Jewelry sales outperform as U.S. luxury spending falters: Citi

Luxury retail was expected to make a return in 2025 after a fourth quarter marked with holiday exchange and euphoria after the election. Instead, according to Citigroup data, the US credit card expenditures fell in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2024.

For May, luxury expenditures remained better than expected, 6.8% in April and a decrease of 8.5% in March 1.7% per year. Combined Expenditure for Best Luxury Brands HermèsIn fact, according to Citi’s analysis of a transaction subtitle by the bank’s more than 10 million US card holders, it increased by 0.2% annually.

However, these gains are not distributed equally. It has been proven to be a bright point that has continuously performs better performance of other categories such as jewelry, leather products and ready -to -wear.

According to Citi, monthly expenditures on luxury jewels have increased annually every month since September. In May, total luxury jewelery expenditures increased from year to year by 10.1%.

Moreover, while other categories floated with average expenditure increases by the customer, jewels were the only product types that saw an increase in individual customers. However, in the jewelery category, a cohort of senior brands lost 2.7% of customers, but the remaining spent an average of 11.7% more.

Citi Analyst Thomas Chauvet said that sales to CNBC were the floats with the perception of jewels as investment parts. Jewelry can have more emotional value to commemorate a milestone as a gift or a life.

“When you have $ 3,000 to spend for luxury, you know, will you buy a piece of jewelery or handbag at the same price?” he said. “Perhaps a piece of jewelry, precious metals content and superior emotional value and meaning, given you superior inner value.”

Chauvet added that the last increase in gold prices has provided more justification.

Considering that they have increased prices less than 5% since the beginning of 2025, when gold prices gained more than 25%, it is likely to buy a Cartier bracelet. ” He said.

Handbag brands, on the other hand, consumer money for the money of the money without further explosion of prices to 30% to 40%, he said.

“Handbags offered limited innovation, Chauvet said Chauvet, with a warning that a few autumn and winter 2025 collections promise a little hope. “In the last five years, it is very difficult to distinguish between brand A brand B, most bag shapes and styles.”

Luxury clock expenditures have seen some gains this year, but less consistent than jewels. In all luxury watch brands, expenditures increased by 14.7% compared to May 2024. However, the results of the best watch brands fell by 10% annually in May.

While waving Swiss monitoring exports Chauvet said he was in headlines, and he said that retailers were in a hurry to US subsidiary organizations, where president Donald Trump threatened a tariff of 31% against Swiss goods.

According to Chauvet, expenditures in May reflect an increase in consumer emotions in May, but not a turning point for senior shopping. Stock markets recovered, while the US dollar has fallen about 10% to date.

“We know that the US consumer feels better about life when the dollar is strong.” “An example of luxury is increased by a strong dollar, your ability to travel and spend abroad on luxury.”

Other potential threats to consumer expenditures seem great. Chauvet said Trump is less than two weeks less than two weeks than the expiry of the so-called mutual tariffs, and the Iran-Israeli conflict reduces oil prices.