Bridal registries can be frustrating, and not just because engaged couples demand impractical presents or force you to choose between two or more different retailers.
The process itself is flawed, and The Knot (Nasdaq: KNOT) thinks it can fix things.
The country's top wedding-planning website is launching Gift Registry 360, which consolidates all of a couple's gift registries into a single list, and provides social connectivity through Facebook.
The Knot's new platform is officially teaming up with five registry powerhouses -- Macy's (NYSE: M), Target (NYSE: TGT), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), Pottery Barn, and Crate & Barrel -- though the betrothed can pick out any product selling on the Web for inclusion.
The registry is run within Weddingbook, Facebook's top wedding application. The Knot acquired Weddingbook's parent WedSnap earlier this year.
What's in it for The Knot? Well, the site is taking a page from the affiliate marketing playbook. The official retailers will offer the company commissions from any transactions.
This is a great place to be, since the consolidation of lists will make it win-win for engaged couples and their wedding guests.
The Knot could use a spark. Revenue in its latest quarter rose by a mere 3%, and net income dipped for the period.
Things should get better for The Knot, and not just because of this evolutionary step in online bridal registries. The company maintains a healthy bread-and-butter business in selling advertising to localized wedding-service providers. Now that the economy appears to be bottoming out, many engaged couples who held off on their nuptials are likely to walk down the aisle.
The Knot's cooking up new ways to command their attention. It wants to surround prospective brides and grooms. Maybe that's where the 360 in Gift Registry 360 comes from.
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