As the wedding season peaks for retailers over the summer and fall months, a new survey finds that registries aren’t going out of style: wedding guests continue to choose wedding registries for selecting gifts over other gifting options.
According to The Knot’s 2016 Wedding Guest Survey, guests prefer registries, with 37 percent of wedding guests and attendants (bridesmaids and groomsmen) going directly to the couple’s registry to buy a gift. However, gift cards, often offered by the same retailers who host the registries, are not as popular as buying gifts directly. Only 10 percent of wedding guests said they would give gift cards. In fact, cash was a more popular wedding gift, with nearly 30 percent of guests gifting money, The Knot survey found.
Of those weddings where invites come with a “plus-one option,” 24 percent of guests said they spent more on the wedding gift. “Our study shows that the majority of guests are purchasing gifts off wedding registries and giving cash,” says Kellie Gould, editor in chief of The Knot. Retailers should follow up with couples to make sure their registry is mentioned on personal wedding websites, where 83 percent of couples say they share their registry information.
And the wedding isn’t the only big day for a registry. Couples and their families host several events leading up to their weddings, and all seem to require gifts. The survey found that most wedding guests (95 percent) attend at least one other gathering, from the engagement party to a bridal shower to bachelor party.
Among the wedding guests who attended the bridal shower (23 percent), almost everyone purchased a gift for the shower, spending about $75. Those who went to the engagement party also brought a gift, spending an average of $160.
Retailers with registries are also well-0positioned to suggest price points to those shopping for wedding gifts: 47 percent of Americans report needing help to figure out how much to spend. The answer? According to The Knot survey, wedding guests spend an average of $118 on a wedding gift, and those in the wedding party spend $177 per gift. But keep those gadgets on the registry, as half of most couple’s registry items are under $50.
