band OF DIAMONDS Massachusetts

Want to grow your bridal business? The key to greater sales and profitability may be the humble wedding band, which is increasingly becoming a lot less humble.

Often an afterthought, purchased at the last minute in the rush of wedding planning, the wedding band is potentially much more significant than the engagement ring. One is a pledge, the other a symbol of the union itself.

There's evidence that couples are taking the wedding band much more seriously than ever before. In the past decade there has been a significant increase in the acquisition rate of women's diamond wedding bands. And the average sales price of these diamond wedding bands has also increased dramatically:

• Diamond wedding band acquisition rates have increased by 12 percent since 1998.
• As of 2006, diamond wedding bands are now acquired by 52 percent of all brides. For the first time, you can say most brides now choose a diamond wedding band.
• The average price of a diamond wedding band is $1,238, an increase of almost 70 percent since 1998.
• Since 2002, diamond wedding band sales have been consistently increasing in average price, showing the strongest increase from 2005-2006 of 10 percent.
• Annual diamond wedding band sales reached $1.5 billion in value in 2006, more than double what it was in 1998.

"This is huge news for retailers who want to grow their bridal business. This market has doubled in value since 1998," says Claudia Rose, J. Walter Thompson senior partner and Diamond Promotion Service industry planning director. "We've reached a tipping point, where the majority of people choose diamond wedding bands. This should be on the lips of everyone at the counter."

The Diamond Promotion Service knows that consumers are interested in what others do as they navigate the thousands of decisions that go into planning their weddings. "Consumers are curious about benchmarks and what other people do," Rose says. "Now that a majority of brides get a diamond wedding band, others are likely to follow."

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

On average, three million couples get married each year. That potential customer base has remained stable over the last decade. "It is surprising when you talk to retailers how important bridal sales are to their business when the entire potential market is only three million couples," Rose says. "It's difficult to increase that business because you can't increase the potential market."

Jewelers have only two options to grow their bridal business: take customers away from a competitor, or increase the average sale to each customer they serve. Wedding bands are a cultural imperative: 97 percent of couples who marry buy them.

"Increasing the average price of the wedding bands you sell is an interesting way to grow your bridal business because it's an add-on sale," says David Sisson, DPS director of market intelligence. "When you increase each wedding band sale from $700 to $1,200 by selling a diamond wedding band it becomes a significant add-on business that helps grow the value of your bridal business."

In fact, the average sale of a diamond wedding band is equivalent to the average diamond anniversary gift. "It's as expensive as an anniversary gift, which is a much more difficult marketing task. This is an add-on sale so it's easier to capture," Sisson says.

Diamond wedding bands are also a popular anniversary gift, one to two years into the marriage. The seeds for that future sale can also be planted at the time of the engagement ring purchase.

WHO BUYS AND WHAT THEY BUY

Because many brides today are older with a higher household income and more are not first-time brides, they have more money to spend on the band purchase. "They want the look of extra diamonds," Rose says.

As you might expect, diamond wedding band purchases increase with income. Households with an annual income of $50,000 to $99,999 account for 33 percent of diamond wedding band sales by value, although this demographic group only accounts for 25 percent of engagement rings by value. Households with incomes below $50,000 only account for 28 percent of diamond band sales by value although they account for 36 percent of engagement ring sales by value.

The age groups 18-24 and 25-34 account for 70 percent of diamond wedding band sales. The metal choice in diamond wedding bands is very similar to engagement rings. By metal, 53 percent of diamond wedding band sales are white gold, with an average price of $1,025 (this has increased over the past four to five years); 31 percent are yellow gold, with an average price of $1,365; and 13 percent are platinum, with an average price of $2,192.

More than 70 percent of diamond wedding bands are described as "band rings" and the average number of diamonds in the band is 15.

The diamond wedding band is rarely a single purchase. Only 8 percent of the couples who acquired a diamond wedding band in 2006 bought no other diamond bridal ring. (The average price for these purchases was $1,508.) For 63 percent, the diamond wedding band was accompanied by the purchase of another diamond bridal ring, either an engagement ring or a man's diamond wedding band. (The average sales price for the band in this category was $1,181.) And 29 percent of the couples chose all three rings with diamonds. (The average sales price for the band for this category was $1,284.)

Don't forget the possibility that the man will also buy a diamond wedding band. About 20 percent of men do.

BRINGING IN THE BRIDE

The key to the diamond wedding band sale is the bride-to-be. Even when the man makes the engagement ring purchase on his own, the bride is part of the wedding band purchase process.

"This is a decision that the woman gets involved in," Rose explains. "She wants a wedding band that complements the ring but isn't necessarily designed to go with it."

Associates should suggest to the groom during the engagement ring purchase that he bring her in to help select the band rather than buying a matched engagement ring and band set. "Some women tell us that they feel that a matching band is gimmicky," Rose says. "She wants to pick it out herself."

Buying a separate band rather than a set also affects the purchase price. If the diamond wedding band was acquired separately, rather than as part of a set, the average price is 12 percent higher.

Because the woman is more involved in the wedding band purchase, she also influences where to buy the ring and she may choose to go to another store. To capture this sale, you need to win over the bride, not just the groom.

"Many brides-to-be tell us that they feel not enough fuss was made over her at the store where the engagement ring was purchased," Rose says. "There's not enough clienteling going on to help build the relationship."

Many retailers aren't doing enough to bring the couple back for wedding bands. "On average, retailers tell us that 30 percent of engagement ring purchasers return to purchase the bands," Sisson says. "They are getting them somewhere. If they are not buying them from you, you've lost the sale."

If the engagement ring was purchased from you, you have an advantage when it comes time to purchase the wedding bands if you actively encourage the man to bring the bride to your store.

"Incentivize him to bring her back," Rose says. "This must be as romantic a purchase as the engagement ring. Have a private sit-down with the couple and open some champagne to celebrate the fact that they are now engaged."

Also consider marketing to engaged couples who didn't buy the engagement rings in your store: 70 percent of them will go elsewhere to buy the bands. If the local newspaper publishes engagement announcements, send a congratulations card.

You can also use mailing lists of engaged couples, such as the e-mail list from on-line wedding community The Knot, to market to local engaged couples or send invitations to a bridal event.

Encouraging a diamond wedding band sale may also help create more diamond sales in the years to come, both by deepening the relationship with your store and by expanding your new customer's relationship with diamonds.

Most diamond collectors, women who buy the most diamond jewelry and who are the most likely to buy again in the future, start with the diamond wedding band. "Most heavy owners of diamond jewelry did acquire a diamond wedding band with the diamond engagement ring," Sisson says. "It's an important milestone on the road to becoming an enthusiast."

If you focus your efforts on building diamond wedding band sales, beginning by training your staff to show them first, you will be surprised to see how much of an impact it has on your business.

"No one is really targeting this market so you can really make a difference just by what you do each day in your store," Rose says. "I would love to just watch the numbers grow purely by the efforts of people at the counter."