What is the fulfillment level of wedding registrations?

Everyone in the bridal industry knows that couples don’t always receive everything they register for.  That’s why many retailers offer couples club plans to self-purchase what they want after the wedding.  But, since couples register in 2.7 stores on average, no single store has a means by which to track how much of what they register for is actually received.   Bridal Monitor overcomes this problem because it is not limited to registries in a single store, it asks brides where they register, what they register for and what they receive.

So here’s the big news:  On average couples registered for 150 items worth $5521.00.  Again, that’s including all the goods they registered for in all the stores they registered in.  (So don’t compare our figure with published retail figures.)  So what did they receive?  On average, they received 61 of those 150 items and the average value of the items they received was $1915.  So they received about 41% of the items they registered for and about 35% of the value of the goods they registered for.  

Should we conclude that there are a lot of disappointed couples out there who didn’t get everything they wanted at their weddings?  Probably not.  Here’s why.  First, our data shows us that many couples do get everything they register for.  Second, we also know that a lot of couples register for a lot more than they expect to receive.  Why?  Because they want to give their guests a lot of flexibility as to what to purchase and how much to spend.  Our all-time highest couple received ($5016) worth of wedding gifts through their registry, but many others received relatively small percentages of what they registered for. 

Thoughts on registry fulfillment?  Please share, we welcome your input.

Rick

 

Want to ask your own questions of engaged or recently married women?  We are working on the next wave of bridal monitor and we have room for proprietary questions.  You can ask at least 500 couples closed-ended questions for prices as low as $495/question or about $1 per answer.    Call or email us today for more information!

 Design Research – 609 896-1108   Rick@Designres.com