NRF Buying Survey: 23% of All Consumers Have Jewelry on Their Holiday Wish Lists

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., the start of a five-day retail feeding frenzy that will see 165.3 million shoppers doing their very best to score great deals and check off as many items as possible on their holiday lists. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the jewelry category is a top-six pick for 2019.

For the 13th year in a row, "gift cards" ranked as the most popular wish list category (requested by 59% of those surveyed), followed by "clothing and accessories" (52%), "books/movies/music/video games" (35%), "electronics" (29%), "home décor" (24%), "jewelry" (23%), "personal care or beauty items" (21%), "sporting goods" (18%) and "home improvement items" (17%).

The NRF also reported that retail sales are expected to climb between 3.8% and 4.2% to $730.7 billion this holiday season, with the average consumer spending $1,047.

According to the NRF, 39.6 million consumers are expecting to shop on Thanksgiving Day, 114.6 million on Black Friday, 66.6 million on Small Business Saturday and 33.3 million on Sunday. The shopping weekend will wrap up on Cyber Monday, when 68.7 million are expected to take advantage of online bargains, according to the NRF.

NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said younger consumers are significantly more likely to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend. Among those ages 18 to 24, 88% say they are likely to shop and particularly enjoy the social aspect. Similarly, 84% of those ages 25 to 34 plan to shop. That compares with 69% of holiday shoppers overall.

Of those planning to shop, there is an almost even split of people who plan to start their shopping in-store (47%) compared with those who plan to start online (41%). Interestingly, those under 25 are even more likely to say they expect to start shopping in-store (52%).

The NRF asked those intending to shop Thanksgiving weekend what they like about the experience...

• The deals are too good to pass up (65%)
• Tradition (28%)
• It's when they like to start their holiday shopping (22%)
• It's something to do over the holiday (21%)
• It's a group activity with friends/family (17%)

For consumers who did not plan to shop in-store or online this Thanksgiving weekend, more than half (53%) said that there are some things that could change their minds...

• A sale or discount on an item they want (26%)
• If a family member or friend invites them to shop (12%)
• If they could be sure the items they want are available (11%)
• A free shipping offer (11%).

Due to quirks in this year's calendar, there are only 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, down six days from 2018 and the shortest number possible, but the NRF statistics show that overall spending will not be affected due to the number of consumers who got their shopping started earlier in 2019.

The survey, which asked 7,917 consumers about their Thanksgiving weekend plans, was conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics from October 31 through November 6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

Advanced Mapping Technology Helps Rough-Diamond Buyers to Make Informed Decisions

Alrosa is using advanced mapping technology to take the guesswork out of the risky, high-stakes business of rough-diamond buying. During its October 2019 trading period, the Russian diamond mining company tested Digital Tenders, a program that provided buyers with a three-dimensional scan and detailed analysis of each rough diamond.

The technology behind Digital Tenders is Sarine's Galaxy inclusion mapping and DiaExpert planning. The scan of the rough diamond represents its detailed external shape, internal inclusions and anticipated color and fluorescence. What's more, the mapping system can evaluate the optimum size and shape of the resulting polished diamond.

“Digital Tenders for rough diamonds allow us to improve our customers’ experience by reducing the risk associated with their purchasing decisions," said Evgeny Agureev, Deputy CEO of Alrosa. "This ensures their long-term sustainable profitability as well as streamlines manufacturing processes after procurement of the stones."

Agureev added that Digital Tenders gives his company the ability to show products to a large variety of clients within a short timeframe.

"This is a very good example where digital technology enables the parties to end up in a win-win situation," he said.

Before the introduction of Digital Tenders, rough diamond buyers were required to visit a designated Alrosa office, where the variety of goods could be examined by only a limited number of experts. According to Alrosa, Digital Tenders allow the procurement experts to share the scan with their full planning team, including the cutters at their polishing factory.

Though this is still a pilot project, Alrosa reports that the sales results from October reflect its clients interest in the new offering.

"The diamond industry is evolving," said David Block, CEO of Sarine Technologie, "and rough diamond buyers are seeking ever more information in order to ensure decisions that are the most effective."

Credits: Images of Sarine's DiaExpert device via Instagram/AlrosaDiamonds.

'Diamond in a Diamond' Joins Alrosa's Collection of Rare Finds... and Is Not for Sale

Russia’s Alrosa diamond mining company announced Thursday that the curious "diamond in a diamond" revealed on social media in early September has been added to its collection of rare finds — and is not for sale.

In early September, Alrosa surprised its Instagram followers with a video that seemed to show a tiny rough diamond moving freely in the cavity of a larger one. The caption read, “A diamond in a diamond? We couldn’t help but share this very special find with you.”

At the time, Alrosa wasn’t quite sure what to make of the phenomenon. Nobody at the mining company had ever seen anything like it. Five weeks later, Alrosa scientists confirmed that both the host and smaller crystal were diamonds.

They named the double-diamond “Matryoshka” because its strange configuration is reminiscent of the popular Russian nesting dolls. The specimen, which weighs only 0.62 carats, was discovered in Yakutia at Alrosa's Nyurba mining and processing division.

Matryoshka joins Alrosa's ever-growing collection of diamond wonders. These include crystals that resemble a soccer ball, a Valentine heart, a skull and a fish.

Interestingly, some of Alrosa's most unusually shaped diamonds have come to light at the most opportune times.

For instance, an Alrosa discovery in July of 2018 had us wondering out loud if Mother Nature was a World Cup soccer fan. Just three days prior to the Russian national soccer team’s exciting quarterfinal match against Croatia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, Alrosa discovered a diamond that looks amazingly like a soccer ball.

In February of 2019, Alrosa revealed a 65.7-carat rough diamond that had an uncanny resemblance to a Valentine heart.

“Diamonds of a distinctive shape that resemble some object or symbol are extremely rare in nature," Alrosa's deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev said at the time. "Most rough diamonds are octahedron-shaped or do not have a particular shape at all. The appearance of a heart-shaped rough diamond, especially on the eve of Valentine's Day, seems to be a symbolic gift of nature not only to our company, but also to all loving couples.”

Alrosa noted that a 24-carat, skull-shaped stone was unearthed prior to Halloween in 2018.

In August of 2019, the company posted to Instagram a photo of a rough stone resembling a fish. It had been discovered back in 2002, and was revisited to help promote the firm's ecology efforts, which include releasing hundreds of thousands of fish into the rivers near its mining operation in Yakutia.

Credits: Diamond images courtesy of Alrosa Diamonds and via Alrosa/Instagram. Soccer ball image by Pumbaa80 (Self-published work by Pumbaa80) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons.