About Retail: D.C.-Area Jewelers Share Their Views on 2019

to come weighs on Afram and has others worried as well.

February Fears
Jeweler Jenny Caro’s shop, Jewelry By Designs, sits just 30 minutes outside of the capital in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Situated in a popular suburb for D.C. commuters, she estimated that close to 80 percent of her customers are government employees.

With the potential of another shutdown looming, Caro is concerned about Valentine’s Day sales and lamented that the government had “no concept of the repercussions” on retailers.

Restaurants and coffee shops in her area were giving away free food and drinks to help out and retain their customer bases.

While Caro was able to throw in free watch batteries for a customer serving in the Coast Guard, large-scale, long-term free giveaways aren’t viable options for a jewelry store.

The challenge has been getting customers to come in the door, Caro said. When their economic future feels uncertain, the last thing they’ll buy is jewelry.

The store plans to offer Valentine’s Day packages with lower price points for struggling customers, including a $99 bundle that includes long-lasting roses, a box of chocolates, and pearl stud earrings.

“We’re just trying to do whatever we can to be proactive, to reach out to current customers,” Caro said.

Brian Mann of David Mann Jewelers, which has operated inside the Pentagon since 1945, is hopeful for Valentine’s Day though not entirely without concerns.

Mann said he was fortunate that the Pentagon workforce was present throughout the shutdown as the U.S. Department of Defense was funded back in the fall.

The store’s location in a government building means keeping the same schedule as the building’s hours of operations, ending the day at 5 p.m. and closing on weekends and national holidays.

Mann said he hopes to avoid a second shutdown, which would start on Feb. 15 and could put holiday sales in jeopardy.

“We have always have had a strong Valentine’s Day business; we always call it our little Christmas rush. Let’s hope for one again this year,” Mann said in an email to National Jeweler.

A National Gauge
The anecdotes and experiences of D.C.-area jewelers are reflective of consumer sentiment across the United States, whether steps or miles away from the White House: The shutdown has everyone at least a little shook up.

The Consumer Confidence Index dropped by 6.4 points to 120.2 in January following a decline in December, according to The Conference Board by Nielsen.

The Expectations Index, which is based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, dropped from 97.7 in December to 87.3 in January.

The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months fell from 18 percent in December to 16 percent in January, while the percentage who expect them to decline rose from 11 percent to 15 percent.

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However, Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said The Present Situation Index was virtually unchanged, suggesting economic conditions overall remain favorable even if consumer confidence did take a hit due to financial market volatility and the government shutdown.

“Shock events such as government shutdowns (i.e., 2013) tend to have sharp but temporary impacts on consumer confidence,” she said in a note accompanying the index, noting that January’s decline was more the result of a “temporary shock” than a precursor to a significant slowdown.