Presenting insights into the jewellery buying habits of Indian women

The Indian Jewellery market is large. Its worth over $16 billion a year. But it's largely fragmented and unbranded. Large brands or organized retail account for 4 per cent of the overall market. The rest of the market is in the hands of about 3,00,000 unorganized jewellers. But according to a study by international consultancy firm McKinsey, the India branded jewellery market alone would touch the $2.5 billion mark by 2010.

The traditional segmentation of the Indian jewellery market would be Gold, diamond and Platinum- i.e. segmentation by material. Another typical segmentation could be wedding, fashion and trinket jewellery.

family jewellers or from branded stores? Are their jewellery purchases planned or mostly impulsive? What are their jewellery consumption habits from the perspectives of product, price, quality, place and design. The Art of Jewellery commissioned the Pune But if you look at the jewellery market from the based market research firm Market Source perspective of consumer buying habits, the Consultancy Services (MSCS) to find answers to classification would fall into three clear segments: these- and related- questions. The quantitative Everyday wear, Special occasion wear, Wedding survey was conducted in June and covered a jewellery. Everyday wear could be jewellery worn sample of 500 plus women of various age groups for work or at home. Special occasion wear could and income levels across 4 metros and 6 smaller either be jewellery either be the trousseau, which cities: Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin, is worn to the mantap or wedding hall or it could Coimbatore, Jaipur and Pune. The respondents be fashion jewellery. had all bought jewellery over the preceding year.
Now this leads us to a few question: What are the primary characteristics of women consumersboth the traditional women and the modern women- in terms of their jewellery buying behaviour? Why do they buy jewellery- for adornment, for investment or both? Do they mostly buy jewellers for themselves orfor others? Do they mostly buy from the traditional The finding are of significance both to existing jewellery retailers as well as to those who intend to enter the market in the near future. In addition, the survey presents information and insights that can assist members of the jewellery industry both in their day to day business and for planning for the future.

Methodology How the Survey was Done

The survey involved the following: Desk Research: Desk research data was collected with the help of published materials , magazines ,Internet and from relevant printed material on the subject. Field Research: A suitable questionnaire was designed and the questionnaire method was adopted for field research. All the respondents were met personally and on the basis of face to face interviews and interactions, the field data was collected. Data Analysis & Report Writing: Data analysis was carried out using statistical tools. Standard softwares such as SPSS and MS- EXCEL were used for analysis. Based on the analyses data , the survey report was drafted. Sample size: The total sample size of the survey was 550 respondents, drawn from 10 Indian cities comprising the 4 metros of Delhi , Kolkatta, Mumbai, and Chennai plus 6 major cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin, Coimbatore, Jaipur and Pune. In each city. There were 55 contact with the break-up as follows: 50 contacts comprising a mix of Traditional and Modern women jewellery shoppers and the remaining 5 contacts were of jewellery store owners. For data collection, the field team identified and spoke with women jewellery shoppers at home as well as with women shoppers picked at random at jewellery shops(that is, random walk-ins). For the purpose of the study, women jewellery shoppers were segmented into 2 categories: Traditional and Modern. Traditional women jewellery shoppers were defined as housewives, educated up to graduation level, failing in the age group of 30 years and above. With varied monthly family incomes and who are not decision makers in their own right so far as jewellery purchase is concerned. Modern women were defined as working women, decision makers in their own right with respect to jewellery purchased, with respect to jewellery purchase, with educational levels up to graduation/post graduation and above and falling in the age group of 25-35 years, including those who were newly married.

Key Findings
With reference to overall women Jewellery shoppers, traditional women shoppers had a major share as compared to Modern women shoppers. In category-wise Jewellery, plain Gold Jewellery was the most in demand. In terms of products, Bangles were the most popular among women shoppers followed by rings and Bracelets. Among significant occasions for Jewellery purchase, Diwali and Dassera together topped the list, followed by Akshaya Tritiya and (receipt of) bonus/extra money. In terms of place, Traditional Jewellery shops were the most preferred place for shopping. There was lot of awareness regarding Hallmarked Jewellery. KDM Jewellery awareness was the most among the high age group women shoppers. In case of media influence. It was observed that television was the most sought medium for consumers to get attracted towards different Jewellery brands. From the finding it was clear that the overall average of planned purchases was more as compared to impulsive purchase. The women shoppers considered,' Design on offer having more influence on their Jewellery purchase, followed by Trust and familiarity and then Price. Even today. Most of the women Jewellery shoppers consider Jewellery as an investment option than a mere adornment. Interestingly family had the most influence on the Jewellery purchase of women shoppers and, within the family; the influence of husbands was comparatively more then that of mothers. It was observed that if women shoppers are provided with better designs and quality, they are willing to pay more. Most of the women Jewellery shoppers were not willing to sell their old Jewellery but wished to retain it and opt for new purchases. Among the branded players, Tanishq, was found to be the most trusted brand followed by Nakshatra.

Readymade Jewellery preferred over Customized Jewellery

Readymade Jewellery

Jewellery mostly bought for family members

When it comes to purchase of jewellery,70% jewellery is purchased for family members . since buying gold or gold jewellery in india is a family affair, many a time the lady of the house along with kids, grandparents and siblings go to the store as a group to buy jewellery.10% jewellery is bought for use as gifts and 20% for ownself . If we see the cross reference with Modern and Traditional women shoppers,60% Modern women shoppers and 75% Traditional women shoppers buy jewellery for themselves and family members.

Purchase Mostly for use as gifts Only for yourself Mostly for yourself & family members Grand Total

Modern 12% 28% 60% 100%

Traditional 9% 16% 75% 100%

Grand Total 10% 20% 70% 100%

Modern women shoppers happen to be young

It was observed that among the overall women jewellery shoppers interviewed,16% Modern jewellery shoppers fall in the age group of less than 25 years and 62% fall in the age group 25 to 30 years and in the case of Traditional jewellery shoppers,93% fall in the age group 30 to 40 years.

Age 1-Less than 25 years

Modern 16%

Traditional 0%

25 to 30 years
30 to 40 years 40 to 50 years Grand Total

62%
22% 0% 100%

4%
93% 3% 100%

Occupational break-up women jewellery shoppers

Ornaments- Most likely to buy

Monthly income level of women jewellery shoppers

Monthly income Rs.5000-10000 Rs.10000-20000 Rs.20000-50000 Above Rs. 50000 Grand Total

Modern 34% 38% 25% 3% 100%

Traditional 22% 33% 37% 8% 100%

From the overall Modern women jewellery shoppers, 34% shoppers had monthly income between Rs.500010000, 38% shoppers had monthly income between Rs.10000-20000 and 25% shoppers had monthly income between Rs.20000-50000, on the other hand, jewellery shopping is on the rise in the case of Traditional women having monthly income Rs.20000-50000- their share was 37%- followed by women with monthly income of Rs. 10000-20000(33%) and those with monthly income of Rs.5000-10000(22%). From the city-wise table below, it can be seen that consumer habits of women jewellery shoppers of different income levels vary from city to city. As seen, Delhi has 93% shoppers with monthly income between Rs20000 and Rs.50000. similarly, 62% shoppers from Cochin have monthly income between Rs.5000 and 10000

Monthly income Rs.5000 -10000 Rs.10000-20000 Rs.20000-50000 Above Rs.50000 Grand Total

Bangalore 31% 33% 30% 6% 100%

Chennai 20% 54% 22% 4% 100%

Cochin 62% 22% 13% 3% 100%

Coimbatore 49% 35% 15% 1% 100%

Delhi 0% 4% 93% 3% 100%

Hyderabad 24% 60% 16% 0% 100%

Jaipur 0% 18% 47% 355 100%

Kolkatta 44% 38% 4% 14% 100%

Mumbai 4% 22% 60% 14% 100%

Pune 27% 43% 17% 13% 100%

Jewellery Category
Plain Gold Jewellery

Gold Jewellery studded with diamonds

Gold Jewellery studded with colour gemstones

Platinum Jewellery studded with Diamond

Platinum Jewellery

Fashion Jewellery

Pearl Jewellery

Silver Jewellery

Synthetic Diamond jewellery

Jewellery category-wise purchase

City-wise Jewellery Trends

Product Fashion Jewellery Gold Jewellery studded with colour gemstones Gold Jewellery studded with diamonds Plain Gold jewellery Pearl Jewellery Platinum Jewellery Platinum Jewellery studded with diamonds Silver Jewellery Synthetic Diamond Jewellery Grand Total

Bangalore 0% 13% 45% 71% 0% 5% 5% 2% 0% 100%

Chennai 0% 0% 2% 95% 0% 3% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Cochin 4% 7% 5% 56% 4% 9% 15% 0% 0% 100%

Coimbator 4% 5% 7% 55% 0% 9% 16% 2% 2% 100%

Delhi 0% 7% 4% 87% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Hyderabad 0% 0% 0% 98% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Jaipur 2% 15% 65% 11% 2% 5% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Kolkatta 0% 2% 9% 89% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Mumbai 0% 38% 22% 36% 0% 2% 2% 0% 0% 100%

Pune 4% 2% 15% 71% 2% 2% 2% 2% 0% 100%

Grand Total 1% 9% 13% 67% 1% 4% 4% 1% 0% 100%

While Plain Gold jewellery is a popular category among all cities, other types of jewellery show a different trend. Gold jewellery studded with gemstones is preferred by 13% in Bangalore, 15% in Jaipur and 38% in Mumbai, gold jewellery studded with diamonds is preferred by 65% in Jaipur , 22% Mumbai and 15% in Pune

Media Habits

Significant Occasions

Place of purchase

In terms of place, consumers have the habit of visiting traditional jewellery Shops, frequently on festive and weekly holidays. The graph clearly shows that almost 76% Jewellery shoppers visit traditional jewellery outlets whereas 17% visit branded jewellery outlets. On Interacting with jewellery shoppers, we got to understand that there are usually large sales promotions around these holiday seasons. Consumer are interested In buying jewellery products in traditional shops due to wider range in terms variety , choice of designs, reasonable price, assured trusted and familiarity and guaranteed quality. From the overall place of purchase, traditional jewellery shops and branded jewellery shops are the most likely preference for purchase of jewellery. From the table below, it can be seen that branded jewellery shops are popular in Bangalore, Pune, Cochin, Coimbatore and Jaipur.

Place of purchase Branded jewellery outlets Diamond merchants Individual goldsmiths Real jewellery exhibitions

Bangalore 18% 2% 0% 0%

Chennai 13% 0% 0% 0%

Cochin 29% 5% 4% 7%

Coimbatore 36% 9% 2% 13%

Delhi 0% 0% 0% 0%

Hyderabad 13% 0% 0% 0%

Jaipur 25% 0% 7% 0%

Kolkatta 5% 0% 0% 0%

Mumbai 5% 0% 0% 0%

Pune 25% 0% 4% 2%

Shopping malls Traditinal jewellery outlets

Grand Total

2% 78%
100%

0% 87%
100%

4% 51%
100%

7% 33%
100%

0% 100%
100%

0% 87%
100%

0% 68%
100%

0% 95%
100%

7% 88%
100%

4% 65%
100%

Hallmarked jewellery awareness

Preference to Buy

Purchase frequency

KDM jewellery awareness

67%

% Jewellery Purchase- Impulsive or planned

Influences on choice of jewellery store

Perception of jewellery- As investment, as adornment or both

Family influence on purchase

Willing to pay more for better design and quality

Sale or Exchange of Old jewellery with New jewellery

High gold price influence on purchase decision

High gold price certainly affects jewellery purchase decisions as 52% respondents agreed that it did.

Highly Gold prices influence on postponing purchase decision

Does high Gold prices in future influence purchase decision?

Trusted Brands

* TBZ : TribhuanDas Bhimji Zaveri

Awareness about Diamond Grades

Conclusions

The findings of the survey should be of great value to jewellery retailers. Some of the findings should surely come as a sort of revelation. As for instance the clear preference for plain gold jewellery across all women categories, that the most preferred product is Bangles, that a majority of jewellery purchase are planned well in advance, the strong level of awareness about hallmarked jewellery, the influence of thee family- especially husbands in the case of married women- in jewellery purchase decisions, the strong influence of television in creating awareness about jewellery brands, the willingness of consumers to pay more if the designs on offer were right and the jeweller(or retail store) had their trust, the pronounced preference of readymade jewellery over customized jewellery, and most importantly, the continued popularity of traditional, standalone jewellery stores. The insights provided by the survey, we believe, would help jewellery marketers and retailers in their endeavours to maximize their opportunities in the Indian jewellery market today.

Ved Prakash Sharma Centre Head ATR Institute of Jewellery Design Raipur-492001(C.G) Vedic_atrijd@rediffmail.com, veda.p.sharma@gmail.com +91-9559913754 +91-8808071891

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