Consumers may still equate Tiffany & Co. with the epitome of jewelry merchandise, but more and more shoppers actually are buying earrings and necklaces elsewhere. A recent study by Stevens, Pa.-based Unity Marketing found that Wal-Mart is still the nation’s top retailer of jewelry. This is despite the fact that the prime target market for jewelry-high-income women aged 25 to 54-almost never shops for jewelry in Wal-Mart or any other mass merchant/discounter. That means lower-income consumers who spend less than $100 on a piece of jewelry have propelled Wal-Mart to its dominant position, Unity says.
Direct merchants also are grabbing their slice of the pie. About 20% of jewelry shoppers used nonstore channels, either Internet, mail order or television shopping, to buy jewelry in the past year. For the most recent jewelry item bought, nonstore channels rank among the top three shopping sources for buyers of jewelry priced less than $500. And for those spending more than $500, nonstore is the second most popular source. Department stores are shoppers’ overall favorite for jewelry, with J.C. Penney and Sears being the top store brands.
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Mass Trumps Class In Jewelry Sales
Consumers may still equate Tiffany & Co. with the epitome of jewelry merchandise, but more and more shoppers actually are buying earrings and necklaces elsewhere. A recent study by Stevens, Pa.-based Unity Marketing found that Wal-Mart is still the nation’s top retailer of jewelry. This is despite the fact that the prime target market for jewelry-high-income women aged 25 to 54-almost never shops for jewelry in Wal-Mart or any other mass merchant/discounter. That means lower-income consumers who spend less than $100 on a piece of jewelry have propelled Wal-Mart to its dominant position, Unity says.
Direct merchants also are grabbing their slice of the pie. About 20% of jewelry shoppers used nonstore channels, either Internet, mail order or television shopping, to buy jewelry in the past year. For the most recent jewelry item bought, nonstore channels rank among the top three shopping sources for buyers of jewelry priced less than $500. And for those spending more than $500, nonstore is the second most popular source. Department stores are shoppers’ overall favorite for jewelry, with J.C. Penney and Sears being the top store brands.