Etsy relaunched its wedding registry on Wednesday, giving it a fresh look and new features to attract more shoppers. In its announcement to sellers, Etsy wrote: “Happy couples can create a registry full of gift ideas that are totally them—aka personalized, handmade, and vintage items from Etsy sellers like you. Then they can share the registry with all their excited guests. We already know Etsy’s the best place to find unique gifts—Etsy Registry will help even more shoppers discover the items you’ve got for sale.”
Etsy launched the original registry 11 years ago, in 2012. One seller who remembered it said they used to get brides asking if the seller would hold items because they were in their registry – something many sellers would be unlikely to embrace.
Features Etsy is working on that sellers might appreciate: notifications when one of their items is added to a registry and stats about the sales they’ve made. “These insights will help you understand what’s resonating with registry creators and shoppers so you can continue to grow your business.” Etsy also advised sellers that their shipping address would be visible to gift purchasers on order receipts.
Etsy Registry was designed for soon-to-be newlyweds, but it said it planned to add registry options for more life events in the future.
Brides and grooms can set the level of privacy for their registry:
- Anyone can find or view my registry
- Only someone I give my registry link to
- Only I can view my registry
Since users can add any items to their registry, we wondered if it could be used as a “wish list” to keep track of items of interest. An Etsy spokesperson responded to our question, “Users with an Etsy account can favorite items and shops, and create curated ‘Favorites’ lists, which could in theory be used as a wish list. Etsy Registry will offer both couples and wedding guests a more seamless and user-friendly experience, including an updated and streamlined design, improved findability via a main landing page, and inspiration for couples – like item suggestions, trends, and more.”
In Etsy’s announcement about the registry for the general public, it shared ideas from its annual 2023 wedding trend guide.
To help boost adoption, Etsy emailed news of the registry to users with a sweepstakes tie-in. Five winners will receive a $2,000 gift card to purchase items in their registry – “For a chance to win, simply create and publish a registry with at least 15 items before June 10.” (See details and restrictions.)
