In the first half of 2026, the number of store closures for three major Chinese gold jewelry retailers, Zhou Dasheng, Laofengxiang, and Zhou Dafu, exceeded a thousand. At the same time, gold jewelry consumption in China saw a 30% year-on-year decline in the first half of the year. Faced with declining sales, the gold jewelry industry is transitioning from “selling gold” to “selling emotional value”.
The “2026 China Gold Jewelry Retail Trend Insight Report” released at the 2026 Hard Gold Appraisal Salon held by the World Gold Council in Shanghai on September 4, 2026, revealed a 30% year-on-year decrease in gold jewelry consumption in China to 136 tons in the first half of 2026, with the decline continuing to widen. Despite the drop in sales, due to high gold prices, the total consumption amount increased by 5% year-on-year to 143.7 billion Chinese Yuan. The report also indicated that the demand for self-wearing gold jewelry has been steadily increasing, rising from 27% in 2024 to 44% in 2026.
Although the total consumption amount has increased, “Daily Economic News” reported on September 9 that the high gold prices and declining sales are still causing tension among downstream retail gold shops, with the scene of “dozens of gold shops on one street” becoming a thing of the past.
The financial reports for the first half of 2026 released by listed gold jewelry companies show that Zhou Dasheng Jewellery Co., Ltd. (Zhou Dasheng) reduced its store count by a net of 473, Laofengxiang Co., Ltd. (Laofengxiang) reduced by 439, and Zhou Dafu Jewellery Co., Ltd. (Zhou Dafu) reduced by 226 stores. The net reduction in the number of stores for these three leading enterprises in the first half of the year exceeded a thousand. Additionally, from the end of March last year to the end of March this year, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, a Hong Kong-based gold jewelry store, reduced its retail locations on the mainland by a net of 969 stores. At the same time, these gold shops showed a trend of declining revenue and net profit in the first half of the year.
With the changing market dynamics, the sales logic of the gold jewelry industry is also evolving, transforming from “selling gold” to “selling emotional value”, where products with emotional and self-pleasing attributes are becoming more popular.
Wang Lixin, the Chief Executive Officer of the World Gold Council’s China Region, stated to “Daily Economic News”: “For any product, especially jewelry, which is not a daily consumable, it needs emotional value to last. A certain style may look good for a short while and then pass, but products with added emotions are different.”
The report highlighted that in the era of high gold prices, whether gold shops can turn gold into “social currency” through design, culture, and storytelling may be the key to navigating the cycle.
On September 7th, the prices of various gold jewelry items fell below 1330 Chinese Yuan, dropping by about 80 Yuan in less than half a month, but the prices still remain high.