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Following one of the most devastating periods in its history, the diamond industry is once again gearing up for a surprisingly lucrative holiday season. That’s according to the experts at Uni Diamonds, who have predicted a strong recovery over Christmas fuelled by the growing popularity of diamond trading online.
For an extended period of time during the spring, the COVID-19 crisis practically erased the diamond industry from existence. The ecosystem as a whole was temporarily shut down, as nobody was mining, producing, selling or buying anything of value. It was still possible to buy diamonds online, but major purchases were more or less out of the question for the vast majority of people.
Even when some semblance of normality returned to the industry, investors and traders were still extremely hesitant to make any important decisions. Particularly given predictions that the knock-on effects of the pandemic would perpetuate indefinitely.
Nevertheless, the doom and gloom of the whole thing may be coming to an end – thanks in no small part to the unique holistic online marketplace created by Uni Diamonds. Completely transforming the process of how to get diamonds and sell diamonds for traders at all levels, Uni Diamonds is fronting the charge for a lucrative holiday season ahead.
Ongoing Uncertainty
The future of the conventional diamond trading sector remains uncertain, given the ongoing issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s likely to be some time before life returns to normal – assuming ‘normality’ as we knew it ever returns.
At the peak of the initial global lockdown, DeBeers experienced a slowdown in business the likes of which hadn’t been encountered in the company’s long and illustrious history. Smaller businesses and independent traders fared even worse, spurring a campaign to make drastic changes to how the industry works and move towards an online future.
All the while, investors and consumers alike were adjusting to the new norms brought about by the pandemic. Shopping online for all manner of everyday items and assets took over as the standard approach for millions – including the purchase of valuable assets like diamonds.
Growing confidence in online purchase and distribution channels has led to a spike in activity across the global diamond trading market. Already, DeBeers has reported an increase of 0.3 million carats sold above their July numbers.
While uncertainty continues to plague traditional sales and distribution channels, online trading will continue its seemingly unstoppable rise.
Reassuring Purchase Intent Predictions
Traditionally, major purchases (like those involving diamonds and precious metals) have been confined exclusively to traditional retail channels. If you were planning on buying something particularly expensive or important, you’d insist on visiting a retail outlet and checking it out in person.
Today, doing so can be anything from impractical to impossible. Or at least, far from the preferred option for those who’ve made the switch to safe and simple online retail.
As a result, both DeBeers and Uni Diamonds both have reported an enormous spike in online purchase intent heading towards the Christmas period. Rather than questioning whether or not consumers will buy diamonds online, it’s now more a case of how much they will spend and which products they prefer.
The optimistic outlook is slowly but surely encouraging major mining and polishing players to once again increase their output, even if not quite to the same extent as would be the norm for this time of year.
In any case, all evidence is pointing to a lucrative Holiday Season ahead for the online diamond industry. This is particularly so in the three largest diamond purchasing markets in the world – United States, China and India.
In North America, a full 60% of male consumers polled stated their intent to purchase diamonds as gifts for spouses or significant others this year. Meanwhile, 33% of women polled indicated their intent to buy diamond jewelry for themselves.
Over in the Indian and Chinese markets, an astonishing 80% of consumers polled said they would purchase diamonds either for themselves or for their partners before the end of the year. Among the various demographics polled, consumers under the age of 35 were the most enthusiastic about buying diamonds.
But what was interesting is how a sizable proportion of those indicating their intent to buy diamonds online still stated their expectation (or demand) for dialogue with the retails, if only in the form of an online chat. An expectation that underpins the importance of prioritizing customer service, even if selling diamonds (or other products) primarily or exclusively online.