Best Buy’s wedding registry is for gadget lovers
In over 25 years of marriage, my wife and I have used the silverware and china that was part of our wedding registry a grand total of one time. If only Best Buy had launched its wedding registry back in 1988, perhaps we would have gotten gifts that would have been both more practical and fun. They certainly wouldn’t have required polishing like the sliver.
Best Buy launched its wedding registry last month with little fanfare. The idea behind the concept is pretty simple and seems perfect for Millennials and the tech savvy generations that are following them. Instead of gifts such as china, linens or silver, married couples can ask for smartphones, tablets and widescreen televisions, etc.
"Electronics and small appliances are as important to today’s newlyweds as silverware and towels," Wendy Fritz, Best Buy’s head of gift strategy, told The Associated Press.
Because many of the items sold by Best Buy tend to be priced higher than typical gifts in wedding registries, the chain has developed an option that allows people to contribute to more expensive items.
According to the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, the wedding registry is Best Buy’s attempt to cater to modern couples. It offers women, who hold sway over major household purchases such as appliances, an alternative to other registries. It also gets prospective grooms involved who may have little interest in some of the traditional gifts that make up wedding registries.
Consumers can currently access the chain’s registry online at BestBuy.com/WeddingRegistry. Next week, Best Buy will update its mobile app to include the registry and the retailer plans to add kiosks at its more than 1,000 big box stores in the U.S. by April. While shoppers will not be able to order items at the kiosks, they will be able to print out lists from a registry. Couples who sign up for the Best Buy registry may also link it with those on MyRegistry.com and Theknot.com.
"One of the things that will make it more of a challenge is that people don’t normally associate Best Buy with weddings," Dave Brennan, co-director of the University of St. Thomas Institute for Retailing Excellence, told the Star Tribune. "So it’s going to take some time to see whether or not this is really going to work."
Discussion Questions
Do you think there is a market for a wedding registry through Best Buy? What will it take for it to be successful?