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Social Media Emerges as Jewelers’ Top Strategy
Jun 17, 2019 4:58 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... The US jewelry
industry sees social media as instrumental in overcoming digital challenges, a recent report by JCK found.
Of
the 500 respondents surveyed in the JCK’s 2019 State of the Jewelry Industry Report, 46% identified connecting with clients via
social media as their top digital strategy. Some 39% chose non-traditional
advertising as the most effective approach and 37% considered changing
inventory-buying habits to be most important. Other considerations included
improving the in-store buying experience, which ranked highest in last year’s
survey, and investing in technology innovation.
However,
confidence in the effectiveness
of social media marketing fell 10% in the past year. The report said 72%
expected social-media marketing to be one of their most successful business
practices, compared to 57% traditional and 44% digital advertising.
Survey
participants ranked the top challenges facing the industry in a similar order to 2018. Online competition
placed first, at 28%, with 23% citing the overall economic climate, 15%
choosing lack of consumer demand and 11% lack of millennial demand.
The research sample
comprised manufacturers, designers and wholesalers, 81% of whom have been in working
in the trade for more than 11 years.
The US jewelry
industry is strongly upbeat, with an overwhelming majority of members saying
they were either somewhat or very optimistic about the next 12 months, just 2%
less than in 2018, JCK said.
“The consistency of
positivity in the industry is exciting, with an 86% JCK Jewelry Industry
Confidence Index,” said Yancy Weinrich, Reed Jewelry Group senior vice president.
Among top jewelry
trends, the report listed stacked rings, alternate engagement rings, layering
and heart-themed jewels. Gaining in popularity were custom-design pieces and
colored stones, while charms were declining for 2019.
As for lab-grown
diamonds, 86% reported price as the leading consideration when deciding whether
to buy. Reasons for refusal to purchase lab-grown diamonds were fairly evenly
split between preference for “real,” “natural” and enduring “value.”
Among the types of
jewelry that produced most customer concerns, 61% of participants pointed to
lab-grown diamonds, while 60% specified conflict diamonds and 37% responsibly
sourced jewels.
Image: Woman shopping for jewelry. (Shutterstock)
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Tags:
JCK, JCK Jewelry Industry Confidence Index, Rapaport News, Reed Jewelry Group, US jewelry industry, Yancy Weinrich
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