April 4, 2019
By Lauren Uppington, Vice President and General Manager, Baby, Walmart U.S. eCommerce
Over the last year, we’ve taken steps to provide everything a mom or dad may need for baby – from expanding our assortment to launching an online shopping experience for the nursery. Today, we’re taking the next step with the introduction of an all-new baby registry.
When talking with customers, we kept hearing one key theme – that starting a baby registry is incredibly overwhelming and they’d like a more filtered list to begin their planning. So, we’ve made it easier for parents to create, manage and add items to their registry, all while adding a personal touch. Here’s what we’re introducing:
![Baby Registry GIF](/content/dam/corporate/images/newsroom/2019/04/04/registering-for-baby-just-got-a-whole-lot-easier-with-walmarts-new-registry-experience/wal-baby-registry-website-reveal-032919-v7.gif)
Create Registry with New Personalization Features: The new registry includes an adorable chatbot, Hoo the Owl, who gets to know registrants by asking them questions, including due date, gender (or gender neutral), state and preferred nursery theme, in a fun and engaging way.
Based on the answers to these questions, Hoo pre-populates the registry with items personalized to baby’s gender and the registrant’s preferred nursery theme. For example, if a customer chooses the modern grey nursery theme, the Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat in Orion grey may be incorporated into their list.
In the coming months, Hoo will ask additional questions, such as organic and sustainable product preferences, to provide an even more personalized experience. And, timed to the launch of registry, we’re introducing four new nursery themes – woodland, modern options for baby boy and baby girl, and a classic gender-neutral option. These nursery themes join boho chic, modern grey and classic options for baby boy and baby girl, for a total of eight themes to choose from.
Manage Registry with New Mobile Enhancements: Eight in 10 moms use their mobile phone to register1, so we’ve made it easier than ever for registrants to manage (and gift-givers to shop!) registries using the Walmart App.
For example, registrants can initiate returns online, share the registry with friends and family, and use Siri to open the registry. Meanwhile, gift-givers can use the app to shop the registry, search for in-store availability, and scan a store receipt to mark items as purchased.
Add New Brands to Registry: To make sure parents can find everything they need, we’ve added thousands of new items to Walmart.com over the past year, including products from BOB, Jujube, nanobébé*, Owlet and Hello Bello*. We’ve also added new brands like Chicco, Monbébé, Britax and the Halo Bassinest, to our in-store experience in more than 2,000 stores which gives customers the chance to test out key baby items in-store. And, if customers want to add items to their registries while in-store, they can do so using the Walmart App.
We want to be there for mom and dad with everything they are looking for, and through experiences that make shopping for those items easy and fun. Today’s announcement is the latest in that effort, and we have plenty more to come.
1Source: 2018 Baby Registry Trends Report, BabyCenter, Brand Labs Insights, September 2018
*Also available in stores