US Watch and Jewelry Sales Steady in February
April 02, 25
(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US were stable in February, according to the latest figures from the US Department of Commerce, amid ongoing economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behavior.
Overall sales grew by a very modest 0.2 per cent during the month - a slight increase for jewelry, a slight decrease for watches.
That follows on from a 0.9 per cent fall in January (a figure that has been revised down from the 3.0 per cent originally reported, based on actual transactions rather than estimates).
Year-on-year sales from October 2023 to December 2024 had been on the rise, fluctuating between 1 per cent and 10 per cent a month, but that growth appears to have slowed.
In 2024 the US jewelry market grew by 5 per cent overall, to $81.3bn, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
But the tide appears to be turning, with retail sales across all sectors slowing in the US, and the Department of Commerce reporting growth of just 0.2 per cent for February (below the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.6% rise).
The overall trend for jewelry sales may now be showing modest signs of recovery, according to US Department of Commerce figures.
Signet, the world's biggest diamond retailer, last month reported a 5.8 per cent drop in Q4 sales (down to $2.4bn) across all its 2,700 outlets and announced a major turnaround plan to grow the business.
But the fall in same-store sales in North America, was significantly less, at just 0.7 per cent.
As the graph below shows, the growth in total US jewelry sales slowed to a near-halt, while Signet remained almost static.
Jewelry sales in the US rose by 0.4 per cent during February (compared to a 0.8 per cent drop in January. Watch sales were down 0.7 per cent, compared to a 1.4 per cent fall in January.
The overall increase in sales of watches and jewelry for February was 0.2 per cent, compared to a 0.9 per cent fall in January.
