A new W magazine study says luxury consumers are increasingly spending more on jewelry and watches, especially by known brands and on classic pieces, israelidiamond.co.il says.
According to the National Jeweler, the study found that 91% of the affluent consumers surveyed said they cut back on discretionary spending during the economic downturn, but the dynamic changed during the 2009 holidays season, when jewelry and watches made a strong comeback and grew by 5.6%.
The W study, added the report, also found that 80% of consumers surveyed said they plan to buy fine jewelry in the coming year, and that they'll buy an average of four pieces. In the past year, the affluent consumers spent an average of $5,758 on jewelry and $4,841 on watches.
The study further indicated a 17-point improvement in consumer attitudes toward spending, as 46% said they intended to return to their prior spending levels on jewelry. Other indicator suggested that affluent consumers' perception of jewelry and watches as a good investments increased – 60% of participants agreed with the statement – up 12 points.
As for brands, 85% of those polled said they prefer to buy fine jewelry from a luxury brand or known designers; 81% said it was important to them that for a watch to be "timeless and classic," while 51% said they intend to buy jewelry that is "traditionally styled/classic" in the next year.
Some 66% said a watch's "uniqueness," would motivate their buy, 59% cited a special occasion, 53% named value as their motivator and 47% said their buy would be motivated by a discount.
UK gold jewelry sales added 3% in dollar terms in 2009, Professional Jeweler quoted a Gold Demand Trends report, israelidiamond.co.il informs.
World-wide gold jewelry sales slumped by 10% during the financial downturn, with the worst affected regions being the Middle East (-19%), Russia (-29%) and Thailand (-51%).
Gold jewelry sales in Britain at the same time dropped in terms of weight – tonnage sales fell 15% – but still fared slightly better than worldwide tonnage sales, which slumped by 20%.
Global dollar-spending on gold in 2009 remained above $100 billion, despite falling sales volumes caused by the world recession. The price of gold averaged $972.35/oz in 2009 – 12% higher than in 2008, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report.
“2009 was a year which provided a clear illustration of the diversity inherent in the global gold market. As the year progressed a rebalancing of gold market fundamentals occurred, ensuring that as investment demand came off from the exceptional levels seen in the first quarter, total demand for the year remained robust thanks to a rebound in jewelry and industrial demand,” Professional Jeweler quoted Aram Shishmanian, CEO of World Gold Council as saying.
“Gold’s broad demand and supply drivers provide a unique balance in the face of economic volatility and uncertainty. This ensures gold retains its intrinsic appeal irrespective of the prevailing market conditions,” he added.
U.S. consumer confidence remained poor in February as the employment outlook offered no immediate hope of an economic recovery, according to Rapaport. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® declined sharply in February to 46 points, down from 56.5 in January.
The Conference Board's Present Situation Index decreased to 19.4 points in February, compared with 22.3 points one year ago, while the Expectations Index rose to 63.8 from 27.3 points one year ago.
Lynn Franco, the director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said, "Consumer confidence, which had been improving over the past few months, declined sharply in February. Concerns about current business conditions and the job market pushed the Present Situation Index down to its lowest level in 27 years.
"Consumers' short-term outlook also took a turn for the worse, with fewer consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions and the job market over the next six months," Franco continued. "Consumers also remain extremely pessimistic about their income prospects. This combination of earnings and job anxieties is likely to continue to curb spending."
