In age of experiential spending, jewelry holds its own

New York--Retail spending was up again in the month of July as the economy continues to slowly climb out of the recession and consumers spend on experiences and fine jewelry, which is seen as an investment because of its permanence, over gone-tomorrow material goods, according to MasterCard.

The company’s latest SpendingPulse report, which draws from MasterCard’s near-real-time purchase data and processes it using a model that predicts total spend including cash and check payments, shows that U.S. retail sales were up 5 percent year-over-year in July. This is the largest year-over-year growth since October 2012, according to MasterCard.

Consumers are starting to feel more comfortable and confident about the economic recovery, which is evidenced in the rise of discretionary spending. Among the top categories for retail sales last month were lodging, airlines and restaurants, all of which are classified as experiential spending. This was offset by slower sales in automotive, grocery and luxury items (excluding jewelry).

The move toward experiential spending also has extended into jewelry, MasterCard said, and the category has seen 17 months of continued year-over-year growth. While no concrete numbers about the sales of jewelry in July were available, the category was the third highest growth category for the month.

“Consumers are choosing experiences, like dining out and travel, over goods, but jewelry is one product that they are still choosing to invest in because it has some permanence,” said Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president, market insights for MasterCard Advisors, in an email to National Jeweler. “We’re also seeing in our data that the jewelry being bought is at a high price point, around $2,500.”

She added that sales of costume jewelry were flat in July, supplying further evidence that people are turning to fine jewelry because of its investment value.

Quinlan said that they expect an even stronger holiday season this year, with jewelry sales both in store and online continuing to be a big factor in the retail environment. 

“About 20 percent of jewelry sales occur online, so it will be critical for retailers this holiday to make sure they have an e-commerce strategy to capitalize on those sales.”