Jewelry Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 14,600 jewelry stores in the US sell fine jewelry, silverware, watches, and clocks. As opposed to costume jewelry, fine jewelry generally contains some type of precious metal or gemstone. Companies may also create custom jewelry or provide repair services.
Seasonality Challenges
Jewelry sales are highly seasonal, and December is an exceptionally important month because of holiday gift giving.
Expanding Competition
Jewelry stores have lost market share to a variety of channels, including department stores, mass merchandisers, online sites (retailers, auction sites, and Internet shopping clubs), and catalog and TV retailers.
Industry size & Structure
A typical jewelry store operates out of a single location, employs 7-8 workers, and generates over $2 million in annual revenue.
- The jewelry retailing industry includes about 14,600 companies which operate 21,000 stores, employ 113,800 workers and generate about $33 billion annually.
- The jewelry industry is somewhat concentrated, as the 50 largest firms account for 45% of industry sales.
- Large companies include Sterling Jewelers (Zales, Kay Jewelers, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry), Fred Meyer Jewelers, and Helzberg Diamonds.
Industry Forecast
Jewelry Stores Industry Growth

Recent Developments
Mar 8, 2023 - Consumer Confidence Declined in February
- Consumer confidence levels declined in February 2023 for the second consecutive month, according to data from The Conference Board. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 102.9 in February 2023 from 106 in January 2023, as high prices and rising interest rates affected consumers’ willingness to spend. According to Ataman Ozyildirim, a senior director of economics at The Conference Board, “Consumer confidence declined again in February. The decrease reflected large drops in confidence for households aged 35 to 54 and for households earning $35,000 or more.” Plans to purchase homes, vehicles, and appliances have cooled, in addition to a drop in vacation intentions, per Ozyildirim.
- Fewer US jewelry stores closed in 2022 compared to a year ago, with 353 stores closing in 2022 compared to 424 in 2021, according to data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) in InStore Magazine. More jewelry retail businesses opened in 2022 compared to 2021, with 379 stores opening in 2022 compared to 323 in 2021. In the fourth quarter of 2022, JBT listed 17,887 jewelry retailers in the US, down 2% from the same quarter a year ago.
- Jewelry sales grew 6.5% in January year over year, possibly reflecting early Valentine’s Day shopping, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse™, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation. Retail sales, excluding auto, increased 8.8% in January. Meanwhile, in-store and online sales grew by 8.9% and 8.4%, respectively, in January, compared to the same period last year. Consumers are also dining out more, with restaurant sales up 24.2% from a year ago. According to Steve Sadove, a senior advisor for Mastercard, “Consumer spending remains resilient in the first few weeks of 2023. Mastercard SpendingPulse insights show that the overall retail story remains largely positive with January posting a solid month of growth across the country.”
- More than 60% of retail companies are operating with a shortage of frontline staff, according to a study published in Chain Store Age. The survey of more than 500 global business leaders, commissioned by digital frontline workplace company WorkJam and conducted by Forrester Consulting, found that only 8% of companies plan to invest in improving the frontline experience in the next year to address their labor shortages despite the deficit. More than 80% of decision-makers across industries and geographies want to leverage technology to improve the frontline experience. However, more than 70% of retail decision-makers say digital transformation initiatives have yet to reach the frontline. Frontline employees are also expressing their dissatisfaction with the current conditions. Per the survey, 74% say frontline employees are rejecting work conditions that went unchallenged two years ago, and 80% say frontline turnover has increased, which challenges companies to deliver a positive customer experience.
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