Here Comes the Bridal Registry

From June to September, there will be an estimated 1.2 million weddings in the US. And if you’re like me, you have 2 or 3 wedding invitations stuck to your fridge, serving as reminders of the plans I need to make, dress I need to buy and, of course, gifts I need to buy.

Most people think of wedding season and think about the billions spent on planning - the venue, food, flowers, DJ, etc. However, don’t forget this is also a billion dollar opportunity for retailers selling wedding gifts. According to The Wedding Report, Inc.’s 2012 US Wedding Market Insight Report, in 2010 the average number of guests for a wedding was 141. This was up 10% over 2009 where the average number of guests was 128. It’s expected this will jump to between 135 and 145 guests for the 2012 season. That’s more than 170M people shopping for wedding gifts this Summer.

Outlined below are The Knot’s spending recommendations for gifts according to degrees of friendship to the couple:

• Co-worker and/or distant family friend or relative: $50-$75
• Relative or friend: $75-$100
• Close relative or close friend: $100-$150

Now to a more pressing question. What will people buy for the happy couples? Looking at a recent Mintel International Group Limited study on the types of gifts couples are registering for, you can see that household items like bakeware, appliances and even electronics top the list.

And The Wall Street Journal reported that some of the recent top registry picks across a few big retailers include:

• premium kitchen cutlery
• barware accessories (ice buckets, cocktail shakers)
• electronics
• camping gear
• appliances (stand mixer, hand mixer, coffee makers)
• cookware
• luggage
• bath towels
• bedding

Google Insights also provides details on which wedding registry terms are popular.

If you’re selling appropriate items, now is the time to let people know! Talk with your account team about the best way to reach wedding guests as they move through the purchase funnel of gift getting this season.

Posted by Rachel Perrone, The Google Retail Team