On Data: How Independent Jewelers Are Faring This Year

The retail model continues to evolve at an exponential rate.

Today, small is the new big, less is more and the word “omnichannel” has become passé.

This shifting retail landscape has left our independent jewelry retailers in search of the “next best thing” and vigorously seeking a competitive edge—better ways to reach customers, more efficient customer journeys and opportunities to proactively meet customer needs.

The role of data is more significant than ever, which is why The Edge Retail Academy is now working with National Jeweler to bring readers “On Data,” a regular column by yours truly that contains valuable information on what’s selling and what’s not.

In this first column, we’ll look at how independent jewelers are faring so far in 2019, as well as delve into the importance of data.

The Figures
The Edge Retail Academy’s aggregated data from more than 1,100 independent retailers show sales are up 1.7 percent rolling 12 months ending October 2019.

It might surprise independent retailers to know they’re outperforming the majors.

Tiffany reported comparable sales in the Americas decreased 4 percent in the third quarter and were down 5 percent in the first half.

Signet same-store sales were down 1.4 percent year-to-date at the end of the second quarter, though the massive retailer showed improvement in Q3 thanks its North American stores and online sales.

Historically, the diamond category has made up approximately 50 to 51 percent of annual jewelry sales, but in the month of October it slipped a bit, representing 45.5 percent.

The diamond category was up 11 percent in gross sales for the month of October and up 3 percent in average retail sale, which climbed from $2,213 to $2,379.

Why Numbers Matter
It’s all about the data.

In its 2018 study titled “How Analytics and Digital Will Drive Next Generation Retail Merchandising,” McKinsey stated: “Winning decisions are increasingly driven by analytics more than instinct, experience or merchant ‘art.’

“By leveraging smarter tools—those beyond backward-looking, ‘hind-sighting’ analysis—retailers can increasingly make forward-looking predictions that are quickly becoming the ‘table stakes’ necessary to keep up.”

Owners and buyers no longer need to rely solely, nor should they, on their instincts. 

Independent retailers now have access to approximately $2 billion in annual jewelry sales data, thanks to Edge Pulse. Edge Pulse allows Edge users to log in from anywhere at any time to access their data as well as industry stats. 

This big data means a greater understanding