wedding gift wishes
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wedding gift wishes
2008 will supposedly be a year of weddings in China. But aside from the joy warranted by the occasion, couples are a little worried. Will their friends and relatives bring gifts that they actually want?
From the guests' perspectives, choosing an appropriate gift can be difficult. What if the gift is too cheap? Too expensive? What if it doesn't suit the couple's tastes?
Betrothed couples and their guests can finally relax. Now, a gift registry Web site provides the perfect solution to all these problems. The first purported wedding gift registry Web site in China has won an increasing number of young, loyal customers since its launch a year and a half ago.
CRI reporter Xiao Hua finds out more.
Reporter:
Westerners are no strangers to gift registries. Brides and bridegrooms often fill out wish lists of gifts they want in stores or on gift registry Web sites. Then they send the lists to their friends and relatives, who can select gifts from the lists to give to the couple.
When Maggie Meng, the creator of idogift.com, was studying in the United States in 2003, she was amazed by these services.
So when she returned to Beijing in 2006, she decided to start a Web site providing similar wedding services for Chinese couples.
"There were many such Web sites overseas, but there was none in China. Moreover, there was such demand, in terms of wedding gifts, so I wanted to bring the model and experiences from other countries to China."
But the model -- "I fill in the wish list and you pay for the gifts" -- could be seen as too direct for traditional Chinese people, who treasure a more reserved manner of gifting.
So Meng decided to target customers between the ages of 25 and 35, who are open-minded, modern, or have lived abroad.
She also tweaked the service model to accommodate Chinese cultural characteristics. The company sends wish lists out in the name of the Web site, instead of the couple. They also try to make the letters sound as low-pressure as possible.
"When we were designing our Web site, we established a research group to work on the wording and mood of the letters. We have come up with a few different versions for customers to choose from. For example, we write something like this: Your friend Jenny is getting married. We heard that she wants to get things on this list as gifts. If you have any questions, please confirm with her."
The Web site provides pictures and prices of a variety of products ranging from kitchen appliances to bedroom accessories.
Meng says the items are all things that a new couple usually needs. Their prices are affordable.
"Usually, a close friend of the new couple will give them 700 or 800 yuan, or around 100 US dollars, as gift money. An average friend will give about 200 yuan, or 30 US dollars. So, most of our products are priced within that range."
Meng worked with wedding photography companies, social networking Web sites, and wedding planners to promote the Web site.
Some customers, like Tan Zhongyi, found the Web site accidentally. Tan got married a few months ago.
"Many of my friends were unable to come to Beijing for my wedding, but they wanted to give me some gifts. Many of them called and asked, 'What do you still need?' But I didn't know at the moment, so I searched on the Internet. When I keyed in the word 'gifts' on a search engine, idogifts.com appeared. I found the Web site to be cool, so I filled in a wish list and uploaded the email addresses of my friends. Then the Web site sent an email to them with the list of gifts I selected. Soon after that, gifts were sent to my home!"
Tan added more than 20 items to his wish list. After confirming with him, his friends, who live thousands of miles away, paid for the goods online. The gifts were sent to their home within three days.
Tan's bride, Li Shuqin, was excited when she saw the gifts.
"There were bedroom products, a humidifier, toys and kitchen appliances. All of them are useful things. As we put what we want on the list, our friends didn't have to select gifts by themselves. Even if they had spent a lot of time picking up a gift, we might not necessarily have liked it. The Web site is really considerate and helpful."
Li said she had doubts concerning the quality of the products at first. But her worries soon dissipated.
"I had experiences of buying things online. The products you received were often not as good as they appeared in the picture. But when I received the first wedding gift from the idogift.com, I was really impressed. It was a four-piece set of bedclothes. You could tell they were very good quality at first sight. So later, when friends called to confirm the gifts, I said 'yes' without hesitation."
Meng, the general manager of the Web site, says the company only offers brand name items to ensure the quality of the products.
Many of the home electrical appliances are provided by Beijing Tianke Trading Company, a major distributor of Philips in Beijing.
Lu Zhe, a manager of the company, is quite satisfied with their cooperation with idogift.com.
"In 2007, the turnover of small home electrical appliances like coffee machines and cleaners totaled over 600,000 yuan, or about 80,000 US dollars. It is equal to the turnover of a counter in a shopping mall. The figure is not bad at all, keeping in mind that was in the first year of our cooperation. The potential of the Internet business is enormous."
Meng says the items on the Web site are usually priced 20 to 30 percent lower than those in shopping malls.
In addition to wedding gifts, the Web site also offers gifts for births, house-warming parties and business relations maintenance.
In the year and a half since the Web site was launched, Meng says the company has gained good momentum.
The turnover in 2007 was eight or nine times the volume of that in 2006. It is expected to double twice this year.
"The model of service enjoys a big advantage. One wish list is sent to about 20 people. If 20 percent of the receivers think our model is good and use our Web site, they will have a further impact on a lot more people."
The case of young bridegroom Tan Zhongyi proves Maggie's theory.
"I have received several emails with wish lists. They are from my friends who received my wish list. Now they are celebrating their birthdays, and they'd like to receive gifts on the list."
Tan hopes the variety of products listed on the Web sites will be enlarged to provide more options for customers.
Meng says the company plans to launch an English version of the Web site soon to attract customers overseas.
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