US Watch and Jewelry Sales Keep on Growing
November 04, 24
(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US performed well in September, with their biggest monthly rise since April 2022.
The latest figures, for August, from the US Department of Commerce, show an 8.4 per cent increase, compared to 5.2 per cent in August.
It's the 12th consecutive month of growth, after a year or so of almost uninterrupted decline, from
September 2022 to September 2023.
Much of the recovery in the US is being driven by Amazon, Costco, Walmart and other multi-line retailers, which jointly account for around two thirds of all watch and jewelry sales.
As reported previously, North America same-store sales by Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, fell by 3.7 per cent in Q2.
The Department of Commerce no longer provides a breakdown for specialty jewelers - so we now use Signet as our benchmark.
Revisions by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at the Department of Commerce shows increases for July and August, based on actual rather estimated transactions.
Last month the BEA published wholesale revisions dating back to 2019. Sales for every month since July 2022 were, with just one exception, revised upwards.
Exports of Swiss watches to the US increased 2.4 per cent in September, bucking a downwards trend elsewhere. Foreign sales to China slumped by almost 50 per cent in the month.
The growth in demand for jewelry in the US remains well below its post-pandemic peak, but is nonetheless recovering at a steady rate, as shown below.
Jewelry sales in the US rose by 8.1 per cent during September (compared to 5.0 per cent in July), according to revised Department of Commerce figures. Watch sales were up by 9.6 per cent, compared to 6.2 per cent in August. The overall increase for watches and jewelry for August was 8.4 per cent, up from 5.2 per cent July.
