——The world’s largest fashion and luxury goods market has sent complex and diverse signals. Previously released data showed that China’s retail sales in July fell slightly by 1.1% year-on-year. Although sales of clothing and footwear have declined, jewelry is a bright spot. This category has increased by 7.5% over the same period last year.
Data from Euromonitor shows that before the outbreak, China was already the world’s largest jewelry market, accounting for 29.5% of global jewelry sales last year. Although there may be potential risks in the future, as the first country to experience an epidemic, China will continue to play a huge role in the restoration of growth in the jewelry industry.
In the past ten years, the industry has undergone tremendous changes, with major international brands pouring into the Chinese market. However, the constant changes in the Chinese jewelry market also means that if small and medium-sized brands adopt the correct operating strategy, they should also benefit from it.
New consumer groups are growing
“This year, China is leading the recovery of the platinum jewelry industry. Among them, young Chinese in their 20s to 40s have become major buyers and influencers,” explained Zhenzhen Liu, PGI Global Corporate Marketing Director.
Daniel Zipser, senior partner of McKinsey & Company and responsible for the company’s consumption and retail business in Greater China, said that these consumers, especially consumers in first-tier cities in China, have a very different view of jewelry from their parents’ generation. the same.
Zipser believes that in China, jewelry has always been a relatively common product category, and consumers will actually weigh the gold content of a piece of gold jewelry as a long-term investment. However, as brand stories and personal expressions increasingly become an important part of the consumer experience, this situation has begun to change in recent years. “I think this is a gradual change, but since the outbreak of the epidemic, this change is accelerating and affecting an entire generation,” he said.
According to Liu, in the eyes of Chinese consumers, precious metal jewelry has both lasting investment value and symbolic meaning. This unique positioning makes it a popular choice for many people when choosing precious gifts. 80% of Chinese respondents said that compared with before the outbreak, they plan to spend more money on precious metal jewelry when buying gifts for themselves and others this year. This ratio is much higher than that of Japan, India and the United States. Other interviewed markets.
Liu said: “The special meaning to individuals is the most important reason why consumers buy jewelry as gifts; for those who want to buy jewelry for themselves, preservation of value is the most important.”
Facts have proved that it is not just love-themed gifts that are popular. Earlier this year, the industry’s leading brand Chow Tai Fook (Ch