RESEARCHING DIAMOND RINGS OR JEWELRY

• When researching diamond rings, Millennial women are inspired by "the likes of Princess Diana and The Duchess of Cambridge with their beautiful Oval Blue Sapphires, but also Princess Eugenie and her coral-coloured Padparadscha Sapphire."
• Researching for rings expands Millennials' views on which types of diamonds they would be happy to buy or receive. Forbes reported that 66% of Millennials who are actively researching engagement rings stated they would consider a lab-grown diamond.
• Additionally, 23% of Millennials consider purchasing a ring with a lab-grown centre stone whilst researching for diamond rings.
• When researching companies that sell diamond rings or jewelry, Millennials are focusing on finding companies that "support social causes, responsible consumerism, and sustainability." The companies are expected to show they genuinely share these values.
• Research also includes looking for companies which offer a full range of services. This includes services from "inventory checking and setting up appointments, to purchasing and returns to be seamlessly available and interchangeable online and offline."
•  Primary research will be focused on Facebook for older Millennials, and Snapchat and Instagram for younger Millennials. Additionally, Millennials turn to influencers for primary research as well.

BUYING DIAMOND RINGS OR JEWELRY

• The average Millennial couple spent a little over $3,000 on an engagement diamond ring, compared with an average couple spending about $2,800 in 2018.
•  58% of Millennial women in 2018 opted for independent designers or one-off pieces when it comes to their diamond rings.
• Millennials drive almost 60% of diamond jewelry demand in the US and almost 80% of all diamond jewelry demand in China.
• Millennials buy from brands that have built up a trust with them.
• This age group buy diamond jewelry for three primary reasons: romantic love and bridal diamonds, love gifting for non-bridal purposes, and diamond gifting from Millennials to family and friends.
• The three most popular ring type purchases when it comes to diamond rings in Millennials are: a ring dominated by one centre diamond that also contains smaller diamonds, a ring dominated by one centre diamond in a halo setting, and a ring with one diamond only that is also called a solitaire ring.

MARKETING TO MILLENNIALS

1. Digital touchpoints

• According to McKinsey, the number of touchpoints the average Millennial encounters whilst buying a diamond ring or diamond jewelry is increasing globally, with US consumers engaging with 7 different touchpoints before purchasing a ring. Half of these touchpoints are digitals.
• This means that the marketing should be focused on omnichannel marketing using different digital channels as 78% of all diamond jewelry purchases by Millennial involve at least one digital touchpoint.

2. Digital ad features

• According to a 2018 Research Now SSI study, the digital advertisements for diamond jewelry in Millennial should feature the following (with decrease in importance): originality, fun, design, information, and opportunity to personalize the ring.
• This is applicable for the following channels: Instagram, Vogue.com, and Pinterest.

3. Push turns to pull

•  Salesforce recommends a one-to-one marketing strategy, tailored to the one specific consumer, in order to provide the ultimate feel of a luxury buying experience.
•  This involves marketing on all channels, owning systems to capture data in-house (as opposed to using an agency), the company setting the data strategy, and real-time feedback on campaigns.

4. A step back from large consumer groups

• According to De Beers Group, Millennials are known to have shifted their demand in diamond jewelry (and luxury in general) towards niche, local, and original brands.
• The marketing for diamond jewelry should be based on meeting the Millennials' desire to "express their individual personalities through the products and services they buy."

5. Foregoing the gender agenda

• According to JWT Intelligence, marketing that shines a light on positive and progressive outlooks on both women and men is expected to be more and more impactful when it comes to Millennial consumers. Consumer advertising campaigns are projected to need to "avoid gender stereotypes and projecting unrealistic perceptions of physical form."
•  Initiatives such as the Unstereotype Alliance, which was founded by UN Women, and references to the World Federation of Advertisers’ Guide to Progressive Gender Portrayals in Advertising are the most likely to "play an important role in guiding the actions of marketers so that they are consistent with younger consumers’ expectations, and are more effective at removing potentially discriminative representations of different groups."

6. Focus on marketing non-bridal gifting

• De Beers reported that almost 50% of the non-bridal gifting comes from Millennials.
• Therefore, companies should market to the non-bridal segment, and develop campaigns that celebrate special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day, and other milestones.

7. Focus on experiences over products alone

• De Beers also reported that "consumers are increasingly valuing experiences over products alone."
• The solutions offered should cater to the concept of buying jewelry where more "brand stories, new in-store experiences, like cafes and bars, and personalization and customization" are offered.

8. Give up on 4C

• While up to now, diamond makers focused on the 4Cs guidelines to diamond quality: carat weight, cut, color, and clarity. However, Millennial consumers do not have time to learn or understand the intricacies of making diamond jewelry.
•  Marketing should focus on the diamonds being "simply brilliant", "brilliant", or "sparkling", as these are the words that Millennial are looking for when searching for a diamond ring.