Wedding gift registry company The Knot Inc., No. 345 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide , has launched a new online registry that allows engaged couples to register for products at multiple retailers and manage that list centrally within the popular Facebook application Weddingbook.
The Knot’s new Gift Registry 360 feature is searchable at web sites of the five retailers that have partnered with The Knot on the project: Macy’s Inc., No. 23; Williams-Sonoma Inc., No. 24, and its Pottery Barn brand; Target Corp., No. 20; and Crate and Barrel, No. 55.
The new registry technology also lets couples add to their registry from any retailer on the web using a bookmarking tool, Add from Anywhere, that automatically populates their registry with information on the selected product directly from the retailer’s web site. Couples can even upload a photo of an item they want to include in their registry from bricks-and-mortar stores that don’t have a web site, with the notation that to purchase that particular item, gift-givers must go to the store.
Any item added by the couple from any source appears on a single registry list for wedding guests to view. Wedding guests can buy online from retailers through the registry application, with the actual transactions referred to the retailer’s site. The Knot collects a commission on the sale.
For many of the online retailers whose products are included in couples’ registry, it’s the first foray into the Facebook environment, notes the company.
“We believe Gift Registry 360 is the future of registry gifting because it takes the product information out of the retailers’ web sites and puts it into the hands of the couple,” says David Liu, CEO and co-founder of The Knot. “As more and more of our couples use social networking platforms like Facebook to communicate about their weddings, we’re creating a unique and exciting opportunity for our retail partners to make their products available at the point of guest contact where they are most likely to transact.”
The Knot says it plans to launch the registry platform as a standalone web site with increased functionality next year.
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