Your gift registry gives customers another reason to shop with you, so you generate more sales from customers who are already loyal to you for the brands and overall shopping experience you offer. So how can you tap into those positive feelings and build even stronger relationships with existing customers while also nurturing gift givers, who shop off a registry and represent new customers? After all, give them a convenient and hassle-free experience and they may just end up being some of your biggest brand champions. That loyalty can lead to more sales and even prompt future gifting and registry activity that continues the cycle of new customers.

That’s what we love about gift registry: There will always be new events to celebrate and customers eager for your help with gift giving. All that spells good news for your top line—and with the very low return rate we see for gift registry purchases, it’s good for your bottom line as well.

More good news: It’s easier than you think to make your gift registry a powerful and valued customer service tool.

There are many ways to create registry awareness and customer interest. Below, we list some of the most popular ideas that have helped our partners generate strong results while still being manageable. To get started, we’ll focus on three types of programs:

1. First Things First: Make the Most of What You Already Do
Customers register with you because they like your products and the shopping experience you offer. With your gift registry, you gift them the bonus of making it easy to receive favorite gifts from a trusted store. So as they plan for a special event, reinforce all the reasons they shop with you—with a gifting spin. For example:

• Spotlight your products and highlight items that distinguish you and make you a sought-after shopping destination. Whether it’s the breadth of your assortments or unique and exclusive items that draw in customers, be sure to talk them up as the perfect way to create a registry of personal favorites.
• Showcase services already in place that will be especially appreciated during gifting times, when stress levels may rise.
  • Free services (whether for the registrant or gift giver) are valued and can make the gifting process even smoother.
    • Free or otherwise special shipping and delivery offers.
    • Gift wrap or gift card notifications.
    • Installation assistance or “how to” support.
  • Simple conveniences can make it easier to manage gifting.
    • Hassle-free returns, exchanges, contactless pickup, along with curbside or BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) options, if you offer them.
    • Personal service/consultation options offered via live chat, Zoom, or in store.
• Hype perks and other offers you have in place, and include registry users in them. Inviting customers to join existing loyalty programs or “insider” deals, even if they wouldn’t normally qualify, can instantly increase their loyalty with you.

2. Add Registry-Specific Benefits
To reinforce the loyalty of customers who create a registry with you, consider adding a few extra benefits and perks that will really solidify the relationship. Go that extra step and think about what else you can comfortably offer to make them feel special and eager to build even bigger gift lists with you. Such benefits should align with your overall brand strategy and the role any special offers play in your business model.

Think about these offers in two ways: those that let you further leverage expertise and content you already have or can easily pull together with little/no expense, and those that may include value-added incentives that have some expense involved.

The former are not likely to cost much beyond any time invested to craft a message and design a format to deliver it. Examples include:

• Welcome packets and notes/emails that show appreciation for their registry.
• Tips, checklists, and product-use guides that help customers select the gifts that make sense for them and guide their registry process.
• Offers for consultations (in-store or via live chat or Zoom) to give even more personalized advice.

Special offers that do incur some expense are another way to make registry users feel even more special. Based on your budget and resources, ideas that have proven successful include:

• A small gift to thank them for their registry signup or to acknowledge their event. This can take many forms, including a small physical gift that aligns with your product assortment, or perhaps a gift provided by a vendor who also appreciates a chance to put their product in the hands of a customer.
• Special offers that encourage registry users to create bigger registries and/or add specific products. The offer can be in the form of a discount or value-add for items on their registry or even related products. (If you currently offer such promotions, you can match that offer and perhaps enhance it with a longer use time.)
  
  • “Completion” is a popular offer that specifically gives registry users the chance to self-purchase items left on their registry at a discount after their event date (“complete” the registry). While it’s most commonly used for weddings and baby showers, we find it motivates registrants to add more items to their list, as they know they can acquire them later at a great price.

3. Leverage MyRegistry Programs
As you probably know, MyRegistry is more than the software provider that powers your gift service. In addition to tech support and the advice of our Customer Concierge team (available seven days a week to help your customers manage or shop a registry), our registry chat button can be placed on your registry home page for easy connection to our assistance for any customer who wants it.

We also have a variety of marketing activities available to you, designed to expose your products and brand to more customers. For instance, we can:

• Display your products on the gift idea boards featured on our site. MyRegistry has dozens of “inspiration boards,” centered around various product or lifestyle themes. Customers often check them out to get ideas to add to a registry or Wish List or even just purchase themselves. We can refresh/update your choices quarterly.
• Share social posts. We can help you extend your brand market. If you pass along select social posts, we’re happy to repost them on our social platforms.
• Inclusion in blogs and giveaways. We’ll keep your products in mind for inclusion in our consumer blogs and periodic sweepstakes and giveaways.

Also check out “What’s New”: We regularly add new features to support our software. Whether it’s enhancing the data and analytics available to you, providing marketing campaign tracking tools, or improving the security of your service, our goal is to make it easier for you to build a stronger, more impactful gift registry. You can find all these features recapped in a “What’s New” dropdown right on your Partner Dashboard.

New Year, New Potential
With so many different marketing plans to consider, the hard part will be deciding which one(s) make most sense for you to do first. We say “first” because you can continue to overlay new programs (or tweak existing ones) as your registry momentum builds. And no worries, we’re here to help you focus on what makes most sense for you and your specific business and work from there.

Over the coming months, we’ll dive into each type of marketing program more fully. And we’ll also discuss some of the other marketing programs you can develop—often in collaboration with vendors or complementary retailers—to add energy and excitement.

But with the start of a new year, we couldn’t resist sharing the many possibilities for creating registry success. Review them and feel free to contact us at marketingguru@myregistry.com so we can help you build the plans that will be most productive for you.

You can read all our partner and marketing blogs here.