Jared The Galleria of Jewelry saw higher customer loyalty from Valentine’s Day shoppers than five other chain jewelers, according to data provided by Cuebiq, a New York City–based location intelligence and measurement company.

Using location data obtained from 72 million app users, Cuebiq analyzed how many times customers visited chains Jared, Kay Jewelers, Zales, Swarovski, Pandora, and Helzberg Diamonds this past Valentine’s Day.

Of the major jewelry chains, Jared had the highest loyalty: 43 percent of its customers went to Jared only, and not its competitors, during their Valentine’s Day excursions. Helzberg Diamonds, on the other hand, had the lowest brand loyalty: 23 percent of its customers shopped only at Helzberg. The rest stopped by more than one of the chain retailers.

On the other hand, Jared had the lowest return rate of the five—86 percent visited it only once and never went back. Its Signet-owned sibling, Kay, had the highest return rate: 16 percent of tracked shoppers visited at least twice.

Overall, the six retailers saw lower traffic this Valentine’s Day compared to the 2018 holiday season. Traffic did show a minor uptick as Feb. 14 approached, it said.

The survey also found slightly less cross-shopping among the six retailers this Valentine’s Day, compared to prior seasons.

The customers who did visit stayed longer than they did in past years. For example, 21 percent of Swarovski’s visitors spent 55 minutes at its stores.

Cuebiq analyzes location data from the 72 million people who use popular apps like Gas Buddy. That represents one out of three smartphone owners, it says.

The company’s executive vice president of marketing, Valentina Marastoni-Bieser, says that users of the apps have to “opt in” to provide the location info and that they have the options of turning the tracking off. She says all the users’ data is provided anonymously, and the company’s practices are “privacy compliant.”

(Image courtesy of Signet Jewelers)

Rob Bates

JCK News Director