Jewelry purchases on Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend were down as much as 4 percent, according to an Internet-based consumer survey.

A total of 16 percent of all respondents to Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council study purchased fine jewelry or watches as a gift over the Thanksgiving weekend, down from 20 percent in a similar study conducted in 2006.
 

In addition, the study found that more than half of those shoppers cited that their purchase of fine jewelry or watches this holiday season was planned and not spontaneous. Nearly 10 percent of those purchasers who bought jewelry spent more than $1,000 on fine jewelry over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Department stores are still the most popular retail venues for fine jewelry holiday purchases with jewelry chain stores in a close second, according to the online study of 2,104 people during the last week of November. More than 8 percent of respondents made fine jewelry gift purchases online due to convenience and great deals.

For full details of this study, including more information about holiday jewelry and watch purchases, price points and product categories visit www.jcoc.info.

JCK