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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Today’s Gen Z gift registrants want to do everything online, often on their iPhone 14. They want to start a registry, add products, remove products, edit quantities, and view purchases. They don't want to call the store to do this.
In the adoption of digital tools, another trend is also at play: female shoppers are busier than before. Today, more women graduate from college than men. Women are increasingly doctors, CEOs, and world leaders. (Italy just welcomed its ...
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Kristin comes to Plum Southern with 25 years in the destination wedding world. She has her own wedding retail line that will now call Plum Southern home.
Watch for upcoming bridal events including retreats, subscription boxes and so much more!
Your Bridge has a new feature. You can now more easily manage your gift registry bonuses.
Background:
Your Bridge Store's Gift Registry software has a marketing program built in. This program gives registrants (e.g. brides) a monetary bonus if they complete five steps. Previously, when registrants reported that they added a link on their social media page, a store would have to ask the registrant on which platform they added the link. The same process occurred when the registrant reported ...
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🥂🍾We’re sincerely grateful to all Skyros brides and their grooms for allowing us to share this very special time of your life… We wish you joy, love and happiness on your wedding day as you begin your new life together!
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#skyrosbride
#skyrosdesigns
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The chocolate chip cookie was invented by American chefs Ruth Graves Wakefield and Sue Brides in 1938. They invented the recipe during the period when she owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts. Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!
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This week's Times shares that brides are increasingly asking for cash gifts. This trend pulls back the curtain on the underbelly of wedding gifts. Over the last 20 years, a trend emerged where a bride would ask for a traditional gift (i.e. a crystal champagne flute set, a fine china plate, etc.) but then redeem the credit for a television or vacuum. The stores that were especially adept at this were the big-box stores with a wide variety of offerings like Macy's and Target. They would use ...
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🥂Wedding season is upon us... We’re sincerely grateful to all Skyros brides and their grooms for allowing us to share this very special time of your life… We wish you joy, love and happiness on your wedding day as you begin your new life together! 🤍🥂🤍
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#skyrosbride
#skyrosdesigns
#shoplocal
#weddingwednesday
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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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I recently bought a pair of jeans from the bike-lifestyle company Rapha. I find Rapha's stores, emails, and mission to be inspiring to Bridge, and I'll explain why.
First, you may ask, "What is Rapha?" Rapha is a product company that sells goods for biking, including shirts, shorts, helmets, and accessories. What is unique is the lengths it goes to foster a community (and sales!) by having a coffee shop in it, organizing riding events, offering members-only clothing...
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We are so excited to be offering gift and wedding registry items to our store! Here is a easy way to look at our brides items online and pick something out. We currently do not have a credit card system set up with this site so when you place your order we will have to call you and get your credit card information over the phone. From there we will let the bride know you have left a gift or make sure it gets to a certain shower date that you specify.
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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.
Pat Hensley, a sales rep for Ryan Associates, helped her store and her brands this morning.
Pat signed up Canterbury Court, a gift and antique shop in Texas. By just spending a few minutes, the retailer has a live Bridge Store with 1,800+ products. Customers and brides-to-be can shop these products. Google will rank the store higher due to these products. The store saved months of web development time and thousands of dollars in labor.
In this 5 minute video, I explain how the registry business has changed over the last 20 years.
I share how Bridge has helped hundreds of indie stores in the U.S. soak up registry sales by adopting digital solutions that service their brides, registrants, and customers.
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Come to Alioto’s to receive the personal attention and experience that you cannot get at the big box stores. We can assist you with your decision-making process for all the items you want to register for, from fine china and crystal to casual dinnerware and glasses, sterling silver placesettings to everyday silverware, frames, bar ware, home decor, and the list goes on. If you want it and it is available, we will find it for you!
See some reviews from brides:
“Sera and her ...
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There are many e-commerce platforms from which to choose. A store owner can choose from more than 30 platforms including Bridge, Shopify, Big Commerce, and Big Cartel. Unfortunately, very few software providers are easy to set up and use. Most importantly, they may not improve retail sales. A store owner is surely mindful of increasing costs and wasting time on software.
Bridge, our e-commerce platform, helps more than 700 indie stores offer a website and bridal registry that...
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Zola has added a "Home Store" tab to its site. The goal: become an online retailer that does it all...oh, and maybe does gift registries, too. Notably, this a departure from its original, registry-focused mission statement. Initially, Zola told brands that indie store gift registry services were not servicing out of the way towns and that by opening Zola, the brand would reach brides in remote parts of, say, Oklahoma. Zola didn't say that it was simply selling ...
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From all of us here at BB&G we want to sincerely thank all of our customers for an amazing year!! To all of you who called during the time we were "closed to browsing" to purchase items to be shipped to you, we appreciate you thinking of us! To those of you who have purchased from a Bridal Registry during these uncertain times, we know the brides and grooms appreciate you thinking of them during what is already a stressful time but even more so with the pandemic, we sincerely hope ...
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