Online jewelry merchants think big

Top 500 jewelry retailers logged the highest average ticket among 15 categories.

Senior Editor

Topics: average order value, average ticket, Internet Retailer research, jewelry retailers, Top 500 average ticket

Good things come from selling small packages for Top 500 web jewelry retailers.

The 14 retailers in the jewelry category—Blue Nile Inc. (No. 58), TheWatchery.com (No. 290), Diamond Nexus Labs (No. 294), Ashford (No. 432), Jomashop.com (No. 201), Ice.com Inc. (No. 195), Goldspeed.com Inc.440Goldspeed.com Inc.JewelryOnline Sales:$14,550,000 (IR estimate) Growth:0.2% See More (No. 440), Ross-Simons Inc. (No. 155), Zale Corp. (No. 189), Tiffany & Co. (No. 111), Sterling Jewelers (No. 345), Bidz.com Inc. (No. 125), Jewelry Television (No. 153) and Limoges Jewelry (No. 434)—turned in a combined average ticket rate of $433.07 in 2009.

That was the highest average ticket rate across all merchandise categories, according to research conducted for the 2010 edition of the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

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Jewelry retailers carry some of the highest-priced products, and the range for Top 500 companies’ average tickets was vast: Blue Nile reported the highest ticket at $1,669 while Limoges’ average was $50, according to Internet Retailer estimates.

Another high-end merchandise category—Housewares and Home Improvement—had the second-highest overall average ticket at $351.73. The 50 retailers in this category were led by MaxFurniture.com (No. 480) at $1,800, while Lakeside Collection (No. 320) had the lowest average ticket at an Internet Retailer-estimated $40.

Computers and electronics retailers followed with the third-highest aggregate average ticket rate at $317.17. SonyStyle.com (No. 13) had the highest individual average ticket at $1,000 and International Software Solutions Systems Inc. (No. 326) had the lowest ticket at $47. Both rates are based on Internet Retailer estimates.

Hardware and Home Improvement retailers were next, with an overall average ticket rate of $272.35 among the 24 web retailers listed in the Top 500 Guide. The category leader was LumberLiquidators.com (No. 245) with an Internet Retailer-estimated average ticket of $900. PartStore.com (No. 286), an appliance and electronics parts retailer, turned in the lowest average ticket at $66.22.

The overall average ticket rates for all 15 merchandise categories are listed below.

• Apparel and Accessories – $132.18

• Automotive Parts – $157.51

• Books/Music/Video – $81.20

• Computers and Electronics – $317.17

• Flowers and Gifts – $77.37

• Food and Drug – $123.24

• Hardware and Home Improvement – $272.35

• Health and Beauty – $129.85

• Housewares and Home Furnishings – $351.73

• Jewelry – $433.07

• Mass Merchant – $132.36

• Office Supplies – $209.25

• Specialty (Non-Apparel) – $140.22

• Sporting Goods – $228.44

• Toys and Hobbies – $141.58