US Watch and Jewelry Sales: Another Slight Rise in May
July 03, 25
(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US increased again during May, and April's figure was revised upwards in the latest update from the Department of Commerce.
Sales were up by 2.8 per cent in May and 2.3 per cent in April (initially reported as 0.8 per cent, based on estimates rather than through the till transactions).
But despite these increases, growth in sales has, in recent months, been at its slowest since the post-pandemic recovery began. There were sustained improvements from the end of 2023, culminating in increases of 10 per cent or more in September and October 2024.
Things have, however, slowed down since. Growth dipped below zero in January and has yet to reach 3 per cent in any single month since then.
The rate of growth in US jewelry sales generally is in decline (blue line) but for Signet (red line) it is increasing, according to the latest same-store figures for North America (home to 2,400 of its 2,700 stores globally).
For most of the period shown below total US jewelry sales outperformed Signet's same-store sales by a significant margin.
Last month Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, reported a 2.5 per cent increase in same store sales for the 13 weeks to 3 May. It also said revenue for the quarter was up 2 per cent to $1.54bn, beating the $1.52bn forecast.
J.K. Symancyk, who replaced Gina Drosos as CEO last November, said his turnaround plan for the company - Grow Brand Love, which he announced in March - was already working.
Jewelry sales in the US still appear to be in overall recovery, as shown below, albeit with some bumps. Growth in 2024 was markedly stronger than we've seen so far in 2025.
Jewelry sales in the US rose by 2.9 per cent during May, compared to a 2.4 per cent increase in April. Watch sales were up 2.4 per cent, compared to 1.9 per cent the previous month.
The overall increase in sales of watches and jewelry for May was 2.8 per cent, compared to a 2.3 per cent rise in April.
Global exports of Swiss watches slumped in May - down 9.5 per cent to $2.56bn - after a tariff-related spike the previous month. Sales in the USA fell 25.3 per cent.
