U.S. Jewelry and Watch Sales Rise More Moderately in November

(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches continued to rise in November 2019, increasing 3 percent compared to November 2018, as seen in the graph below. This marks the fifth successive month of positive sales. If the results are down slightly over October - just 0.2 of a percent - it's still evidence that there is some momentum in the market.

Outlook

While many jewelry retailers still haven't released their holiday results, Signet Jewelers Limited, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, reported that same store sales were up 1.6 percent, with North American same store sales up 2 percent, which was ahead of its guidance. The retailer's ecommerce sales rose 13.5 percent. 

Holiday spending in general matched expectations with sales in the U.S. growing 4.1 percent year-over-year to $730.2 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Online sales outperformed predictions, climbing 14.6 percent over 2018 to $167.8 billion. 

The 2019 growth rate was nearly double the weak 2.1 percent seen in 2018, leading Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO to say that the results were a "positive indicator of what's ahead." 

With the continuing sales slump in Hong Kong leading to store closures and the outbreak of coronavirus in China affecting Chinese New Year buying, let's hope the positive U.S. holiday season figures can hold their own.

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