Although preliminary results of National Jeweler's annual post-holiday survey show that same-store sales dropped for many jewelers this holiday season, some 11 percent said they were actually up by 10 percent or more for the year, while 6 percent were up by 6 to 10 percent and another 6 percent were up by 1 to 5 percent over 2007.

New York--Santa seems to have snubbed retail jewelers this year, with 80 percent of those responding to National Jeweler's annual post-holiday survey reporting that their same-store sales dropped for the November-December 2008 period compared with the same period in 2007.

According to preliminary survey results, the majority of respondents saw double-digit decreases in their holiday sales. The current breakdown of the ongoing survey reveals the following: 65 percent of jewelers saw same-store sales sink by more than 10 percent, 8 percent saw sales drop by 6 to 10 percent, and 7 percent saw sales dip between 1 and 5 percent. Another 5 percent said their sales were flat compared with 2007.

Amid various media reports of significant sales declines in the luxury goods sector as a whole, some jewelers managed to thrive this holiday season, the National Jeweler survey found. In fact, 4 percent of respondents indicated that their same-store sales jumped by more than 10 percent during the November-December selling period. Another 3 percent saw sales increase between 6 and 10 percent, while 6 percent of the jewelers surveyed saw gains of 1 to 5 percent.

For the entire year, jewelers fared a bit better, according to preliminary survey results. Some 11 percent of jewelers responding to the survey said they were up by 10 percent or more for the year, while 6 percent were up by 6 to 10 percent and another 6 percent were up by 1 to 5 percent over 2007.

Still, the majority of respondents--47 percent--said their sales were down by 10 percent-plus for the year. Another 14 percent said sales were down 6 to 10 percent and 6 percent said their sales declined by somewhere between 1 percent and 5 percent. Seven percent of respondents said their sales were flat, and 2 percent said their stores were not open in 2007.

The biggest culprit in the sales declines was consumer confidence, according to 70 percent of respondents who said that the global economic crisis prompted even those consumers who remained gainfully employed to snap their wallets closed this year. Others said that inclement weather and nearby chain stores going out of business and offering deep discounts hurt sales this year.

Nearly 220 jewelers responded to the survey at press time.