds but, as we all know, a precious stone can often be a diamond’s best friend.
Let’s get one thing absolutely clear, Mark Boston writes, if the consumer does not buy this season it will certainly not be for any lack of choice of differentiated and beautiful products and imagery and hopefully the luxury brand segment will be supported by the DTC’s generic campaign, providing a rationale in tune with the current ‘zeitgeist’, as David Lamb said it’s all about the enduring quality of diamonds and love.
I think where the DTC’s advertising may well connect with the consumer is that by giving diamond jewellery in tough times to loved ones (or even your wife!), the message is that you want all to be right within her world, even if the rest of world is in a bit of a mess at present.
