Articles and News
Expert Says Women Buy Lots Of Jewelry For Themselves; Online Is Best To Reach Them | March 23, 2016 (0 comments)
New York, NY—Take a cue from the Eurythmics. Great women are no longer hiding behind great men; the sisters are doin’ it for themselves.
And when it comes to jewelry, they’re also buying it for themselves. Hitha Herzog, chief research officer of H Squared Research, investigative reporter and author of Black Market Billions, says women self-purchasers are the greatest opportunity the industry has to sell more jewelry.
“Women control $20 trillion in consumer spending globally,” said Herzog, speaking at the In The Know conference sponsored by the Women’s Jewelry Association earlier this month. High-net-worth women account for 39% of top earners, there are 2.5 million women with combined assets of $4.2 trillion; and more than 1.3 million women professionals are earning more than $100,000 annually, she said. Additionally, 43% of Americans with assets over $500,000 are female.
“Who are they?” she asked. Mainly Baby Boomers. “The transfer of wealth to Boomer women is $12 to $40 trillion when they retire.” They’ll get a double windfall in many cases, says Herzog: from their husbands and also from their families, resulting in major spending clout.
At the other end of the spectrum are Millennials, which largely fall into the HENRY (high earner, not rich yet) group, a term coined by researcher Pamela Danziger of Unity Marketing.
HENRY women are buying furs, handbags, and jewelry, says Herzog. “They can do it; they have income. They’re earning $100,000 - $250,000. She controls 40% of spending in her household; 94.3% have Internet access and are online constantly. And they never lost post-recession spending power,” she added. These women are self-gifting: a Minted survey of 2000 women revealed that more than half buy gifts for themselves while shopping on Black Friday, and a Unity Marketing study found that these women buy an average of 4.5 jewelry items for themselves per year, up from two.
A survey of women of all ages revealed many feel advertisers do a terrible job talking to them, said Herzog. Findings reveal that 59% feel food marketers don't get them; 66% feel health care marketers don’t get them; 59% don’t feel automotive marketers get them, and a whopping 91% said advertisers don't get them at all.
“Attitudes have changed,” says Herzog. Women who wait till later—age 30 or older—to marry enjoy an annual income premium, and for college-educated women in their mid-thirties this is over $18,000 per year higher, said Herzog. Additionally, the most important thing is that women are no longer asking permission to buy anything for themselves.
“She’s working and making money, she is going out and buying!” she stressed. Indeed, some of the traditional heritage-based marketing now features a pass-down factor among generations of women as well. She highlighted her own grandmother’s diamond cluster earrings, which were a central focus in her own appreciation of both jewelry and her relationship with her grandmother. Now that her grandmother has passed, Herzog wears them as a reminder of their special bond.
Market changes. If so many women are buying jewelry, why are so many jewelers closing? Herzog says it’s because the way we buy and pay for jewelry has changed.
“In the past, [women] went into brick and mortar stores. Now people go online.” As a result, specialty retailers are struggling, especially in the heartland, she said. “People are getting jewelry at specialty retailers, but also at Walmart, QVC, et cetera, and I wouldn't be surprised if you can get it at Starbucks sometime!” she said.
Additionally, buying patterns have changed. “Fine jewelry sales in the United States are going up. They were $68.8 billion last year. But because we don't just buy within the [holiday] season, they were down 1.2% for the holiday season.”
And as the industry is painfully aware, market share for specialty jewelry retailers is going down. From 1990 to 2000, the sector had a 47.5% to 50% share of the total jewelry market; by 2014, it was down to a 43% share of the U.S. jewelry market, according to Herzog’s figures, and it’s still dropping.
Herzog also highlighted some differences between mostly-Millennial HENRY and Boomer shoppers. HENRYs are brand agnostic and design and craftsmanship focused, and heavy users of the Internet. “They barely know what radio, TV, newspapers, and direct mail are,” said Herzog.
Baby Boomer women also are savvy online shoppers, she said. 80% are online and two-thirds of them use the Internet for shopping. Two-thirds also research products and services online even if they don’t make the final purchase there.
What jewelers can do immediately to capture more share of the Millennial HENRY market is to create a social media action plan with a focus on Instagram and Snapchat, both of which are visual media just perfect for beautiful jewelry. Her tips:
- Put beautiful images on Instagram so people feel they can interact with you.
- Find inspiration from abroad.
- Stick to really beautiful images. “There’s nothing worse than an Instagram feed of really blah images.”
- Diversify content. “People tend to link Facebook and Instagram but people want to see different aspects of you to connect to you. Irene Neuwirth has an incredible Instagram feed. She has both beautiful jewelry and a really shaggy dog she loves and you feel connected to her,” said Herzog, who was a high school classmate of both Neuwirth and Todd Reed.
- Do not waste money on printed marketing materials. “Social media is the best marketing--don't print pamphlets to get them out to people.”
- Improve your online presence. “The last thing you want is website that's disjointed and all over the place. You want your website to reflect the beauty of the industry. If you spend any money on marketing, spend it on developing a great website.”
More tips for specialty retailers:
- Tap into local celebrities. “Think small, act big. Everyone would like a big celebrity, but you can tap local influencers that can do your business and your jewelry justice. Likes are good for local business owners!”
- Diversify the product mix in your store. “You don't want to have same type of stuff [everybody else does]. Cater to the HENRY that wants craftsmanship and variety.”
- Try and create viral moments as you have events. “We’ve all gone to trunk shows with wine and cheese and they're super fun, but special stuff happens during them so get it out there. You want it to go viral for right reasons!
- Lastly, if you don't have an online presence, get one immediately.
Once again, Herzog stressed that women who make their own money spend their own money and don’t ask permission; and referencing her own grandmother, how jewelry can be an investment and a bond between generations.