NATIONAL JEWELER          11
A
t the beginning of 2026, retail heavy-
weights descended on New York City’s 
Javits Center for the National Retail 
Federation’s annual trade show, dubbed 
Retail’s Big Show.
From AI advancements to omnichannel optimi-
zation, retail executives and industry analysts came to 
talk shop and strategize for the year ahead.
In search of the top consumer trends, we too headed to 
the show to hear from the experts. 
Then we did some research of our own, reading surveys, digging 
through data, and talking to jewelry store employees to see if the 
consumer behaviors we’d heard about squared with their recent experiences 
with customers.
They talked to us about why consumers, particularly younger consumers, gravitate toward lab-grown  
diamonds, changing attitudes around trends, and how independent jewelers should be using TikTok.
NGS
RETAILERS 
SHOULD 
KNOW ABOUT
CONSUMERS 
TODAY

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