Jewelers See Golden Opportunity With Female Shoppers

Dana Shanler hated borrowing her mother’s jewelry for special occasions. So she did what was once considered unthinkable: She bought an expensive diamond necklace for herself.

“I knew I could afford it, and I decided that I could buy it for myself if I really wanted it,” said the 34-year-old attorney. “Now, every time I wear it I get a real charge out of it.”

Jewelry isn’t just the gift of love anymore. As women become financially secure and marry later in life, they aren’t waiting for someone else to buy them beautiful jewelry. They’re treating themselves to gold bracelets, diamond earrings and those precious gifts they’ve always wanted.

Realizing women’s buying potential, retailers are increasing their advertising and in-store promotions that target female shoppers. Some even encourage women to buy for themselves.

That’s what Sears, Roebuck and Co. did last spring. Shoppers who spent $50 through Mother’s Day anywhere in the store were entitled to buy a gold heart pendant on a chain for $29.99, well below the regular retail price of $119.99.

“We feel that the woman is the primary purchaser in our stores” of all merchandise, including jewelry, said Leslie Mann, vice president of fine jewelry and accessories at Sears, the nation’s second-largest retailer.

“This offers them an extra gift for themselves,” she said. “A feel-good purchase.”

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Marketing to women isn’t new in jewelry retailing. The World Gold Council was one of the first to target women in the late 1980s with its “No, you don’t have to wrap it” campaign, which told women that jewelry doesn’t have to be a gift and can be incorporated into their everyday lives.

More retailers and trade groups have since launched their own pitches to women. The Platinum Guild International last fall ran “Platinum: A Reflection of You,” which relayed to women that platinum “is for any woman who has come into her own.”

With sales of gold up about 15% and platinum up over 300% in the last three years, industry observers attribute some of those gains to new sales from women. The World Gold Council, a New York-based trade group, now estimates that women account for 70% of all gold purchases, either for themselves or gifts for others.

“Women are not waiting for a certain person to give them a gift anymore,” said Lynn Ramsey, president of the Jewelry Information Center, a New York-based trade group. “They work, they have careers and they want to reward themselves in meaningful ways.”

At Diana Vincent Jewelry Designs, women started buying for themselves about four years ago and now account for a sizable part of the business. Their purchases include diamond pins and platinum rings, with the size of the sale usually tied to their income level.

Owner Diana Vincent now sees female patrons at her Washington Crossing, Pa., store who formerly shopped only with their husbands and boyfriends.

“They’re not just getting allowances from their husbands anymore,” Vincent said. “When they buy jewelry, it’s a subliminal form of independence from everyone else.”

According to retailers, women generally stick to small, moderately priced items like simple earrings and pins when making their first self-purchase. But once they’re accustomed to the routine, they’re more inclined to indulge themselves with pricier items.

Executives at QVC heard from their female customers that they wanted more expensive jewelry. Last month, the television shopping network launched Arte d’Oro, an 18-karat-gold jewelry line ranging in price from $600 to $3,000.

“For women, jewelry today is less about status and more about accessorizing with a quality product that makes them feel good,” said John Calnon, vice president of jewelry merchandising at QVC.

That’s the way Shanler feels when she puts on her diamond necklace and heads out to a business dinner or special family occasion.

“Not only is it nice to know I could afford it,” she said, “but it’s mine, I picked it out and I bought it.”