Focus Gen Z & Millennials!
Gen
Z and Millennials now account for two-thirds of
Global
diamond jewellery demands as sales reach record high
Millennials
already represent majority of
Global
demand while Gen Z is set to be even bigger
De Beers publishes The Diamond Insight Report 2018!
The
Millennial and Gen Z generations combined accounted for two-thirds of global
diamond jewellery sales in 2017, as diamond jewellery demand reached a new
record high of US$82 billion, according to data published today by De Beers
Group in its latest Diamond Insight Report.
Millennials,
those people currently aged 21 to 39, represent 29 per cent of the world’s
population and are the current largest group of diamond consumers. They
accounted for almost 60 per cent of diamond jewellery demand in the US in 2017
and nearly 80 per cent in China.
Gen
Z, those currently aged up to 20, is an even larger consumer generation -
representing 35 per cent of the world’s population and will come of age as
diamond consumers over the coming decades. Despite the generation being a long
way from financial maturity, Gen Z is already making its presence felt in the
diamond market, with the oldest Gen Z consumers (those currently aged 18 to 20)
acquiring five per cent of all diamond jewellery pieces in the US last year.
The
report highlights key similarities and differences between Millennials and Gen
Z as a result of their life experiences that have particular implications for
diamond brands and retailers. For example, Millennials are in general more
mistrusting, requiring brands to earn their trust before they can pursue
growth, while Gen Z tend to be more individualistic and optimistic, desiring
products that help build their own personal brands.
There
are also a number of important similarities between the generations, especially
with regards to valuing love, being digital natives, being engaged with social
issues and desiring authenticity and self-expression. Considering these
similarities and differences, the 2018 Diamond Insight Report highlights three
key areas of opportunity that the two younger generations present for the
diamond industry.
Opportunity 1 - Meeting
Millennial and Gen Z needs for love and commitment on their own terms:
Romantic
love remains the key driver globally for diamond jewellery sales, with both
Millennials and Gen Z holding strong aspirations to be in committed
relationships. However, their attitudes towards how they express and symbolise
their love are evolving.
When
it comes to love and marriage, although many Millennials and Gen Z still want
to follow tradition, there is an increasing focus on personalised products and
relaxed experiences that reflect their individual values and preferences.
The
bridal market continues to be of central importance, representing around 27 per
cent of diamond jewellery demand in the main diamond consuming countries, but
diamonds given simply as a gift of love or romance (unrelated to marriage) are
also a significant share of demand from younger consumers, representing a
further 12 per cent of total demand in 2017.
Diamond
brands and retailers must therefore complement traditional designs with more
niche, customisable offerings to reflect the broader interpretation of love and
commitment from young consumers.
Opportunity 2 – Tailoring
communications, messages and media to the natural behaviour and preferences of
Millennials and Gen Z:
As
digital communication natives, Millennials and Gen Z have an ‘always on’
attitude that means they live by a motto of ‘I Want What I Want When I Want
It’. Online shopping and social media are as significant to these generations
as physical retail outlets when it comes to researching purchases. The majority
(60 per cent) of US Millennial and Gen Z women aged 18 to 39 search the internet
prior to purchasing a diamond to learn about designs, quality, pricing and
brands, with the younger Millennials and Gen Z being more likely than older
Millennials to look on social media for inspiration prior to purchase. In
China, nearly all (98 per cent) Gen Z and Millennial consumers aged 19 to 29
researches their purchase through one or more channels before buying. As
Millennials and Gen Z experience this seamless ‘phygital’ coexistence in their
everyday lives, they expect an equally seamless Omnichannel experience when
buying products.
Omnichannel
strategies that are organic, authentic, humorous and use out-of-the-box
thinking resonate most with these consumers. However, retailers need to
understand the different channels they favour. Gen Z’s most popular social
media platforms are Instagram and Snapchat, while Facebook, Twitter and
Pinterest are considered older generations’ media and of relatively less
interest to Gen Z.
Opportunity 3 –Aligning Company
and brand purposes and social commitments to Millennial and Gen Z priorities:
Millennials
and Gen Z both display strong concern for social causes and responsibly sourced
products. This highlights the opportunity for diamond brands and retailers to
be more proactive in communicating the good that diamonds do throughout the
world, and the contribution their individual brands make to important social
causes.
Gen Z find corporate ‘storytelling’
insufficient to meet their expectations and expect brands to be able to back up
their ethical claims, moving from ‘tell me’ to ‘show me’ when it comes to
ethical sourcing, making technologies such as blockchain that can provide
digital asset tracking more important.
Bruce
Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “The younger generations present
wide-ranging opportunities for the diamond industry with the significant size
and purchasing power of today’s Millennials and tomorrow’s Gen Z consumers.
While
both of these generations desire diamonds just as much as the generations that
have come before them, there are undoubtedly new dynamics at play: those
diamonds may now be in different product designs, used to symbolise new
expressions of love and researched and purchased in different ways to mark
different moments in life.
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