Another Slow Month for US Watch and Jewelry Sales

(IDEX Online) - US watch and jewelry sales suffered a seventh consecutive month of decline in August, according to the latest Department of Commerce figures.

They were down 3.4 per cent, a slight recovery from 4.3 per cent in July, and 4.5 per cent in June.

The global economy shows no clear signs of recovery and that's impacting consumer spending.

Signet, the world's largest diamond jewelry retailer, reported an eight per cent drop in its Q2 revenue, down from $1.75bn to $1.61bn.

Bridal has historically accounted for almost half its sales and Signet, together with most other retailers in the sector, is still suffering the after-effects of Covid lockdown on engagements.

Having said that, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry Exports reported a 13.5 per cent increase in US sales in August, to just over $325m, after sales in July rose by 5.2 per cent.

And the U.S. Census Bureau did report a small 0.6 per cent increase in overall retail and food spending during the month.

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