The results of the bridal study conducted by the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC) revealed some interesting marriage trends in light of the U.S. recession that remains firmly in place, www.diamonds.net reports. Most noteworthy, even though the sample size of the study was relatively small, with only 362 online participants, 25 percent said that the wedding plans had been postponed, either temporarily or indefinitely, due to the recession. An additional 3 percent cited non-economic reasons for postponed weddings.
JCOC also inquired specifically about the purchase of engagement and wedding rings. It was heartening to see that approximately 18 percent of the respondents were men, since so many surveys seem only to ask women these important purchasing questions. Those men and women who were not themselves getting married but who were directly involved with the wedding budget were asked to respond to questions about the budget for the rings. Of the 81 individuals who fit this category, 37 percent said they expected no change in the amount that would be spent on the jewelry due to the economic downturn. Seventeen percent responded that more would be spent on rings, 42 percent believed that the budget for the rings would be lowered and 4 percent said there was no plan to purchase rings.
JCOC counted 20 grooms in its survey. Sixty percent of the guys had not yet purchased an engagement ring, but 10 percent had chosen the ring to purchase later. Thirty-six percent of those grooms who had not yet purchased jewelry said that their budget for the rings will now be lower by 15 percent or more. Twenty-eight percent planned to spend more on rings, and 36 percent responded that they will spend about the same amount they intended to spend pre-recession. National jewelry stores, such as Zales, Kay, and Ben Bridge, topped grooms' choices for where to buy the enagement and wedding rings, with 43 percent selecting those stores. A local independent jewelry store was selected by 36 percent of the grooms, 7 percent selected the Internet, and another 7 percent planned to buy on the website of a chain retailer. Department stores did not register with grooms as a place to buy rings in JCOC's survey.
Of the 30 surveyed brides-to-be, 48 percent had lowered their budget for the rings due to the recession, with 23 percent telling JCOC that the budget would be lowered by 15 percent or more. The women skipped department stores for the purchase of the rings as well, but they were evenly split between buying rings at national chains or from local jewelers, which both received 29 percent of the vote. None of the brides selected the Internet as the place to buy an engagement ring or wedding rings; 3 percent, however, selected retail store websites as their choice to buy.
