Articles and News

Merrick, NY—For the third straight week, respondents to the Centurion spot-check survey of holiday sales are reporting major gains over last year. Once again, the overwhelming majority of respondents (37.93%) are reporting gains of 10% or more for the week of December 8-14. In total, two-thirds of respondents have seen gains over the same period last year. 10.34% said their sales for last week were about even with 2013 figures for the same timeframe, and slightly under one fourth (21.14%) have witnessed a decline in sales.

In Week Three, diamonds (of any kind) are the best-selling item among respondents. 46% reported this category as their strongest seller. But brands were very close behind: 34% of respondents said branded jewelry was their leading category. Key brands cited were Hearts On Fire, Simon G., Vahan, Alex Sepkus, Elizabeth Locke, Roberto Coin, John Hardy, Forevermark, Le Vian, Alex & Ani, and Pandora. Rolex, of course, also continues to be a popular holiday item at luxury jewelry stores: 15% of jewelers cited the watches among their top sellers.

Price-wise, so far the sweet spot is between $1,500 and $3,000, with the majority of jewelers reporting this as their best-selling category. But low-price treats also remain popular: the second best selling category for jewelers was less than $500, with fashion items like Alex and Ani and Pandora leading the way, and other affordable low-priced silver items also making a strong showing.

How were your sales for the week of December 8-14, compared with the same time period last year?

Top image: Artfire.com