What will David's Bridal gain from its wedding vendor marketplace?
Source: Pearl by David’s

What will David’s Bridal gain from its wedding vendor marketplace?

David’s Bridal has introduced a wedding planning platform and vendor marketplace as it looks to leverage its position as the largest seller of wedding dresses in the U.S.

The Pearl by David’s website and app, with the tagline “All things planning. All in one app,”  features a wide range of free options including: 

  • A vision board to help brides imagine their dream wedding; 
  • A checklist to manage major to-do steps ahead of the big day;
  • A website showcasing the bride’s wedding and related events;
  • A registry that that can be continually updated with gifts from any store.

Tips, blogs and videos are also available for inspiration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl1n6ds9EYA

David’s has also made a vendor marketplace available where brides can browse a wide range of venues, photographers, caterers, bands, florists and even other dress providers by location and availability.

For vendors, the benefit is being able to tap David’s Bridal’s reach, including almost 280 stores, two million Diamond rewards members and over 11,000 bridal stylists and alterations artisans. Online, vendors are promised access to 2.5 million social media followers, 20 million homepage visits per year and eight million email subscribers.

Vendors can join with a free introductory membership that enables them to showcase their own content and create their own web pages. Two higher tiers are available at $49 and $119 per month offering enhanced analytics, prioritized listing placements and expanded content on the platform.

The site already has over 100,000 listings following moves in recent months to quietly sign-up key vendors across regions prior to launch.

David’s Bridal CEO Jim Marcum told Forbes vendor pricing is “significantly below” competitors, which include The Knot and Zola. However, he insists Pearl’s main appeal for vendors will be access to brides, with David’s Bridal accounting for between 20 to 25 percent of wedding dresses sold in the U.S.

Mr. Marcum told MediaPost, “The big thing for us is building a robust database around vendor communities. We want it to be a home run for the brides, and that’s a home run for the vendors.”

BrainTrust

"It’s genius. And they also can turn it into a dev center as a Retail Media Network."

Christine Russo

Principal, Retail Creative and Consulting Agency


"Most people who are getting married have not been married before and won’t be familiar with processes and vendors. It makes perfect sense for DBI to create a knowledge source."

Cathy Hotka

Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates


"Leveraging insights from consumer purchase behavior will also help David’s merchandising strategy and product creation process. It’s a win win and I love it!"

Liza Amlani

Principal and Founder, Retail Strategy Group


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you think of David’s Bridal’s opportunity in the wedding planning and marketplace space? Does the venture align with its core retail business?

Poll

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Christine Russo
Active Member
1 year ago

It’s genius. And they also can turn it into a dev center as a Retail Media Network.

Neil Saunders
Famed Member
1 year ago

This is a very sound move by David’s Bridal, which consolidates its already important place in the wedding market. There are a multitude of things to consider and decisions to be made when planning a wedding, so having this kind of resource is valuable. The only consideration is that if services are offered via the new platform, any issues with them may also reflect negatively on David’s Bridal.

Dion Kenney
1 year ago

Pearl looks like a great idea, with a well-defined purpose and a clearly stated solution. The key will be creating an intuitive, comprehensive, and well-integrated platform that makes the process of wedding planning fun, easy, and well-organized. May their future be blessed with abundance and joy!

John Lietsch
Active Member
1 year ago

We all do it: ask the people we trust for referrals to related services. This is the business extension of that concept and if executed well, it can pay off. It seems consistent with their value of being “experts, super celebrators, budget optimizers and stress relievers” and a great, strategic move. One of the risks is the potential damage to its own brand when referring to partners who fail to deliver in a manner that is consistent with David’s values. Critical to this strategy will be the extension of the David’s Bridal experience and values across partners over which it has limited control and its willingness and ability to manage those partnerships.

David Naumann
Active Member
1 year ago

The Pearl by David’s website and app is an excellent strategy for David’s Bridal. It provides an additional revenue stream for David’s Bridal and offers an additional benefits to its customers by making wedding plans easier with its one-stop-shop website. The reasonable rates for vendors to participate in the portal will help sign up more options for customers to choose from. The is a win for everyone.

Liza Amlani
Active Member
1 year ago

This is a great strategy for David’s Bridal and creating a one-stop shop is what will keep the brand relevant. Leveraging insights from consumer purchase behavior will also help David’s merchandising strategy and product creation process. It’s a win win and I love it!

Cathy Hotka
Trusted Member
1 year ago

Most people who are getting married have not been married before and won’t be familiar with processes and vendors. It makes perfect sense for DBI to create a knowledge source that provides partner revenue.

Mohamed Amer, PhD
Mohamed Amer, PhD
Active Member
1 year ago

Pearl is a sound extension of David’s Bridal established position in the market. Growing the network will increase the company’s brand awareness and provide incremental revenue streams. The challenges reside in the execution and the quality of data and insight delivered to its vendors.

David Slavick
Member
1 year ago

It is a marriage made in heaven. The question is why hasn’t this been in place before present day? Makes perfect logical sense. Time is of the essence. Planning is high demand. Have a central resource. Bring in partners and leverage the lifestage to deliver strong value to the client.

The key in any construct like this is consistency. One fails, you all fail. So the standards must be maintained and if there is a problem anywhere along the continuum, have an access point for the client to reach out to as a concierge to immediately resolve.

Joan Treistman
Joan Treistman
Member
1 year ago

Most women start the wedding plans with their dress. David’s Bridal offering wedding planning sounds like an opportunity for brides and their families to feel, from the very beginning of their journey, less anxious and more happily excited about the wedding day. Connections between David’s Bridal and the vendors can be risky, but rooting out problems quickly can offset the risks in the long run. David’s Bridal has great brand equity in the context of bride apparel and therefore weddings. Leveraging that equity makes sense and revenue.