Signet Jewelers CEO talks about ‘wary’ consumers looking to get engaged

In an interview Thursday with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Jewelers with signs CEO Gina Drosos described the mood of consumers looking to buy engagement rings, saying there is demand, but many are more judicious when choosing diamonds.

“We thought commitments might come back a little faster, but there is a cautious consumer,” Drosos said. “So what we’re seeing is that there are more couples who at any point in the past few years are ready to get engaged, but they might take a little longer while they’re shopping around.”

According to Drosos, customers visit company websites 15% more often than a year ago to search and carefully search for the right item. Signet owns a variety of jewelry retailers, including Jared, Zales, Kay Jewelers and Diamonds Direct.

She also said the company’s Covid engagement threshold appears to have been crossed, with “positive engagement units” in the quarter and in data the company collected from Google search and Instagram. She added that “newness” accelerated during the quarter, with customers responding well to new products such as carved gold. On the conference call, Drosos said Signet saw a 50 percent increase in new merchandise revenue.

“Gold prices are high, but people still love a big look,” she said. “So we have a technology called carved gold that has a hollow center so you get a really big look without the weight and without the cost.”

Signet reported a mixed quarter ahead of Thursday’s open, with management optimistic about same-store sales momentum. Shares were up more than 11% by the close.