With spring in the air and summer around the corner so too is wedding season which generates about $80 billion a year. With that, approximately $15 billion is spent on wedding gift registries, where guests will purchase items from a list chosen by the bride and groom. According to the Knot, in 2010 88% of couples registered and 79% of those couples used online tools to manage their registries, a 10% increase from 2009.

Websites like MyRegistry.com are among the largest sites allowing couples to register for any item from any store. The company has partnered with retailers like Target, Crate and Barrel, and William-Sonoma where couples can easily import their existing registry list and manage it all from their MyRegistry account. Other registry sites like GiftRegistry360 and Registry Stop have also provided the same service of centralizing the wedding gift registry list. This makes it easier for the couple to keep track of their items without having to flip back and forth from various sites.

The ease and convenience of having one centralized list is an added benefit for the bride and groom. However, for the merchant this gives them greater visibility and exposure to their store. For instance, Myregistry.com is a global universal network where merchants have the opportunity to join the network and add the MyRegistry web widget to their product pages. When the bride and groom visit a merchant site and there is a particular product they would like to add to their registry, they can easily do so by clicking on the ‘Add to MyRegistry’ button. The button can also be added to any website browser, so when one sees an item they like they can click on the button instantly and it will be added to their registry list.

Universal gift registries are a fantastic way to offer consumers choice, expand reach, drive additional traffic and ultimately increase sales.