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VALENTINE’S DAY 2012: WHO’S SPENDING WHAT, AND HOW LUXURY JEWELERS ARE CAPTURING MARKET SHARE | February 08, 2012 (0 comments)
New York, NY—In yet another sign that the U.S. economy is improving, Americans are planning to increase spending for Valentine’s Day this year compared to last year. And among affluent consumers, the increase is bigger yet: affluent spending for Cupid’s holiday is set to be up 18% over last year, compared to the 11% rise predicted by the National Retail Federation.
According to a study conducted by American Express and reported on Luxury Daily, 15% of affluent consumers (HHI above $100,000) plan to buy a jewelry gift for the holiday this year. Jewelry came in third in affluents’ stated gift intentions—flowers were first at 29%, gift cards at 19%, then jewelry, followed by electronics at 13%. Almost half (46%) also plan to dine out, up from 39% last year.
Last year, according to this article in the Huffington Post, Americans spent a collective $3.4 billion on dinner alone—only slightly less than they spent on jewelry—with the average meal checking in at approximately $116. The average jewelry spend was naturally higher, ranging from about $220 to slightly over $500, according to a survey by Mint.com and reported in the article.
This Hearts On Fire diamond heart pendant was one of five heart pendants on the brand's website, and it was one of two identified as an "HOFGirl's Pick."
In the good news/not-so-good news department, the American Express survey predicts approximately four million engagements will take place this Valentine’s Day, and the anticipated sales of engagement rings plays a role in the bump in spending among affluent consumers. But the not-so-good news was that the survey revealed a surprising number of affluents (59%) that feel a modest engagement ring—costing between $1,000 and $5,000—is sufficient. Only 16% think the right ring should cost between $5,000 and $10,000 (prestige jewelers’ typical engagement ring sale is approximately $7,000), and 11% believe that an appropriate ring will cost more than $10,000.
According to Mint.com’s figures in the HuffPo article, Blue Nile nabbed the biggest average Valentine spend on jewelry last year—$516.77 per transaction—with Tiffany checking in at $274.41 and Zales at $220.76
Blue Nile's average jewelry sale for Valentine's Day last year was significantly higher than Tiffany, and more than double that of Zales. Source: Mint.com's Personal Finance as reported by Huffington Post.
Overall, reports Luxury Daily, major jewelry brands are focusing on selling love and emotion first—especially on mobile platforms—for the holiday. But mobile, and particularly location-based mobile, especially, is effective for reaching the last-minute shopper, while any kind of digital marketing offers an excellent opportunity to capture opt-in email addresses.
“Consumers will use mobile this Valentine’s Day to check prices, inventory, store hours, and to purchase,” Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of Kirkland, WA-based Hipcricket, told Luxury Daily.
What Brands and Independent Jewelers Are Doing. David Yurman is taking an unusual, but market-expanding inclusive approach to the holiday. After all, Valentine’s Day can be stingingly unpleasant for singletons. But David Yurman is celebrating all kinds of love, not just romantic love.
According to this article in Luxury Daily, the jeweler is looking to engage a wider range of consumers through a special Facebook promotion where consumers are encouraged to share photos and stories of anyone or anything they love, be it a person, place, pet, or thing. And if it’s a person, it doesn’t have to be a significant other, either—it can be a parent, child, sibling, friend, or anyone.
By expanding the definition of love beyond the traditional couple, the brand is likely tuning into a much larger community of would-be customers, says the article.
David Yurman's photo-sharing campaign allows users to post images of anything they love, be it person, place, pet, or thing.
David Yurman’s Valentine’s Day Facebook page shows multiple gift ideas from the brand, all linked to the designer’s e-commerce site for easy shopping. The top two sections are about shopping—first, for the designer’s spiritual bead bracelet collection and second for its standard lines of jewelry but curated into gift suggestions for the holiday. The third section is for consumer photo-sharing, with an opportunity for viewers to vote for the photo they like best. Along with sharing the photo, submitters are required to provide an email address, giving the brand a means to communicate more directly as well as via Facebook.
David Yurman's spiritual bead bracelets are the first section of his Valentine's Day Facebook page. The middle section, below, offers a carefully-curated selection of his regular line for the holiday.
Separately, the newly reinvigorated jewelry brand Faberge is hoping to spark Valentine’s Day sales with a series of limited edition products. The Russian jeweler customized one of its famed eggs, and also is offering a limited-edition line of pendants engraved with love-themed messages.
The Valentine’s egg has been named the Oeuf Cadeau. Priced at $9,907, it is recreated with polished 18k rose gold and wrapped by a ribbon of diamonds ending in a bow. Read more here.
Faberge's Oeuf Cadeau, designed as a special edition for Valentine's Day. Photo: Luxury Daily.
Other luxury jewelers also are amping up their promotion muscle for the holiday. Tiffany & Co. has updated its “What Makes Love True” microsite that debuted for holiday 2011. It is being enhanced through partnerships with prominent photo bloggers and ex-Beatle singer Paul McCartney. Other global luxury jewelry and watch brands pushing jewelry for the holiday include De Beers, Montblanc, Movado, and Swarovski.
Meanwhile, here’s a look at how some prestige independent jewelers around the country are using social media creatively for the holiday:
Princeton, NJ-based Hamilton Jewelers is offering a series of Valentine's Day proposal ideas on Facebook. Above, its Day Two idea is to present an engagement ring in a box of chocolates. (It's ok for the groom to eat the chocolate he took out to put the ring in, says the jeweler.)
Chocolate also is a popular theme for Wick and Greene Jewelers' Valentine posts, below.
Meanwhile, Long's, below, takes a businesslike approach to the holiday by quoting or posting related articles of interest.
Next, Murphy Jewelers, a Hearts On Fire retailer with three stores in east central Pennsylvania, uses the assumptive close:
The jeweler also is running a special Facebook promotion to win a silver heart pendant for the holiday, below.
Prestige brands are getting in on the action too. Below, Mastoloni gives customers a gentle reminder nudge that diamonds aren't the only option for a Valentine gift, and Lisa Nik sends a shoutout to one of her retail dealers, Bachendorf's in Texas.
