A worldwide survey reveals an increasing consumer interest in extracted gold respecting the environment ♦ ︎
Who doesn’t love nature? Who wants a more polluted environment? Who doesn’t want clean air and fresh water? Nobody. But not everyone has the same sensitivity. And these differences can be translated into a different purchase choice. This concept also concerns jewels: everyone likes to own something precious, but not everyone chooses the same thing. This is why it is interesting to read the conclusions of a research on consumption conducted by the World Gold Council. Although tastes vary from one population to another, there are data in common, at least for some trends.
The research involved over 18,000 people in six countries: the United States, India, China, Canada, Germany and Russia, with the aim of understanding opinion of gold as an investment or as an ornament. The first result concerns the percentage of already purchased or is about to buy a gold jewel: 48%. In practice, half of the consumers which were surveyed, while 38% said they were willing to buy one and only 13% said they were not interested.
Another interesting fact, however, concerns the environmental impact and the ethical nature of the metal: consumers around the world are interested in where their gold comes from and what impact it has on the people who extract it. And it is an aspect that concerns young people in a greater way. Although, overall, only a quarter (23%) of buyers would give up buying a jewel for an ethical reason, 70% want to buy ethically produced jewelry, with minimal impact on the environment and fair working conditions for those who extract.
The interest in gold mined without environmental damage is particularly high among Gen Z consumers, from 9 to 22 years old. And so, Greta Thunberg could influence the sale of jewelry for consumers who get now on the market. Also because, according to the survey, Gen Z consumers intend to buy less gold jewelry than their parents. In the United States, for example, 18% of respondents over the age of 39 and 19% of Millennials (aged between 23 and 38) said they wanted to buy gold jewelry within the next 12 months. Among the very young, however, only 11%.
A figure should worry those who produce and sell jewelery: in China, Gen Z is the least interested in jewelery. Only 12% of Chinese young people intend to buy gold jewelry in the next year, compared to 37% of Millennials and 42% of adults. And this not because of a lack of money, but because of less interest in gold jewelery than their parents.
In short, it is better to concentrate on potential buyers. Among those who have not yet bought gold jewelry, but do not rule out doing so, 28% claim that it is held back by a lack of trust, 19% are worried about the purity of the metal (in practice the actual number of carats) and the 14% do not trust retailers.
Also interesting are some aspects that concern the typology of products: the United States Millennials, for example, love rose gold more than those over 39 years old. And three quarters of those who do not buy gold jewelery consider the yellow metal too flashy and prefer silver or diamonds.