The start of the 4th quarter is the perfect time to turn the spotlight on holiday gift lists. Of course, there is still activity going on for those big milestone events like weddings, or the arrival of new babies; not to mention anniversaries, birthdays and even year-end graduations, new moves or retirements all continue to generate gifting activity. We don’t want you to ignore any of those special occasions, just devote some energy to talking up the power of a holiday gift list.

Holidays in Q4 represent the single largest audience for registry use. There are no other occasions that are more widely celebrated–nor a greater source of broad-based gifting opportunity–than the seasonal holidays. Every customer is a prospective registry user, wearing both the hat of registrant and gift purchaser. And best of all, we have never had a customer tell us that they don’t want to celebrate the holidays because they are busy planning a big event (fill in the blank with any occasion you like)…promoting holiday gift lists is an incremental opportunity. Not just for this season, but a positive registry experience now is likely to drive repeat use in the future.

Why we get excited about Q4 - we see lots of registry and gift list use going on and that spells new business for you.

• Holiday spending is projected to grow, albeit somewhat slower than last year

  According to data from such respected industry sources as the National Retail Federation and the Deloitte retail and consumer products practice, holiday sales are projected to generate a 3.5-4.5% increase overall, with sales expected to top $1.5 Trillion. E-commerce is expected to account for about 18% of these sales.

  • This growth rate reflects the combined influences of lower inflation but the cumulative effects of past supply chain and other lingering pandemic pressures.

• Importantly, holiday celebrations and gift exchanges remain a consumer priority

  Even with this sense of caution, consumers tell us that they still intend to organize gift exchanges with family, friends, and even those company ‘Secret Santa’ programs.

• Consumer sentiments support gift list use

  Consumer research shows that the ‘I want what I want’ sentiment has never been stronger. That same attitude holds true - whether motivated by a desire to avoid clutter and waste when self-purchasing or seeking to avoid the hassle of returns/exchanges the recipient of a gift. Customers want all shopping to be done with purpose. It doesn’t mean that splurges and indulgences go away, they just occur deliberately.

  • Social psychologists tell us that a gift recipient (aka in our world, registrant) ascribes more value to a gift when it is something they specifically expressed a desire to get; after all, the intent of the gift is to make the registrant happy, and it’s not about what the gift giver thinks should be a good gift.

• Even better, consumer gift requests favor a universal gift list like yours

  Hand in hand with the ‘I want what I want’ shopping attitude is the fact that your customers are likely to want a very specific, curated list of gifts. The universal feature of your registry makes that easy and you should be sure to let customers know you support their entire gift planning efforts.In that sense, you give them the best of all worlds - the chance to include their product favorites from you with whatever else they may want from any other retailer.

• Gift givers benefit from shopping a registry because these days they want to spend thoughtfully and deliberately.

  Shopping from a registry or gift list gives the purchaser confidence that their money is well spent and the gift will be happily received. It’s a stress-free and smart decision. And, the gift giver can also know they relieve the recipient of the hassles of a return or exchange.

Celebrate your registry - it’s a real holiday hero!

The bottom line – your registry is a perfect solution for all holiday shopping because it is perfectly aligned with all of those market trends. That’s a big win for you and your customer. What makes it a really big win is the fact that using your registry to create a holiday gift list is something your entire customer base can take advantage of.

With such a valued customer service tool at hand, here are some tips to build awareness and interest. Don’t be shy about talking it up during this busy time.

• Be sure you offer holiday as an event type drop down option for registry users. Take a quick look at your menu choices for registrants and make sure you have included a holiday gift list (or you can even choose to specify particular celebrations like Christmas, Hanukkah, etc). Let us know if you want help adding these event types.
• Suggest holiday gift list use wherever you are creating gifting displays and messages. Weave it into emails, social media, store signage, and every other customer communication tool you plan to use.
• Invite current registry users to create a holiday gift list if they don’t already have one. At the very least, encourage them to repurpose or share an existing list for this event as well.
• Talk up the fact that a gift list is an easy and efficient way to share wanted gifts with minimal stress and hassle.Think of it as a ‘gift to give yourself’ because using a gift list helps customers stay organized, saves time and, ultimately, avoid returns as well. (Who doesn’t want to be organized and stress-free these days?)

It’s a busy time and customers are likely to have sensory overload. So, make sure your message is clear and focused. Simply remind them that a gift list makes life easier and more convenient for everyone and ensures that every gift will be happily received.

We encourage you to start doing any and all of these now so that you’re in step with all that’s going on in your customers’ lives. If you have any questions in particular or want to learn more about managing your registry data, we can always be reached at marketingguru@myregistry.com.