NORTHBROOK, IL— Home specialty retailers, Crate & Barrel among them, are working to put their own stamp on wedding registries, incorporating both store and virtual operations.
Crate & Barrel is using virtual outreach and the personal touch not only to attract couples to its wedding registry but also to build a relationship with those who register. It combines store-based interaction, online engagement and social media to provide potential registrants with a comfortable experience, encouraging them to consider the retailer as a resource.
A central element of the strategy is registry events. Crate & Barrel opens stores exclusively to potential registrants before set store hours to entertain and provide them with a sense of how it can make the registration process pleasant and simple. Part of that is an app that registrants can download to their smartphones. It allows them to snap product codes and, in the process, place items on the wedding registries directly. The app eliminates the drudgery that once was associated with touring the store with clipboards and writing down what products would appear on registry.
The events themselves are low-key but festive, with food and vendor samples provided, drawings and departing gifts. Potential registrants can sign in at a desk where, at the end of the event, they receive a gift that Crate & Barrel gives to mark the occasion.
Otherwise, they are free to roam the store and select product both from the retailer’s housewares and home furnishings assortments. Although Crate & Barrel has a core home furnishings operation, a significant portion of the company’s stores feature housewares that, critically, range in price from just a few dollars and up, and even the less expensive items have trendy associations, including barware and tabletop that constitute fun alternatives for wedding guests.
As part of a registry event, Crate & Barrel employees were widely available, consistently ready to help but non-intrusive. The easygoing atmosphere encouraged couples to explore and discuss items. The result was that registrants could take an unhurried turn about the store and consider some of the fun and often unforeseen items that they might not have originally intended to place on their registries, whether chilling whiskey rocks or decorative tea pots, depending upon the preference of the couple.
To encourage participation in the events, Crate & Barrel turned to social media among its marketing tools. Facebook invitations that the retailer distributed via consumers who liked its page facilitated participation. The retailer made appointments simple through that channel and email following up with a reminder about the event, a thank you for participating and wedding-related assistance such as a Need Registry Ideas link that included, when clicked on, a favorites link and suggested product selections.
