Preliminary sales reports are in from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2003, and the news is good: Sales at jewelry-only stores were up nearly 7% over 2002 figures. For the five-year period 1999-2003, sales increased a little over 11.5% overall.
For the fourth quarter of 2003, sales increased 9.5% over figures for the same period the year before.
Fourth-Quarter Sales Compared
| Month | 2002 | 2003 | % Change |
| * December sums were preliminary at press time. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Monthly Retail Sales, unadjusted sums, in millions of dollars |
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| October | $1,686 | $1,851 | +9.8% |
| November | $2,240 | $2,410 | +7.6% |
| December* | $5,897 | $6,499 | +10.2% |
| Fourth-Quarter Totals | $9,823 | $10,760 | +9.5% |