5 Industry Observations Based on the Latest JBT Data

Middle- and lower-income Americans, meanwhile, are hurting; they are the lower leg of the K.

Jacobs said he sees some parallels in the jewelry industry.

There are some stores that are having “banner years,” as some of the disposable income not being spent on travel gravitates to fine jewelry, while others are saying this is their worst year ever.

3) Businesses that didn’t build up their online presence are paying.

To better understand the differences between the businesses on the upper and lower legs of the K, JBT conducted a brief, informal study.

The staff examined posts on social media and other industry platforms to order to identify commonalities among the stores that report they are doing well, as well as the similarities among stores that aren’t.

Among the stores having a rough year, there was a bold through line.

“Those who were struggling had zero online presence,” Jacobs said, meaning they lacked both e-commerce capability and a sizable social media following.

“Everyone that was struggling had neither of those. That was the common factor.”

4) Not surprisingly, there still aren’t a ton of people rushing to open businesses in 2020.  

The number of new retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers listed by the JBT is down significantly this year.

So far this year in the U.S., JBT data shows a total of 112 new jewelry businesses have opened, including 42 in the third quarter. That is a 40 percent drop from this point last year, when there were 186 new businesses, including 61 in Q3.

Overall, the size of the industry continues to shrink.

The total number of jewelry businesses in the U.S., as listed by JBT, stands at 24,258, including 18,375 retailers, both down 3 percent year-over-year.

Including Canada, the total is 25,573, down 3 percent from 26,344 at this point in 2019.  

5) The holiday season is a big question mark.

“Q4 is the great unknown,” said Jacobs.

As of this writing, the COVID-19 infection rate is rising and the presidential election has yet to be decided, as has the fate of a second stimulus package.

Late last month, the National Retail Federation was among the more than 200 trade associations that sent a letter to Congress advocating for passage of additional pandemic relief for consumers and businesses.

Jacobs also noted that a stimulus could be a boost for retailers this holiday season.

“The stimulus might be a driver for consumer confidence, which in turn can be a driver for discretionary purchases,” he said.