Visitation to high-class retailer sites has increased over last year, as consumers gain trust in their security and reliability.

If you found yourself humming ubiquitous jingles for jewelry stores on your way to work today, you’re not alone. Advertisements for diamonds, engagement rings and other jewelry and luxury goods are inescapable during the holiday season. Increasingly, consumers are turning to online versions of these high-class retailers.

The successful launch of Blue Nile last year appears to have paved the way for other retailers by proving that shopping for jewelry online can be safe, secure and reliable. Piggybacking on Blue Nile’s online success, fine jewelers such as Zales and Kay have increased their presence on the internet. Zales.com experienced exceptional 163 percent growth over the past year, attracting 1.7 million unique visitors in November 2005, while Kay.com emerged with 79 percent growth to 644,000 unique visitors. Diamond.com and Ice.com, who sell exclusively online, also exhibited strong growth, at 223 percent and 86 percent respectively, while JewelryTelevision.com jumped 141 percent.

While the online jewelers have taken large strides in driving traffic to their sites, Coach.com remains the most popular site in the category with its selection of fine leather goods and accessories. Not to be outdone by the jewelers, Coach.com more than doubled its traffic in the past year to 2.7 million unique visitors in November. RedEnvelope.com, an online retailer of luxurious gifts and accessories, remains as one of the top players in the category with 1.5 million unique visitors.

The Jewelry and Luxury Goods category skews heavily towards the female demographic -- as one might expect -- with females accounting for about 40 percent more traffic than males. Among females, those aged 35 to 44 are the most likely to visit these sites, while the same is true for males 45 to 54. There is also a significant skew toward higher-income households. Those making at least $75,000 annually are 26 percent more likely than average to visit sites in this category.

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