National Retail Bulletin
Prepared for the Canadian Jewellers Association by J.C. Williams Group, a retail consulting firm specializing in customer-centric strategy, market research, branding and marketing, retail operations, real estate, master planning, and foodservice.
J.C. Williams Group delivers results-driven strategies backed by in-depth research and analysis of the global landscape.
March 2023 (May 2023 Release)
Another Slow Month for Canadian Retail Sales
Slow and steady remains the trend for Canada’s 2023 retail sales to date, with All Stores in February growing 2.9% YOY and Jewellery, Luggage and Leather Goods up 1.3% YOY (Figure 1). March saw an understandable downturn in sales as compared to February as Valentine’s Day occurs in February. However, minor growth over the previous year is a positive for the industry.
Jewellery Clicks (Figure 2), as with jewellery sales, saw a decrease in March. With increased foot traffic and Valentine’s Day over, people are shopping less for jewellery. However, when they are, they are going to stores with the nicer weather.
Retail FootFall (Figure 3) saw an increase in traffic in BIAs, but a downturn in Shopping Centre traffic. As the weather started to improve during March, this shows people are starting to get back onto retail main streets and out of malls for the summer.
What Does This Mean for the Jewellery Industry?
As wedding season is nearing, jewellers need to create unique strategies for customers to re-engage with the retail store. Personalization options for gift givers to nearly-weds, bridesmaids, and wedding parties with curated collections and special features, in addition to interactive activities in the store, will help convert footfall.