Engagement-Ring Spending Steady at $5K

RAPAPORT... The price millennials are willing to pay for an engagement ring has remained stable over the past three years, even as they become more flexible in their stone choices, research shows. The average price couples spent on engagement rings in 2018 was$5,000, the same amount they shelled out in 2017 and 2016, data fromWeddingWire shows. The wedding-services marketplace surveys approximately18,000 newlyweds in the US each year to predict future trends in the industry. While the cost of a ring has remained the same, couples havebecome more flexible in terms of the stone they choose, with 71% picking adiamond as the main stone, compared to 74% in 2017. In 2016, this question wasn't included in the survey. Half of all couples prefer to purchase their ring from abrick-and-mortar store, with 20% choosing the ring together. The main factorthat determines which business a couple chooses to buy from is price, followedby reviews. Most couples would prefer to purchase from a business with bothnegative and positive reviews than from one that has no reviews at all, thesurvey found. Online photos of the merchandise were also important. When it comes to the proposal, the data found that Decemberis the most popular month, with Christmas being the number-one day for gettingengaged. However, half of those doing the proposing purchase the ring more thantwo months before they pop the question. On average, a couple will spend about $29,200 on a wedding ceremony and reception. That includes an average of $1,900 on weddingrings, and $300 for non-ring jewelry. Millennials are also the best advertisers for a brand, with52% sending photos of their ring to friends and family, and 64% postingpictures on social-media sites, the survey noted. "Today's millennial couples are opting to make theirengagement a highly shared experience," WeddingWire notes. "And even if themoment is a private one (nearly one in three engagements take place at home), the reality is a picture, story, view of the ring - or all the above -will be shared on social media for all to see within a few hours." Image: A gemstone engagement ring. (Shutterstock)