Notes from a Post Pandemic USA

06/12/2021

My recently concluded trip to the United States brought forth some striking revelations. I visited both, the west coast as well as the east coast. A packed trip with some leisure and a lot of work, meeting old friends and customers as well as making new ones. Through my meetings I had various conversations with people. To see America through their eyes and get closer to the realities on ground brought about some startling revelations. I thought I should put this together for anyone who may be interested in the American market.

West Coast: I noticed a strong buoyance in consumer sentiment in the Bay area. You find technocrats and tech driven businesses rooted there. They have largely done very well in the last couple of years. Earnings have been good, valuations have gone up. Buying power was specifically very strong there too. Over all in the USA, consumption of gold has been a highlight over the last two years largely due to the extended support by the government. Not just once, but twice! I came across a lot of people who made money during this lockdown period and are now looking at safer options like gold to invest in.

East Coast: The East coast was a different story. While people in the banking sector have largely been unaffected, the same is not the case with those in trading, hospitality, travel and tourism etc. For the first time one could see unleased stores at Times Square, restaurants looking for new tenants. Such kind of signs in a prime area like the Times Square is unheard of.

Real estate: On the real estate side, prices have shot up across the United States indicating a strong bounce back from the pandemic, similar to that of India. Work from Home has become a reality, a lot of companies are encouraging employees to work from home. Therefore, demand for housing has gone up considerably. Offline Retail has also opened up fully.

Vaccination concerns and homelessness: While a large portion of the population is fully vaccinated, there are as many as 25% which has chosen not to be vaccinated! Hence, the risk of unvaccinated people remains. There has also been a sharp rise in the number of homeless people in large cities like Los Angeles and New York. There is concern amongst locals about the large number of homeless people and they consider this to be a scary sign. People living under bridges in large numbers is not something that is very common in the USA and this is seen as a negative impact of Covid 19.

Thanksgiving Weekend: The Black Friday sale this year failed to create strong sales with sales figures not even meeting the numbers of 2020. This shows that consumption in non-investment category is still not back to Pre Covid levels.

Acute Shortage of chips: A significant shortage of smart chips has created a shortage of Electronic items in the USA. This shortage was caused by chip manufacturing factories closing down during the pandemic causing a disruption in supply, while an increased demand in consumer electronics further exacerbated the supply demand gap. Shipping problems globally have also made matters worse.

The dichotomy of the American worker:?You walk into a restaurant or a retail store and the first thing you notice is how thinly staffed it is. This is a very prevalent sight currently. On one side, people have lost jobs due to Covid 19 and on the other side, we are seeing a unique phenomenon of the Great Resignation. People are being supported by Govt. subsidies and therefore not wanting to work or chart out a different career altogether. Time shall tell how long this can continue.

The Humanity of the American Consumer: The Average American consumer has been the real revelation over the last two years. There is a lot of empathy towards businesses going through a tough time. People are being supportive of small businesses. People are being more patient with services than I have ever seen before.

Strong Sales, Happy Jewellers: Like in India, there has been a shortage of jewellery during the peak season. Jewellers are very happy with the sales this year. Some say it has been better than most seasons in decades. The Indian diaspora has done well to use their excess incomes to bite into the yellow metal and make meaningful investments for the long term. Indian Jewellery chains/stores have done really well. Far better than other retail players.

The American, The Indian and The Indian-American: The three kinds of consumers of relevance to businesses like us. The American consumer, The Indian consumer (working in the USA with Indian passport) and the Indian American (Born in American in an Indian family). How are they different?

The American consumer doesn’t look at jewellery as an investment at all. It is purely about style, design and how it looks. The American consumer understands design better but has no care for its investment benefits. Purchase decisions are based on looks and not on resale value. The Indian jeweller, like us, does not primarily cater to the American consumer. Perhaps only a small portion of the sale.

The large chunk of customers we service are Indian’s who are on visas and the Indian American. The Indian American is in America for a long time, his/her financial position is generally more stable. His/her influences are as American as they are Indian and therefore he/she is willing to experiment with new designs and fashion quotient is important. At the same time they have an eye on the resale and the investment characteristics of gold and diamond jewellery. The Indian worker/visa holder is more price conscious, buys in small quantities, focuses more on savings and doesn’t really care much for design or fashion. Their approach towards jewellery is more investment driven.

Hybrid Sales: With a large population of the USA being technology savvy, we find ourselves selling jewellery comfortably on Facetime/zoom calls etc. This hybrid nature of transaction works very well in the USA unlike in India. Customers are very happy to research online, check out our products on zoom calls and then call the store to confirm purchase and delivery. The American jeweller believes in showcasing less variety, while an Indian jeweller will always have more variety. Another interesting difference is that the Indian customer usually comes with a family member or a friend to seek a second opinion when purchasing jewellery, but an American customer doesn’t seek external validation. They are happy to enforce their choice of jewellery on themselves and usually purchase based on individual choice.

PNG and USA: The USA is a great market for us. There is a lot of scope for expansion and the Indian diaspora is doing phenomenally well there. As Elon Musk mentioned recently the tech Industry in the USA is highly dependent on Indian talent. Today Indian’s in America enjoy respectable positions in high places of power, they at the top in many sectors and will continue to do well, given the work ethic, a savings mindset and the ability to work hard. USA is the largest jewellery market in the world with a strong Indian community and we are very excited by the possibilities!