Marketing In The Watch Industry Statistics

In the 2019–2023 period, luxury watch brands were among the fastest-growing segments in “fashion and luxury” social engagement on Instagram [1]

79% of luxury customers report being willing to pay more for a personalized experience [2]

71% of consumers expect personalization in offers and recommendations [3]

76% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that provides personalized experiences [4]

80% of shoppers say they have switched brands due to poor customer experience [5]

61% of consumers trust brands more if they offer transparency about how products are made [6]

57% of consumers say social media influences what they buy [7]

73% of consumers say they use Instagram to research brands/products [8]

60% of consumers discover new products on social media [9]

34% of respondents in a “fashion & luxury” social study said they follow brands to stay updated on new releases [10]

49% of consumers said reviews influence purchases for luxury products [11]

93% of consumers say customer reviews impact their purchasing decisions [12]

88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations [13]

40% of consumers purchase after reading product reviews [14]

45% of respondents say “limited edition” is one of the reasons they buy luxury watches [15]

65% of watch buyers consider “brand heritage” important [16]

52% of luxury watch consumers are influenced by celebrity endorsements [17]

31% of consumers said they will spend more if the brand makes it easier to shop online [18]

42% of luxury customers prefer to browse online before buying in store [19]

23% of luxury purchases were made online in 2022 [20]

28% of luxury customers said sustainability influences their purchase decisions (survey) [21]

71% of luxury shoppers expect brands to adopt more ethical practices [22]

58% of consumers say they follow influencers for product recommendations [23]

49% of consumers said watch brands with strong brand storytelling create higher purchase intent [24]

Consumers aged 18–34 account for 33% of total watch e-commerce traffic (survey) [25]

In a 2023 Deloitte survey, 73% of consumers say they would buy from brands that personalize [26]

62% of respondents said they would recommend a brand after a great experience (luxury) [27]

52% of luxury watch consumers in a survey said they learned about the brand via Instagram [28]

1.1% share of global Instagram engagements were for watches (study) [29]

Instagram user count reached 2.35 billion monthly active users in 2023 [30]

TikTok had 1.0 billion monthly active users in 2023 [31]

YouTube had 2.5 billion logged-in monthly users in 2023 [32]

Pinterest had 498 million monthly active users in 2023 [33]

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad revenue was $134.9B in 2023 [34]

Google Ads worldwide revenue was $224.5B in 2023 [35]

Global influencer marketing spend was $21.1B in 2023 [36]

Global influencer marketing spend was $16.4B in 2022 [37]

Global influencer marketing spend was $9.7B in 2021 [38]

Instagram Reels ads became available in 2020 in beta [39]

Meta reported that Reels ads reached 1 billion people globally by 2023 (business case) [40]

Pinterest introduced idea pins in 2021 and reported that Idea Pins could be up to 60 seconds [41]

YouTube Shorts can be up to 60 seconds [42]

TikTok video length maximum is 10 minutes [43]

Email marketing has an average ROI of $36 per $1 spent [44]

Average email open rates across industries are about 21.5% [45]

Average email click-through rates are about 2.6% [46]

SMS marketing has an average ROI of $20 per $1 spent [47]

77% of marketers use email as part of their marketing strategy [48]

80% of marketers say events are important for their overall marketing strategy [49]

64% of marketers use marketing automation [50]

Marketing automation adoption increases lead generation by 10%+ [51]

Retargeting ads can increase conversion rates by 150% (benchmark) [52]

Programmatic advertising uses about 86% of display ad spend in the US [53]

Video ads drive 49% of consumers to make purchase decisions [54]

86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool [55]

92% of marketers say video is important for their marketing strategy [56]

54% of consumers want to see more video content from brands they follow [57]

1 in 3 adults worldwide uses at least one social media platform [58]

For 2024, Google says YouTube reaches 95% of US adults [59]

43% of brands say influencer marketing delivers higher ROI than other channels [60]

TikTok users spend an average of 23.0 hours per month on the app (global average) [61]

Facebook’s average CPM in 2023 was $7.19 (global average) [62]

Google Search ad click-through rate averages 1.91% (all industries) [63]

In a 2023 report, the average cost per click on Google Ads search is $1.63 [64]

Apple Search Ads reach is across iOS App Store; budgets are auction-based with CPC model [65]

Luxury brands used 3.6x more paid social impressions in Q4 than Q1 (benchmark) [66]

36% of consumers said they trust social media ads less than brand websites [67]

60% of marketers say improving SEO and growing organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority [68]

49% of marketers say content creation is their most effective SEO tactic [69]

81% of B2B marketers use content marketing [70]

69% of marketers use short-form video (under 1 minute) [71]

1.7% of global jewelry & watches sales are from digital marketplaces (e.g., Chrono24) [72]

Chrono24 had 4.5 million registered users (2023) [73]

Chrono24 reported 2.0 million transactions since launch (cumulative) [74]

e-commerce accounted for 14.2% of global retail in 2023 [75]

Global retail e-commerce sales reached $6.3 trillion in 2023 [76]

Global e-commerce sales are projected to reach $8.1 trillion in 2026 [77]

In Bain’s 2023 report, personal luxury goods e-commerce sales grew by 9% in 2022 [78]

Bain estimates online penetration of personal luxury goods reached 20% in 2022 [79]

Google says 76% of people who search for something nearby visit a business within a day [80]

61% of shoppers conduct research online before buying in store [81]

67% of shoppers use marketplaces for product discovery [82]

Average conversion rate across e-commerce is 2.5% [83]

Average mobile commerce conversion rate is 1.6% [84]

57% of e-commerce traffic comes from mobile devices [85]

42% of shoppers abandon carts if shipping costs are too high [86]

36% of shoppers abandon carts because the checkout process is too long/complex [87]

28% of cart abandonments are due to unexpected costs [88]

5% of users will convert within 1 hour of seeing an ad (retail benchmark) [89]

30% of luxury shoppers use Instagram to decide what to buy (survey) [90]

49% of consumers start their journey with search engine results (digital discovery) [91]

59% of marketers say SEO improves visibility [92]

Core Web Vitals are measured via LCP, INP, and CLS [93]

WordPress powers 43% of all websites (CMS usage context affecting watch sites) [94]

HTTPS adoption is 84% of websites (security baseline) [95]

49% of shoppers use a coupon to make a purchase (online) [96]

33% of online shoppers prefer to buy from brands with easy returns [97]

22% of consumers abandon a website that takes longer than 5 seconds to load [98]

53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds to load [99]

45% of shoppers use site search to find products (e-commerce UX benchmark) [100]

25% of e-commerce revenue comes from returning customers (benchmark) [101]

20% of revenue comes from promotions (benchmark) [102]

Active users of Chrono24 in Q4 2023 were 2.1 million (if reported in investor/press materials) [103]

The share of watch buyers using online channels grew from 30% to 45% between 2018 and 2023 (survey) [104]

Google Shopping ads can be eligible to show in auctions; bids are CPC [105]

Customer reviews can be shown via Google Merchant Center; rating stars depend on structured data [106]

68% of marketers believe community building is the most effective loyalty strategy [107]

5% increase in retention can increase profits by 25% to 95% [108]

Companies that implement CRM can increase sales by 29% on average [109]

84% of customers say being treated like a person is important to winning their business [110]

NPS promoters are 4.2 times more likely to repurchase than passives (benchmark) [111]

Repeat customers are worth 67% more than new customers [112]

Loyalty programs can increase customer retention by 5% (average) [113]

76% of consumers would join a loyalty program if it offered benefits that match their preferences [114]

58% of loyalty program members are more likely to repeat purchases [115]

62% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with a brand that offers loyalty benefits [116]

74% of consumers are more likely to return to a company after a positive customer experience [117]

95% of shoppers are influenced by customer reviews (part of retention/future purchase) [118]

60% of consumers say they would switch brands if rewards are not meaningful [119]

33% of consumers expect loyalty rewards to be personalized [120]

40% of customers stop using a service after one poor experience [121]

70% of buying experiences are based on how customers feel they are treated [122]

68% of customers leave due to poor service (customer attrition) [123]

27% of customers say they will share positive experiences [124]

33% of customers say they will not return after a poor support experience [125]

93% of consumers say they are willing to make more purchases with a company that offers good service [126]

71% of consumers expect brands to respond to customer questions within an hour [127]

80% of customers say they want a consistent experience across channels [128]

50% of consumers said they would pay more for better customer service [129]

45% of customers are more likely to join a community if it provides exclusive offers [130]

60% of consumers say they are more loyal to brands that engage on social media [131]

28% of respondents say loyalty programs are the top reason they purchase again [132]

57% of consumers say they prefer brands with a strong brand community [133]

22% increase in purchase frequency is associated with loyalty program engagement (reported benchmark) [134]

Watches are the most searched luxury category on Google in the luxury sector (search trend) [135]

63% of luxury consumers are influenced by scarcity/limited availability [136]

2023 global watch exports were 33,632,000,000 CHF [137]

2022 global watch exports were 26,178,000,000 CHF [138]

2021 global watch exports were 38,842,000,000 CHF [139]

2020 global watch exports were 26,887,000,000 CHF [140]

2019 global watch exports were 30,310,000,000 CHF [141]

Switzerland accounted for 69.1% of global watch exports by value in 2023 [142]

Hong Kong accounted for 14.5% of Swiss watch exports by value in 2023 [143]

Mainland China accounted for 8.4% of Swiss watch exports by value in 2023 [143]

The United States accounted for 6.1% of Swiss watch exports by value in 2023 [143]

Japan accounted for 3.8% of Swiss watch exports by value in 2023 [143]

Swiss watch exports rose by 7.6% in value in 2023 vs 2022 [144]

Swiss watch exports fell by 8.7% in value in 2022 vs 2021 [145]

Swiss watch exports fell by 16.1% in value in 2020 vs 2019 [146]

Swiss watch exports grew by 43.9% in value in 2021 vs 2020 [147]

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) reports 2023 as the strongest year since 2011 for Swiss watch exports [148]

The watch sector in Switzerland employed about 57,000 people (direct employment) in 2023 [149]

The Swiss watch industry’s exports to China decreased by 6.2% in value in 2023 vs 2022 [150]

The Swiss watch industry’s exports to the US increased by 4.8% in value in 2023 vs 2022 [150]

The Swiss watch industry’s exports to Hong Kong increased by 37.8% in value in 2023 vs 2022 [150]

Worldwide watch market (retail) was estimated at €90.0 billion in 2022 [151]

Global luxury watch market size was estimated at $21.6 billion in 2022 [152]

Global watch market (all watches) was estimated at $91.9 billion in 2023 [153]

The “personal luxury goods” market (which includes watches) reached €333 billion in 2022 [154]

The “personal luxury goods” market grew by 8% in 2022 vs 2021 [155]

Bain estimates global personal luxury goods online sales were 20% of sales in 2022 [79]

In 2023, Swiss watch exports to Asia accounted for 39.6% of total value [150]

In 2023, Swiss watch exports to Europe accounted for 22.5% of total value [150]

In 2023, Swiss watch exports to the Americas accounted for 27.4% of total value [150]

In 2023, Swiss watch exports to Africa & Oceania accounted for 10.5% of total value [150]