Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
The holidays may be behind us, but there are many gift-giving days ahead.
Jewelry sales historically have peaked during the November to December holiday season, but retailers look to additional seasonal periods to increase sales. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are holidays when jewelry gift giving increases.
Jewelry is both a personal and emotional purchase. Jewelry reflects both the person buying it as well as the recipient. As gifts, jewelry can have great meaning. In the case of an engagement ring, it represents the symbol of a promise of commitment. A bracelet could be a symbol of connection and love.
A 2024 Jewelers Mutual survey uncovered what is important to both buyers and recipients of fine jewelry. Results showed that 51% of the respondents value the emotional significance of the piece of jewelry with love and joy being the top two. Jewelry represents not only the event of when it was received but the memory of the individual. Other key considerations are quality and brand trust with trust being valued by over half of the survey recipients. While cost matters, results showed that people want something that is both affordable and special – reflecting their style.
Jewelry and radio have much in common. Trust matters and the connection that consumers have with the jewelry they purchase or receive is an emotional one – like the emotional connection they have to the radio stations they tune into daily.
Broadcast radio has high reach among different consumer segments that have shopped at a jewelry store in the past three months, per Scarborough. It reaches 86% of all adults ages 18 and older. That reach is even greater among diverse listeners – 88% of Blacks 18+ and 87% of Hispanics 18+.
When it comes to time spent with media, AM/FM radio outshines other traditional media options among consumers who have purchased jewelry at a local area retailers in the past month. Time spent among adults 18+ with radio is 16% compared to 11% with broadcast TV or 12% with newspaper, per The Media Audit. While this is an impressive figure, that percentage of time spent with broadcast radio jumps to a significantly higher share among heavy radio listeners, to 23%.
Jewelry retailers should also note that heavy radio listeners do not just shop at brick-and-mortar locations but also online. Heavy radio listeners who purchased jewelry online in the past month spent 24% of their media time with radio – higher than internet at 18%.
Jewelers interested in driving traffic and sales to both their online and physical locations throughout the season should consider incorporating broadcast radio into all their marketing campaigns. Broadcast radio’s emotional connection with its listeners complements the emotional value that jewelry purchasers and jewelry gift recipients mined form the results of the Jewelers Mutual survey. Broadcast radio provides jewelry retailers with a golden opportunity to engage with prospective buyers.