MVEye, Wedding Report Partner on New Jewelry Research Platform

“Today’s Wedding Jewelry Consumer” shares data about engagement ring market size, lab-grown and natural diamonds, and more.

Lenore Fedow lenore.fedow@nationaljeweler.com

Pictured here is a lab-grown diamond engagement ring from Kendra Scott’s new collection. Market research firms The Wedding Report and The MVEye have partnered on a new research platform providing information about wedding jewelry consumers.

Austin, Texas—Market research firms The Wedding Report and The MVEye have teamed up on a new platform designed to educate retailers about wedding jewelry consumers.

Today’s Wedding Jewelry Consumer operates as an interactive research platform, organizing statistical data by consumer demographics and key geographic markets.

“After someone gets engaged, their next step is to plan the wedding,” said Shane McMurray of The Wedding Report. “The Wedding Report’s ‘Wedding Cost Estimator’ captures about a quarter million consumers per year who have just gotten engaged and now seek to understand the cost of their upcoming wedding.”

This stage in consumers’ lives is the perfect time for jewelers to learn about the soon-to-be newlyweds’ recent and future jewelry shopping experiences, said Marty Hurwitz of The MVEye.

“This is research data that jewelry retailers have never had access to before, and it will be extremely valuable for product development, marketing efficiency, and sale presentations,” said Hurwitz.

The reports will be released three times a year and will be available on a subscription basis.

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Report sponsors will be able to provide free or discounted subscriptions to their customers.

Beta interactive research reports are available now to demo for free. Retailers and potential sponsors can log on for free here.

The company shared some interesting statistics the platform has gathered about the engagement ring market size, lab-grown vs. natural diamonds, and more.

This year, about 2.1 million engagement rings will be sold at an average cost of $3,670, making the U.S. market worth $7.6 billion.

Personalization has been trending in the jewelry world. This year, an estimated 386,000 custom engagement rings will be created.

Sold at an average cost of $5,384, the custom engagement ring market is valued at $2.1 billion.

Couples that buy custom rings spend about 57 percent more than those who choose an existing style.

Engagement ring shoppers, particularly those on a budget, may consider lab-grown diamonds as an alternative to natural diamonds, as highlighted in a recent Fruchtman Marketing report.

This year, about one in four couples purchasing an engagement ring will purchase a lab-grown diamond engagement ring.

In terms of financing, about 545,000 couples will finance their engagement rings through their jeweler.

Couples that finance their engagement rings through the jeweler spend about 28 percent more than those that do not.

With an average cost of $4,512, the engagement ring finance market is valued at $2.46 billion.

As for wedding rings, 4.5 million will be sold this year at an average cost of $667, valuing the wedding ring market at $3 billion.

About 1.1 million couples will purchase a warranty for their engagement ring. Those that do will spend about 51 percent more than those who do not.

Nearly 14 percent of couples said they didn’t know about warranties, weren’t told, or didn’t think about it when asked why they didn’t purchase one. Most believed it was covered under their homeowners or renters’ insurance, said the company.

About 1.1 million couples will purchase insurance for their engagement, and those that do spend about 45 percent more than those who don’t.

Similar to warranties, 17 percent of customers said they didn’t know about engagement ring insurance, weren’t told, or didn’t think about it when asked why they didn’t purchase insurance.