Seattle:
At this time of year, jewelers rely on last-minute men.
They are the spouses, the boyfriends, the loved ones, all who, up until this week, have been steering clear of malls and anything that requires gift-wrapping.
But in these last few days, they have suddenly assumed a predictable stance, bending over glass counters and snapping up necklaces, bracelets and rings. During what retailers call "desperation week," spending on jewelry stands out, spiking high at the end of the holiday season. And the procrastinating male shopper gets much of the credit.
"You're talking about a lot of male purchases, a lot of last-minute purchases there," said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis for MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, which tracks all sales. "That tends to be an area where you can get a lot of purchasing done in a very efficient amount of time."
Both higher-end retailers, like Tiffany and De Beers Diamond Jewellers, and mass chains like J. C. Penney say that this week is typically strong for jewelry. Last year, for instance, more than $709 million was spent on jewelry on Dec. 23 and 24 alone, representing 10 percent of the entire month's jewelry sales, according to SpendingPulse.
This year, with jewelry sales up just slightly at the front end of the holiday rush, and the price of gold rising, retailers are depending heavily on what they see as the manly tradition. They consider themselves experts on the procrastinating male, especially when it comes to sparkle and glitter. Alexis Bittar, who sells jewelry at his own stores as well as at 650 retailers worldwide like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, has witnessed the seasonal gender shift among his shoppers. More than half his customers are men during this busy week, but drop to about 5 percent at any other time of the year.
"I think men, I don't want to say they're not as thoughtful, because that sounds wrong, but their thoughtfulness seems to tip toward the last week before Christmas," Mr. Bittar said.
Alex Allen, who works at a downtown Seattle mutual fund company, used his lunch hour this week to dip in and out of Tiffany's, and conceded that he personified the last-minute male shopper. "I have 20 minutes left," Mr. Allen declared. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I have a plan."
He chose a pair of silver beaded earrings for his girlfriend. "Last Christmas, I did get her jewelry as well. She enjoys it, and it's a good investment," he said. "Clothes, she'll grow out of, and if I'm going to spend a decent amount of money, I would prefer it's something she'll have for a long time."
"I'm a procrastinator, and every year I tell myself I'm going to start earlier, and I don't," Mr. Allen said. "Maybe I enjoy the adrenaline rush."
Like Mr. Allen, 21 percent of men surveyed, according to a recent Consumer Reports poll, had not started their shopping by Dec. 19, compared with 13 percent of women.
Researchers and analysts also suggest that marketing plays on gender stereotypes, too, influencing what men tend to buy.
"Ritual behavior, including gift-giving and the creation of the holidays, is still traditionally relegated as women's work, because it falls into the sphere of the domestic," Cele C. Otnes, a professor at the University of Illinois's College of Business who studies consumer behavior and advertising, said via e-mail. "Women are the main purveyors of the gift culture, but men realize (a little later than women) in the season that there is this little aspect to gift giving called reciprocity, which sets men in motion."
"Of course, it doesn't hurt that the main jewelry chains engage in heavy promotion in places where men can be found -- during certain TV programs and in the newspaper," Professor Otnes said.
Jewelry is a safe bet for most men, says Nelson Barber, an associate professor at University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics, who researches shopping behavior.
Men tend to feel less rewarded by purchases and consumption than women do, he said. Instead, they choose gifts that impress.
Buying clothes like a blouse, for example, carries a high potential for error.
He posited these outcomes: A wrong size -- ("So you think I look this big?" or "So you want me to look this small?"); an ill-suited color ("This makes me look washed out"); or an unfashionable fashion ("This is for an older woman").
Also, men do not like to ask for help, which clothes buying almost always requires, and they would rather "grab something easy to buy, rather than appear not to know something," Professor Barber said. "Women are more social, and communicating with others is a solid way to affirm the selections, beliefs or share ideas without any fear of failure."
With jewelry, "waiting until the last moment is easy, and can suggest thoughtful reflection by the male shopper," he said.
At Silverworks, a store in a downtown Seattle mall, Mike Pfab, a graphic designer, conceded that he was among those who wait too long to shop.
"I always run out of time, and I'm a bad, bad procrastinator," said Mr. Pfab, 38, who was on his lunch break. He settled on a pair of dangly earrings and a sparkly cherry-shaped keychain for his wife. She would also get, he said, "whatever else I find from now until Christmas Eve."
Mr. Bittar, the jewelry designer, issues an entire set of instructions to sales clerks to help guide men like Mr. Pfab. "When the panic sets in, the guys need more steering," he said.
He coaches employees to ask about the colors that spouses or partners wear, whether they prefer gold or silver, and if they favor big or small earrings. "They don't know what they're looking at, and unless they have great taste and style, they're really unsure of themselves and that really comes across," Mr. Bittar said.
At a Nordstrom here, Bryant Higgins, 71, said he had learned his wife's dislikes over the years, but still could not settle on the right gift this time.
"I don't get her earrings, because she's fussy about her earrings and I never get it right," said Mr. Higgins, a salesman at Sears. He had been looking at necklaces and bracelets, guessing that she would prefer smaller, classic styles over the bigger, more contemporary ones. "Everything else is done," Mr. Higgins said of his Christmas shopping, "but my wife. That's probably common for me."
Kevin Lewis, a retired floor-covering salesman, had returned to Tiffany after browsing there with his wife last week, hoping to surprise her with some crystal votives she had admired. Other than that, he plans to get her "whatever else she wants. She's a princess," said Mr. Lewis, 68. The men did seem to have put forethought into their gifts -- though it came with a looming deadline.
Perhaps, as François Delage, the chief executive of De Beers Diamond Jewellers, put it: "I would not necessarily call it last minute, as long as it's still the right moment."