Zola de-stresses the wedding planning experience for Millennials
People planning weddings often complain about the stress, a factor one retailer hopes to address in a new pop-up.
Zola, an e-commerce wedding registry website, launched a pop-up in New York City’s Flatiron District which will be open until April. The store features areas to create save-the-date announcements and invitations, a place to register for gifts, one-on-one wedding planning assistance, guided wedding website design and other planning tools all purported to allow a couple to plan their wedding in an hour.
There are also more leisurely features in the store, like a lounge where people can indulge in CBDs to ease planning stress, listen to wedding playlists and 3-D print replicas of themselves to use as wedding cake toppers. And with every staff member ordained through the Universal Life Church, visitors can get married on the spot if the spirit moves them.
The wedding planning industry and wedding apparel have undergone big shifts in recent years with couples opting toward less traditional ceremonies and more creative experiences.
Numerous apparel players are trying to find the right way to enter the space and address the trend. In 2016, Gap acquired Weddington Way, a startup specifically geared toward making the process of buying a wedding dress less stressful. Gap shuttered the brand last year, including its in-store shops in Banana Republic locations, citing difficulty in scaling the concept. H&M, meanwhile, has launched an online wedding shop featuring inexpensive bridal offerings.
Traditional players in the space have likewise been trying new things. David’s Bridal’s most recent advertising campaign featured same-sex couples to appeal to “every type of bride.”
Zola isn’t the only startup trying to give soon-to-be married couples an easier way to experience the big day, as explored in an article on Built in NYC. Bloomerent, for instance, allows people to sell used wedding centerpieces to help people save on floral arrangements. Paperless Post lets visitors design, customize and create their own wedding invitations. Buster.com lets wedding planners more conveniently strategize and book group travel.
- Zola Opens Wedding Planning Destination in New York City – Zola/PR Newswire
- H&M in, Gap out of wedding dress business – RetailWire
- Can David’s Bridal appeal to every type of bride with its new campaign? – RetailWire
- Getting married? These 5 tech startups simplify your wedding planning – Built in NYC
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Are services such as those offered by Zola an effective way to meet the needs of stressed-out couples? How should retailers adapt to create customer experiences that appeal to the todays wedding shoppers?
Zel BiancoPresident, founder and CEO Interactive Edge
Zel BiancoPresident, founder and CEO Interactive Edge
Zel BiancoPresident, founder and CEO Interactive Edge
Zel BiancoPresident, founder and CEO Interactive Edge
Take Our Instant Poll
Loading ...
Join the Discussion!
4 Comments on "Zola de-stresses the wedding planning experience for Millennials"
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
President, founder and CEO Interactive Edge
Director, Retail Market Insights, Aptos
A very creative way to add value and engage shoppers … and deepen the relationship. Will every bride be into it? Probably not, but many will, and I applaud this initiative. It’s creative, value-oriented and highly attuned to customer needs.
Head of Trends, Insider Trends
Planning a wedding certainly is stressful. AT the same time there’s a significant opportunity for retailers in that weddings are one of those life events where people often spend a significant amount of money. Coupled with the sense that this is the one time you get to do it, I think couples are happy to invest their time into the planning process. They’re happy to visit venues, go to shows, etc. They want to be inspired and they want help and guidance. Zola doesn’t provide all of that with its concept, but I imagine it will be an enjoyable way for a lot of people to while away an afternoon.
Director of Marketing, Wiser Solutions, Inc.
Many couples today are trying to do it themselves when it comes to wedding planning, so Zola’s pop-up can certainly help them save and de-stress many of the smaller, yet still essential, parts of wedding planning. Actually booking a venue should still require an in-person visit, and I’m not sure many will 100% plan a wedding in one hour, but Zola’s efforts certainly have a market among engaged couples.