• eMarketer, Monday, May 15, 2006 12 PM

Luxury product marketers take note: contrary to previously established popular opinion, you can sell your high-ticket item on the Internet. New research shows that, at least when it comes to expensive jewelry, consumers have apparently overcome their original fears of buying expensive items via the Internet. Those fears were based on security concerns as well as a belief that jewelry is an "emotional sell" and buyers need to hold the item during a one-on-one transaction with an experienced salesperson. But new research from the International Diamond Exchange revealed that online jewelry sales in the U.S. represent 3.5 percent, or $2.1 billion of total jewelry industry sales of $59.4 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2004. The report also predicts that online jewelry sales will reach a 7.7 percent share in 2010. However, IDEX cautions that the current growth rates won't continue indefinitely, "Even if the Internet adds another $1 billion of sales over the next three years, the growth rate will halve to 50 percent," the report says. "As the base of sales grows larger, the rate of growth will slow. Further, as the Internet channel begins to mature, new sales will come more slowly."

Read the whole story at eMarketer »