Target store in Novato, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Move aside, brides. Gift registries are looking for new customers: incoming college freshmen.
Target launched a completely online college gift registry in June, following a trend of services targeted at back-to school students. Bed, Bath and Beyond carries a similar program, allowing students to create their own registries with help from a college checklist. Wal-Mart and Amazon also provide less specific “wish lists” that encourages use from college students.
With the news of Target’s launch, some students are welcoming the move to online shopping for their dorms and apartments.
Christine Campbell, 18, already has about 25 objects, ranging from room décor to bathroom accessories, registered in Target’s gift registry. She says it’s more convenient for her schedule as a competitive figure skater.
“Online shopping’s the only way I get anything done,” says Campbell, an incoming freshman at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
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She’s still setting up her account, but in the coming weeks Campbell says she plans to share her registry to friends and family via e-mail or Facebook.
Target’s registry boasts everything “from futons to flip flops,” allowing users to register any product available on Target’s website. The registry works through an online account where users can add items. While gifts can be bought at the store, registries cannot be managed or printed out in-store.
Target spokesperson Jenna Reck says more than 1,000 users have signed up within the month. Reck says the online aspect caters to the college demographic while at the same time making gift giving easier.
“This is a way to ask your friends and family for exactly what you need,” Reck says. “I wish it was around when I was in college.”
But Bryan Boggiano, an incoming freshman at the University of Florida, says he would recommend the registry to friends but prefers the traditional graduation money.
“I would probably buy what I want with my own money, but I would probably look at the registry just so I could explore my options,” says Boggiano, 18.
Another possible fall back could be the vastness of the registry, according to Sarah Schupp, founder and CEO of University Parent.
Schupp, whose business provides guides and newsletters to parents of college students, says too much pre-planning can cause over-packing problems with roommates.
“While I think it’s great idea, it may be a little incomplete, “ she says.
From an economic standpoint, college student registries are tapping into an already profitable market. In a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, Americans are projected to spend $4.7 billion on graduation gifts in 2014, the highest estimate in the survey’s nine years.
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Michael McCall, professor and chair of marketing at Ithaca College, says the registry could be the more frugal choice.
“It can be a money-saver, but then the next step is what are you paying for the goods and how good are they?” he says.
McCall says the registry sends the message of a changing shopping landscape.
“This has a lot of interesting promise given the nature and the way in which shopping has changed,” he says adding, “if this saves time, it has value.”
Alizea Howard, a freshman studying political science at Florida State University, says time was the most important factor in her graduation shopping.
“That was the hardest part—finding time in between finals and graduation,” she says.
Howard, 18, is already taking summer classes at FSU, but says having the registry would have made the transition smoother.
“Nobody really knows what you want, stuff that you’ll actually use,” she says. “It will take more stress off of families and students.”
Jenna Lyons is a rising senior at University of Florida
Filed under: VOICES FROM CAMPUS Tagged: Florida State University, freshman, gift registry, gifts, Ithica college, Jenna Lyons, Target, University of Florida, universityparent