Big Data
Gabriel & Co. is king. Earnings for many jewelers have flat-lined. And customers — and almost as often staff — are still confounding. Those are some of the broad takeaways of the 2019 Big Survey. Dig in and enjoy our analysis of data provided by 802 North American jewelers.
Utah’s jewelers were most concerned about the impact of social media on their personal lives: 75% said it had been negative. In a possible related finding, Utah’s jewelers also checked review sites most regularly, doing it daily or every few days. Jewelers in Maine were the least likely to check what people were saying about them online.
California had the highest number of multiple-store owners: 23% had two stores and 3% had three or more.
Arizona led the way in e-ccommerce with 71% saying it contributed a moderate or substantial portion of their sales (meaning more than 10%).
Texas contributed the highest portion of big city stores to our survey (23%) among U.S. stores. (Canada actually had the most in North America at 29%.)
Wisconsin could possibly change its moniker to the Surprise State: Only 15% of its jewelers said their performance this year was in line with expectations. The rest were either doing better or worse than expected.
Jewelers in Iowa were most excited about lab-grown diamonds (63%), while jewelers in New York were most alarmed by their emergence (48%).
Canadian jewelers are most likely to be asked about a diamond’s origins (83% say it happens regularly) while in the U.S. it was California that holds that distinction (70%).
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1. How well is your business performing in 2019 compared to your expectations going into the year?
Far below expectations
|
| 2% |
Below expectations
|
| 23% |
In line with expectations
|
| 46% |
| Above expectations |
| 24% |
Way above expectations
|
| 5% |
2. How many stores do you operate?
3. Where is your store located by region?
Northeast
|
| 17% |
| Mid Atlantic |
| 5% |
Midwest
|
| 31% |
| Southeast |
| 21% |
| Southwest |
| 9% |
Mountain (Rocky Mountains)
|
| 4% |
Northwest
(including Alaska)
|
| 3% |
West (including Hawaii)
|
| 5% |
Canada
|
| 5% |
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4. Is your (main) store located:
On a downtown street
|
| 33% |
| In its own free-standing building |
| 27% |
In a strip mall
|
| 24% |
| In a lifestyle center |
| 5% |
| Office building/Business park |
| 5% |
In a mall
|
| 3% |
Home studio
|
| 2% |
On the Internet
|
| 1% |
Other
|
| 1% |