Jewelry Sales for December Increase 6.9%

Jewelry sales for the month of December increased by 6.9 percent compared to December of last year, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse.

Despite the gain, SpendingPulse Vice President Michael McNamara stated that jewelry continued to be a mixed bag, as the high-end and lower-end stayed strong, while the mid-tier mall-based retailers struggled.

SpendingPulse’s findings, which draws it data by tracking activity in the MasterCard payments networks and estimating other payment forms such as cash and checks, reported an increase in spending across a number of retail categories in the U.S.

The higher increase in jewelry sales compared to luxury retail excluding jewelry, which showed a year-over-year increase of 5.5 percent, demonstrated the strength of fine jewelry within the luxury goods market.

Electronics sales for December were up 7.3 percent year-to-year and eCommerce sales posted on overall gain of 17.7 percent over December of 2008, making it “one of the stars of the season.”

“It is important to remember that these figures are based on comparisons with very weak sales in December 2008," McNamara noted. "Still, it is mildly encouraging to see that most retailers were able to maintain performance after a strong Black Friday start, and that is yet another indication that the retail environment is stabilizing."