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Retail Jewelry Sector Rides Wave of Strong Sales Results

Results of the latest Mastercard SpendingPulse are out.

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2022

Howard Cohen

Retail Jewelry Sector Rides Wave of Strong Sales Results

RETAIL JEWELRY SALES in March of 2022 grew 11.9% compared to March 2021, according to statistics released by Mastercard SpendingPulse™.

The numbers are even more impressive when comparing last month’s jewelry sales to pre-pandemic levels. March 2022 jewelry sales were a whopping 78.8% higher than the tallies recorded in March of 2019.

Retail Jewelry Sector Rides Wave of Strong Sales Results

The jewelry sector has been riding a wave of great sales data that started in the summer of 2021. That’s when Mastercard singled out “jewelry” as the fastest growing retail sector, with July 2021 sales jumping a whopping 54.2% compared to pre-pandemic July 2019 levels.

Then, in December, the Mastercard report emphasized how “smaller boxes had a big impact” during the holiday season, as jewelry sales soared 32% during the period that spanned November 1 through December 24.

The most recent Mastercard report emphasized how consumers’ increased mobility has directly impacted their shopping habits. In-store sales, for instance, jumped 11.2% in March 2022 vs March 2021.

Other signs that consumers are getting back to their routines was the strong year-over-year performance of the airline industry (+44.8% in March), restaurants (+19.1%) and lodging (+16.0%).

Hawaii was the state with the strongest sales growth in March (up 12.2%) as more honeymooners and tourists chose that destination, according to the survey. March’s other top-performing states were Wyoming (+12.2%), Colorado (+11.0%), Florida (+9.7%) and Texas (+9.1%).

“Retail sales remain strong but are stabilizing as consumers resume spending on passion areas like travel, live entertainment, indoor dining and other in-person activities,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated. “After nearly two years of cautious optimism around the broader reopening, it’s a healthy sign that consumers are returning to a balanced level of spending across retail sectors and services.”

Mastercard SpendingPulse™ reports on US retail sales across all payment types. The findings are based on aggregate sales activity in the Mastercard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for certain other payment forms, such as cash and check.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”