Millennials Want to Say ‘I Do’ to High-Tech Wedding Registries

(StatePoint) Once upon a time, wedding registries were created so newlyweds would have all the basic essentials to establish their first home. But as technology has evolved, so too has the registry. Gone are the days where registries only include dishware and candlesticks. Couples can now incorporate modern must-haves, like connected lightbulbs, voice assistants and smart showers.

Leading faucet manufacturer, Moen, commissioned a survey conducted online by Harris Poll in March 2018, which investigated what smart products would top the list when it comes to millennial (ages 18-34 at time of survey) wedding registries and how this tech-savvy generation may be reinventing the process of registering.

The Gift of Technology

It may have once been a no-no to ask for anything except traditional household goods. But young nearly-weds are modernizing registries by embracing the gift of technology:

• More than two in five millennials (42 percent) would want to include smart home products on their registry if they were registering today, with digital voice assistants (66 percent), such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, topping their lists of desired smart products.

• Would-be grooms in particular seem to love tech – nearly half (48 percent) of male millennials who would want smart home products on their wedding registry would add smart lightbulbs/light switches, smart thermostats (42 percent) and a digital shower (32 percent).

“Tech is trending when it comes to wedding wish lists,” says Andrea Maher, senior marketing communications specialist, Moen. “Our survey found that just as many millennial would-be brides would put smart home products on their registries (43 percent) as glassware (44 percent), with products like a robot vacuum cleaner (65 percent) and a hands-free faucet (39 percent) being some of the most wanted items among those who would want smart home products on their wedding registry.”

“After all, with the great gear available today, why would you limit yourself to towels and serving trays?” adds Maher.

Registry Reboot

Across the country, young couples aren’t just bending nuptial gift list rules, they’re rewriting them. With emerging technology, it’s not just the presents that are being modernized, the registries themselves are too.

Moen’s survey found that of millennials who have ever had a registry, over two in five (43 percent) registered at online-only retailers, such as Amazon or Jet.com, while 23 percent used a honeymoon registry, which allows couples to request donations to use toward honeymoon experiences, and 18 percent used a universal registry, where newlyweds-to-be can seamlessly link gifts from multiple retailers. Of millennials who have ever had a registry, only one in five (21 percent) registered at a brick and mortar store without an online option.

“Recent CDC research found that young people are getting married later and living with partners before tying the knot, meaning they may already have glassware, blenders and toasters,” says Maher. “As a result, gifts like a hands-free faucet for the kitchen or money toward honeymoon excursions are what couples really want and need.”

Online tools like Zola and Honeyfund have made creating a modernized registry easy and can help ease the minds of traditionally-minded guests, as they’re able to see exactly where their money is going.

“From high-tech wedding presents to donations for snorkeling excursions, millennials are bucking many age-old gifting customs,” says Maher. “Though traditionalists may find these new registry customs strange, couples shouldn’t be afraid to craft a list full of things they’ll be excited about receiving – even if they are a little unconventional by your grandmother’s standards.”

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