A new feature lets your store tell a registrant about a gift purchase but not reveal too many details.
February 5, 2024
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: You can now decide what information a registrant sees in the registry purchase alert email.
Previously, all registry purchase alert emails displayed the gift giver and gift details. With this update, the "limited information" setting allows your store to only inform them that a gift was given. This feature's purpose is to help keep the gift's details a surprise to the registrant.
Your store can display the following information in ...
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Part of my job is to review registry software. I ensure it works well for retailers, registrants, and gift-givers (family and friends). I also assess whether it offers good value (price vs. results).
When looking for registry software, some retailers consider MyRegistry.com for their registry service. I reviewed a retailer's site using MyRegistry.com and assessed how a customer would make a registry purchase. For privacy purposes, I blurred the store's name in the screenshots shown.
How a company's sales and growth can be affected by the message it conveys to customers.
July 18, 2023
Allbirds stock is down 95% since its November 2021 initial public offering. People may say the company launched the wrong products (did you buy one of their puffer jackets?) or tried to grow too quickly. I believe there is a larger reason: you can’t scale a company by leading with an environmental message—which is Allbirds’s pitch. Consumers rank saving the planet as one of their least pressing concerns when making a purchase. The leading factors consumers look for when ...
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How to access your built-in marketing tools via the Marketing Manager page.
July 12, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've made it easier to view and manage your marketing tools. Your account includes several built-in tools and programs, which can now be quickly accessed through the new Marketing Manager page.
The Marketing Manager page displays the following promotions in a table:
Offer Free Shipping.
Display a "Thank you for shopping local" banner on the checkout pages.
How to encourage registry customers to purchase from a registry by sharing previous gift givers' names
February 16, 2023
Your Bridge Store has an updated feature to encourage customers to complete a registry purchase. Your Bridge Store displays gift givers' names on a registry's list.
Previously, the gift givers' names were only displayed by rolling over "Purchases" at the top of a registry list.
Now, the gift givers are also displayed in a box at the footer of a registry's list.
In the example shown, we see a registry list at The Ivy House, a fine china store in Dallas. At the ...
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Our retailers recently told us that customers are calling and asking about non-existent brides, and brides are asking about non-existent registry gift lists (e.g. wedding registry lists, baby lists).
We investigated the issues and below is what we found.
What is Happening:
We found that many of these purchases are coming from registrants that open a ‘universal registry’ on websites such as Zola or MyRegistry. These universal registry services allow the registrant to add ...
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Our retailers recently told us that they were confused by strange registry orders. The stores are receiving gift registry orders on their sites but the retailer does not have a registry for the gift recipient at its store. Customers are calling and asking about non-existent brides, and brides are asking about non-existent registry gift lists (e.g. wedding registry lists, baby lists).
We investigated the issues and below is what we found.
What is Happening:
We found that many of...
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Your Bridge Store has a new feature to encourage customers to complete a registry purchase. Your Bridge Store now displays gift givers' names on a registry's list. This strategy is designed on two principles:
Consumers are more likely to make a purchase if they see that others have made a purchase.
Consumers are more likely to make a purchase if they know the name of an existing gift giver.
When we talk about prices, there are two prices that are important:
The price that we charge clients.
The price our clients charge their customers.
We normally talk about the former, aka how our prices compare with other competitors, like Shopify or wholesale services like Faire.
Of increasing importance to us is what our retailers charge their customers. Walmart recently announced that it was taking brands to account and pressuring them to keep ...
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Your Bridge Store now makes customers more likely to complete a purchase. Your Bridge Store displays a banner when checking out sharing how many customers have placed orders with your store. This social proof strategy gives the shopper an assurance that your store has the experience to handle their purchase successfully.
The example shows the checkout page for a registry gift purchase at The Ivy House, a fine tableware store in Dallas. We see a banner that displays the ...
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I think that Zola, an online provider of gift registries, may be harming local stores. Zola allows brides to pick things from any site, such as an indie store’s gift registry. Zola may then encourage the registrant to bypass that local store and use those gift funds with Zola. This is an issue because Zola has handled more than 650,000 registries, and its revenue is estimated to be $130m. Millions of dollars may have been diverted away from indie, brick-and-mortar stores to Zola&rsquo...
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Today’s Times shares that Amazon Prime members often spend twice as much compared to those that aren’t members. This led to me ponder: What if a first step to reducing Amazon’s monopolies is just canceling a $119/year ‘membership’? Prime may be Amazon’s strength—as well as its achilles. If we can find a way to undermine it, I believe one can save money and our communities.
Part of my job is to review registry software. I ensure that it works well for retailers, registrants, and gift-givers (family and friends). I also assess whether it offers good value (price vs results).
A retailer recently shared with me that it uses the service MyRegistry.com. I reviewed the retailer's site and how a customer would make a registry purchase via MyRegistry.com. For privacy purposes, I changed the name of the store in the screenshots shown.
When buying a gift online, customers will now be more likely to enter a gift message. Bridge added to the checkout page an image of a gift envelope and text asking "Include a Message With Your Gift?"
This gift envelope image and text will only appear if the purchase is for a gift registry purchase. If the purchase is not gift registry related, a customer can still enter a gift message.
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Friday, July 12, 2019
Location: Skyros Showroom / AmericasMart
Wish to grow your gift registry business?
Join Skyros Designs and Jason Solarek for drinks and a free seminar. Jason Solarek will show you 7 free steps to grow your registry business.
Friday, July 12th 5 - 6 pm Skyros Designs Showroom Building 2 / 9th Floor / Suite 919 (next to the escalators) AmericasMart Drinks and lights snacks will be served Cost: Free
Why attend? • Retailers with gift registry services report selling 13% more. • Two million weddings will occur in the U.S this year. • The average ...
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Thursday, June 20, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Location: Dallas Market Center
You're Invited...
Join us to learn the 7 secrets to growing your gift registry business.
Why Attend? • Sell 13% more ~ Retailers offering a gift registry service report selling more. • Two million weddings will occur in the U.S this year. • The average gift ...
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February 5, 2019
February 5, 2019
For Retailers: Good news: the wedding registry season is here! Consider these facts:
1. This year 2.5 million weddings will occur in the U.S. That's 2.5 million potential gift registries for your store. :)
2. Amazon, Zola, and Crate & Barrel make millions from gift registry purchases. You will, too.
3. The average gift registry purchase is $142, and the average registry receives over $1,000 in gifts.
4. The online gift registry business is the one spot where indie stores are winning online.