Growth in US Watch and Jewelry Sales Down to Covid Levels
November 07, 22
(IDEX Online) - The growth in sales of US jewelry and watches in September hit its lowest level since the Covid lockdowns of 2020. It was down to just 1.3 per cent. The figure for August, originally given as 3.7 per cent, has now been revised down, based on actual rather than estimated sales to 3.0 per cent. This paints a grim picture. The last time sales growth reached a low point like this was as we emerged from the initial Covid lockdowns. It was 1.1 per cent in June 2020, on its way up after hitting a record -55.9 per cent in April of that year. That was part of a diamond industry recovery, but September's figure appears to be part of a long, slow decline. And given the tendency of the Department of Commerce to revise down figures, it's entirely possible that in a month's time it will be even closer to zero.
Last month the BEA (US Bureau of Economic Analysis) made a whole raft of revisions for sales dating back as far as 2017, most of them downwards. This month there have been only marginal reductions to the July and August figures.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has, for all practical purposes, ceased reporting sales by Specialty Jewelers. The last figures it released were for February 2021. In May it published its first set of revisions in almost a year - revising down sales for virtually all months from January 2019 to February 2021 - but we've heard nothing since. IDEX Research will publish any new updates on specialty jewelers as and when they become available.
Assessment
The US is on the brinks of a recession and the watch and jewelry sector is on the brink of a negative growth, as a direct result. The consumer price index hit 8.2 per cent in September and there's little in the way of good news as consumers tighten their belts and stay away from luxury purchases. The growth in sales remains depressed and has been under 6.0 per cent for the last five months.