Despite initially declaring that jewelry “topped gift lists” on Black Friday, Mastercard SpendingPulse now says jewelry sales during the the 2023 holiday season dropped 2% from 2022.
The decrease is out of line with overall holiday sales, which SpendingPulse estimates rose 3.1% over the previous year. Online purchases logged a bigger gain (6.3 percent) than sales at brick-and-mortar stores (2.2 percent). “Spending online is increasing at a faster pace than in-store, therefore taking a growing slice of the retail pie,” according to the retail research service, but “shopping in-store still makes up a considerably larger portion of total retail spending.”
Apparel sales climbed 2.4% year over year, making it one of the top categories measured by SpendingPulse. But the big winner was food: Restaurant sales jumped 7.8%, while grocery purchases rose 2.1%.
This was the second year in a row SpendingPulse reported that holiday jewelry sales declined. Last January it said that 2022 holiday jewelry sales dropped 5.4 percent, though that decrease came on the heels of strong COVID-era gains.
SpendingPulse, which defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, aggregates data from Mastercard transactions and other sources for its report.
“This holiday season, the consumer showed up, spending in a deliberate manner,” said Michelle Meyer, chief economist of the Mastercard Economics Institute, in a statement. “The economic backdrop remains favorable with healthy job creation and easing inflation pressure.”
(Photo: Getty Images)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
