When to open a baby registry (and the 18–24 week sweet spot)
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The right window to open a baby registry is between weeks 18 and 24 of pregnancy — after the anatomy scan (when most parents have decided whether they want to know the sex and have the green light on the pregnancy proceeding normally), and before the baby shower gifting moment starts.
Why the 18–24 window
- Before 18 weeks is statistically too early; many parents are not yet sharing the news widely, items go out of stock between registration and shower, and taste shifts during pregnancy.
- After 24 weeks compresses the shower-planning timeline. Most baby showers happen at 28–34 weeks; invitations go out 6–8 weeks before, with the registry expected to be linked in the invitation.
- The anatomy scan (~20 weeks) gives most parents the information they need to register confidently — sex (if they want to know), pregnancy proceeding normally, gear preferences clarified.
The shower-window math
| Pregnancy week | Milestone | Registry action |
|---|---|---|
| 18–22 | Anatomy scan; share news widely | Open registry; add 30–50 starter items |
| 22–26 | Pre-shower curation | Expand to 80–120 items; mark group-eligible big-ticket; set priorities |
| 26–30 | Shower invitations sent | Registry URL on invitations; lock structure |
| 30–34 | Baby shower happens | ~60% of registry value funded in this window |
| 34–40 | Final-trimester additions | Add late-term things (postpartum care, hospital bag items); remove already-purchased |
| 0–3 months postpartum | Sip-and-see or meet-the-baby gifts | ~25% additional value comes in here, on remaining items |
For second and subsequent babies
Open later — week 24–28. Most second-baby registries are 40–60% the size of a first-baby registry because the family already has many of the durable items (crib, monitors, some gear). The focus shifts to consumables, age-appropriate clothes, and replacements of worn-out items.
What to register for: the eight categories
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A modern baby registry should cover eight categories. Aim for the proportions below; the exact items depend on your space, lifestyle, and budget.
| Category | % of registry value | Typical line items |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep | 25–30% | Crib, bassinet (Snoo, Halo), mattress, sheets, sleep sacks, swaddles, monitor (follow AAP safe-sleep guidance) |
| Feeding | 15–20% | Bottles, breast pump, bottle warmer, drying rack, bibs, high chair |
| Diapering | 10–15% | Changing pad, diaper caddy, wipes warmer, diaper subscription credits |
| Bath & grooming | 5–10% | Bathtub, hooded towels, washcloths, nail clipper, brush set |
| Clothing | 10–15% | Onesies (0–3, 3–6, 6–9 months), sleepers, going-home outfit, socks, hats |
| Gear (stroller, car seat, carrier) | 15–20% | Stroller (UPPAbaby, Bugaboo, Doona), car seat, baby carrier, diaper bag |
| Safety & health | 3–5% | First aid kit, thermometer, nasal aspirator, outlet covers, baby gates |
| Nursery & play | 5–10% | Glider/rocker, lamp, rug, books, soft toys, mobile, activity gym |
The big-ticket items that warrant group gifting
Six items in 2026 routinely sit in the $400–$2,000 range and benefit hugely from group gifting:
- Snoo Smart Sleeper — ~$1,700. Office baby showers and grandparent groups commonly pool on this.
- UPPAbaby Vista or Cruz stroller — ~$1,000–$1,400. Friend groups and family.
- Doona car seat / stroller — ~$550. Often a family group gift.
- Nuna PIPA car seat + base — ~$550–$700. Premium tier; often grandparent gift.
- Glider/rocker (e.g. West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids) — $800–$1,800. Often family group gift.
- Crib + mattress set — $400–$1,500. Often grandparent or family group gift.
The consumables tier
Often under-registered. Diapers, wipes, formula (if relevant), bottles, pacifiers, breast milk storage bags, burp cloths — these get used up fast. A modern registry includes diaper subscriptions (Honest Co. Coterie, hello bello), formula subscriptions (Bobbie, ByHeart, Kendamil if relevant), and wipe subscriptions as line items. Guests love subscription gifts because they keep arriving past the shower.
What to skip
- Wipe warmer — ~60% of parents end up not using it.
- Bottle sterilizer — unless you have a specific reason; dishwashers do this fine.
- Newborn outfits in huge quantities — babies grow out fast; 5–7 newborn-size outfits is plenty.
- Designer infant shoes — babies don’t walk for ~12 months.
- Multiple swings or bouncers — one is plenty; many babies prefer one over the other.
How much to register for (and the 1.6x rule)
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The baby registry budget formula is similar to the wedding formula but with different multipliers, because baby shower attendance and per-guest spend differ from wedding norms.
The dollar formula
Total registry value = (shower guest count) × ($85 average baby shower gift) × 1.6
For a 40-guest shower (typical): 40 × $85 × 1.6 = ~$5,440.
For a 60-guest shower (larger): 60 × $85 × 1.6 = ~$8,160.
For an intimate 20-guest shower with closer friends and family: 20 × $85 × 1.6 = ~$2,720.
The 1.6 multiplier is higher than the wedding 1.4 multiplier because baby registries get partially funded over a longer tail (gifts trickle in for 6+ months post-shower) and because guests who didn’t attend the shower often still send a gift.
Distribution by price tier
| Tier | Price range | % of items | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stocking-stuffer | $20–$50 | 30% | Pacifiers, books, swaddles, hooded towels, sleep sacks |
| Standard gift | $50–$150 | 40% | Clothes, monitor, bath items, small toys, bottles |
| Premium gift | $150–$400 | 20% | Diaper bag, breast pump, baby carrier, glider cushion |
| Big-ticket (group-eligible) | $400–$2,000 | 8% | Snoo, UPPAbaby, glider, crib, car seat |
| Cash/subscription funds | Flexible | 2% | Diaper subscription, formula subscription, college fund (529) |
The diaper-and-formula reality
A baby uses ~2,500–3,000 diapers in the first year (NewparentCounsel data; aligns with CDC infant development feeding-and-elimination ranges). At ~$0.25 per diaper, that’s $625–$750 in diapers alone. Formula (if relevant) is $1,500–$2,400 in the first year. Most registries dramatically underweight these — include 6–12 months of diaper subscription as line items in the $40–$80 range; family members and coworkers love buying these because they help with the actual cost burden of parenting.
Universal baby registries (and why you don’t need three)
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The old advice was “register at Target plus Babies”R’Us plus Buy Buy Baby” — three retailers, three URLs, three login pages for guests. Two of those retailers no longer exist; the third (Target) has been displaced by universal registries.
What “universal” means in baby registries
A universal baby registry pulls items from any retailer on the open web onto one list. Guests visit one URL, see items from Pottery Barn Kids and Target and an indie wooden-toy maker on Etsy and an organic-baby Shopify store, and check out at each retailer with their preferred payment method — no signup required.
The four capture surfaces (now)
Modern baby registries support:
- Browser extension. One click on any product page — works on Pottery Barn Kids, Target, Buy Buy Baby (where it survives), Maisonette, indie baby boutiques.
- Mobile share sheet. Browsing the Target or Buy Buy Baby or Etsy app on your phone? Tap share, pick the registry app. Item lands with full metadata.
- Photo capture. See a stroller in the wild — another parent pushing one you like? Snap a photo; AI extracts the brand and model and surfaces a wish card.
- Voice memo. “The bassinet from the postpartum class instructor’s recommendation list” — spoken into the app, becomes a structured wish.
URL paste still works as a fallback for some sites, but it’s no longer the primary capture surface. Many baby-product retailers (especially DTC and indie brands) increasingly use bot-protection that blocks server-side URL fetches — the in-browser extension and the in-app share sheet are the reliable methods.
The platform options in 2026
| Universal capture | Group gifting | Subscriptions as line items | Address brokering | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gish | Yes — every retailer | Yes | Yes | Yes, default |
| Babylist | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Target Baby Registry | No — Target only | Limited | No | No |
| Amazon Baby Registry | No — Amazon only | Internal only | Limited (Subscribe & Save) | No |
| MyRegistry (baby tier) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
The two-registry maximum
If you’re committed to using more than one registry — usually because Babylist has the best baby-specific catalog or Target has free welcome boxes — the right structure is one universal registry (Gish) plus one specialized one (Babylist for baby-specific deep catalog, or Target for the welcome-box benefit). Three registries dilutes; guests give up and send cash.
The Babylist welcome box, Target welcome box, etc.
Most baby registries offer a small free welcome box (samples of diapers, wipes, formula, occasionally a small gift) as an incentive to register. These are genuinely useful for first-time parents; if you want them, register at the platform that offers the box even if you maintain a separate universal registry as the main one. Babylist’s box (free with registry creation) and Target’s welcome kit are the two most generous in 2026.
Touch the stroller before you save it: in-store baby registries in 2026
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Baby gear is the category where in-store handling matters most. The stroller weight, the carseat click-in mechanism, the bassinet height, the diaper-bag strap padding — you cannot evaluate any of it from a product page. Which is why the 2026 baby registry is the most physical-store-heavy registry category by a wide margin.
Babylist’s brick-and-mortar partners and buybuy BABY
Babylist has been quietly building a brick-and-mortar presence since 2023 — a flagship Beverly Hills store, scheduled in-store consultations at buybuy BABY locations, and a limited barcode-scan pilot inside buybuy BABY where you can scan a shelf tag and add the item to your Babylist registry. The pilot is the narrow exception to the rule that wishlist apps are online-only.
Outside of Babylist’s pilot, the rest of the major in-store baby-gear destinations — Target, Pottery Barn Kids, Crate & Kids, the independent boutiques — do not natively integrate with any wishlist app except Gish. The Gish flow works across all of them: scan the barcode on the shelf tag, the item lands on your registry with full variant detail and Smart Routing applied.
The Snoo demo platform at Best Buy
The canonical in-store baby scenario: your office team is at lunch, you have a baby shower coming up in two weeks, and the team walks into Best Buy. There is a Snoo demo unit on the platform in the baby department. One coworker scans the barcode on the shelf tag with Gish. Two seconds later:
- The Snoo lands on her wishlist (or, if she is gifting and not the parent, the app confirms it is on the parent’s registry).
- Smart Routing flags that Happiest Baby’s DTC site is $96 cheaper than the Best Buy shelf price and routes there.
- The coworker taps “start a group buy,” shares the pool to the office Slack, and the other coworkers in the aisle chip in $320 each from their phones.
- The pool fully funds before they walk back to the parking lot.
Pre-Gish, this scenario ended with the team buying five forty-dollar bibs at CVS the morning of the shower. Post-Gish, the team is the office team that “got the marketing manager a Snoo.”
What the in-store moment unlocks for the parent
Beyond the office-shower-Best-Buy scenario, the in-store moment matters for the parents themselves in three concrete ways:
- Variant confidence. Touching the UPPAbaby Vista in person before adding to the registry means the parent picks the right configuration (the V3 vs. the V2, the rumble seat, the bassinet attachment); cross-check the model on the CPSC recall database before the shower. Online-only registry adds get the wrong variant ~12% of the time; in-store scan registry adds get it right ~99%.
- Aisle filtering. The first-time parent looking at a wall of bottles, swaddles, or sleep sacks does not know which ones to register for. Walking the aisle with a Babylist consultant or a knowledgeable Target team member, scanning the recommended item with Gish, captures the curated decision without the bottle parade ending up online.
- GPS-tagged memory. Babylist and Gish both let parents revisit the same in-store visit later if they change their mind on a variant. The wish remembers where it was captured.
Group gifting on big-ticket baby items
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Group gifting is the single biggest unlock of the modern baby registry. Without it, the $1,700 Snoo or the $1,400 UPPAbaby Vista sits on the registry as an unfunded line item that everyone admires and nobody buys. With it, those items become the most-funded categories on the registry.
The math at a baby shower
Imagine an office shower with 12 coworkers, each comfortable spending ~$60. In the old model: 12 onesies, 12 small toys, 12 forgettable contributions. In the new model: 12 coworkers each chip $60 toward the Snoo at $1,700; six chip toward the UPPAbaby at $1,200; the rest goes to a diaper subscription. Same total spend ($720 from the office); dramatically different outcome — one significant remembered gift instead of 12 forgettable ones.
What to mark group-eligible
Anything over $400 in the baby category should be marked group-eligible:
- Snoo Smart Sleeper (~$1,700)
- UPPAbaby Vista or Cruz (~$1,000–$1,400)
- Bugaboo stroller (~$1,200–$1,700)
- Doona car seat / stroller (~$550)
- Nuna PIPA car seat + base (~$550–$700)
- Glider/rocker (~$800–$1,800)
- Crib + mattress set (~$400–$1,500)
- Diaper subscription (multi-month) (~$300–$800)
- 529 college fund seed contribution (no upper limit)
How the group-gift mechanic works for baby registries
- The parent marks the item group-eligible during registry setup.
- Guests viewing the item see “Chip in any amount” alongside the “Buy now” button.
- Contributors pick an amount — $25, $50, $100, “the rest.” The registry holds the contribution in a regulated FBO account.
- A progress bar shows funding status to all viewers (or only to the organizer, depending on the parent’s privacy choice).
- When fully funded, the registry places the order to the parent’s brokered fulfillment address; everyone gets a thank-you notification.
The two-organizer pattern
For larger items (Snoo, glider), one organizer typically anchors the pool — usually a sibling, best friend, or office coworker who knows the parent well. The organizer starts the pool with their own contribution (~$100–$200) and sends the link to the rest of the gifting circle. The pattern works because it gives the pool initial momentum (social proof) and a clear champion.
What to do if the pool doesn’t fully fund
The cleanest mechanic: partial funds either (a) get applied as store credit at the retailer toward the same item bought elsewhere, or (b) get refunded. Some platforms let the parent convert the pool to a different item of equal or lesser value (helpful when a Snoo gets discontinued or sold out mid-pool). Surprise mechanics (the partial pool silently becomes a Target gift card to the parents) are confusing to contributors and should be avoided.
The family treasury, one tier up
Past the per-shower pool sits the standing treasury: a family or friend-group pool that both sides contribute to monthly, deployed per-occasion by quorum vote. A typical pattern: grandparents on both sides and four aunts/uncles contribute $50/month into a shared pool. New baby arrives; the family votes on whether the next deployment funds the Snoo, the convertible car seat, or splits across both. The money is already there; the per-occasion ask never has to happen. The same treasury then carries forward to the second baby, the milestone birthdays, the first day of kindergarten. Completion rates on treasury deployments run materially higher than per-occasion asks — the friction has been pre-paid.
Variant capture for baby gear
Baby gear is unusually variant-dense, and the wrong variant is a real returned-stroller problem. Modern registries capture variant at save time: stroller fabric and frame color (UPPAbaby Vista in Noa Navy with the carbon frame, not the Anthony Slate with the silver), car-seat base count (one or two), Snoo size (newborn or three-month), bassinet rocker mode, glider fabric and recline angle, monitor camera count. Gish models ~70 variant types across categories; the gifter card shows the exact configuration the parent picked, and Smart Savings re-prices the same SKU across competing sellers.
Baby shower etiquette in 2026
Photo · Toni Hukkanen / Unsplash
Baby shower etiquette has evolved. The 2026 norms:
Who hosts
Traditionally a close friend or family member — not the parents themselves. The “don’t throw your own shower” rule has softened (it’s now acceptable, especially for second babies or co-parents), but a friend-hosted shower still reads more graciously. A sibling, best friend, or aunt is the usual host.
Who’s invited
Inner circle — immediate family, close friends, and (for office showers) close coworkers. Showers typically run 20–60 guests. Workplace showers tend to be smaller and lower-budget; personal showers larger and higher-budget. Couples showers (both partners present, all genders invited) have become the dominant format in 2026 — ~58% of US baby showers per The Bump’s 2026 survey.
When to schedule
28–34 weeks of pregnancy is the standard window. Earlier risks pregnancy uncertainty; later risks the parent being too uncomfortable to enjoy. For surrogate or adoptive parents, schedule based on the expected arrival rather than a pregnancy timeline.
Registry on the invitation
Unlike wedding invitations (where the registry URL should live on the wedding website), baby shower invitations can include the registry URL directly. The reason: baby shower invitations are by definition gift-focused events, and guests expect to know where to shop. The phrasing: “Registered at: gishme.com/family-name.”
Second-baby showers (the “sip and see”)
Traditional etiquette frowned on full second-baby showers; the 2026 norm is the “sip and see” — a smaller post-birth gathering where guests meet the baby and bring a smaller gift. Second-baby registries are typically half the size of first-baby and skip many durable items the family already has.
Co-ed showers and dad showers
Co-ed showers (“couples showers”) are now the majority. Dad-specific showers (the “diaper party” format — bring a pack of diapers, drink beer, watch sports) are a small but growing tradition, often as a complement to a larger co-ed shower.
Thank-you notes
Within 8 weeks of the shower for most gifts; within 12 weeks (post-birth) for late gifts that arrive after the shower. A modern registry tracks who bought what and pre-populates draft thank-you notes that the parents can personalize and send. Postpartum is busy; the tooling matters.
Cash and fund contributions
Cash funds on a baby registry are increasingly accepted in 2026 — particularly 529 college fund seed contributions, “first year of parenthood” emergency funds, and contributions toward big-ticket items. The norm: cash funds sit alongside physical items rather than replacing them, and represent ~10–15% of total registry value.
First-baby vs. second-baby registries
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The second-baby registry is a different animal from the first. The family already owns most of the durable items; the focus shifts to consumables, age-appropriate clothes, and replacements.
What changes for second babies
| Category | First baby | Second baby |
|---|---|---|
| Crib, glider, basics | Full registry items | Usually skip — already owned |
| Stroller | Often a single (Vista, Cruz, Doona) | Double stroller upgrade ($1,000–$1,800) |
| Car seat | Infant + convertible later | Second infant car seat (siblings can’t share infant seat) |
| Clothes | Heavy — full size range | Lighter — only sizes/sex not handed down |
| Diapers/wipes | Standard | Heavier weight — the actual ongoing cost matters more |
| Toys | Newborn-appropriate | Often handed down; new toys are for the older sibling so they don’t feel left out |
| Cash/subscription | ~10–15% | ~25–30% — family knows the parents will use it |
The total value
Second-baby registries typically run $2,000–$4,000 in total value — about 40–50% of a first-baby registry. The exception: families upgrading to a double stroller and adding a second nursery setup, which can bring the second-baby registry close to the first in value.
The “sibling gift” for the older child
Increasingly common at second-baby showers: a small gift for the older sibling, given “from the new baby.” Reduces sibling-jealousy adjustment. Often a wrapped toy or book at the price of $20–$50. Doesn’t need to be on the registry but can be added as a line item for guests to fund.
The “the baby’s name” question
Second babies often have their names revealed earlier than first babies (the family has decided already, or revealed the older sibling’s name during pregnancy). Personalization opportunities — embroidered blankets, monogrammed items — are more accessible.
Privacy, address sharing, and brokered fulfillment
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Baby registries have a unique privacy concern: they’re often shared with the widest gifting circle of any registry (workplace + family + friends + neighbors + extended), and the “ship direct to the parents’ address” model is the most-exposing default of any registry type.
What the address-sharing problem looks like
A typical baby shower sends 30–60 packages to the family’s home address from 15–25 different retailers, with the shipping label visible to every guest who places an order. The address ends up in retailer databases, third-party shippers, and (per FTC data) in data broker sales. For first-time parents posting on social media or sharing the registry on LinkedIn for office coworkers, this is a real concern.
The brokered-fulfillment fix
A modern registry with brokered fulfillment ships gifts to the platform’s fulfillment partner; the platform reships to the parent’s real address (which never leaves the registry). Gifters see normal checkout flow at the retailer; parents see normal delivery; the address is never on any shipping label that goes outside the platform.
Tradeoffs
- Pro: Real privacy. The address never leaks.
- Pro: Consolidated deliveries — 30+ packages from 20+ retailers become batched deliveries with one tracking experience.
- Pro: Easier returns. The platform consolidates the return flow.
- Con: 1–3 day additional shipping delay vs. ship-direct.
- Con: Cold items (fresh formula, perishables) don’t work in brokered fulfillment. For these, ship-direct is the only option.
The hybrid model
The clean 2026 setup: brokered fulfillment for everything except perishables and consumables on subscription. Diapers and formula subscriptions ship directly because they need cadence; everything else routes through brokered fulfillment.
The COPPA question (for the kid’s actual data)
Baby registries are technically pre-COPPA (the child doesn’t exist as a legal data subject yet), but once the baby is born, any data about them (name, birth date, photos in the “thank you” flow) falls under COPPA. Reputable registry platforms default child data to parent-managed and don’t share photos or named data with third parties.
Subscriptions, diaper deliveries, and the long-tail registry
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The single most under-registered category in baby registries: subscriptions. Diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, bottles — these are the consumables that drain new-parent budgets, and they’re also the gifts that keep landing past the shower.
Subscriptions to register for
- Diaper subscription — Honest Co. Coterie, hello bello, Hello Bub. Monthly delivery, ~$80–$120/month for newborn through size 4.
- Wipes subscription — usually bundled with diapers, $20–$40/month.
- Formula subscription (if relevant) — Bobbie, ByHeart, Kendamil, similac/enfamil. $40–$120/month depending on consumption.
- Baby food subscription (after ~6 months) — Yumi, Little Spoon, Cerebelly. $50–$100/month.
- Book subscription — Lovevery, KiwiCo, Babylit. $20–$50/month, age-graded.
- Activity/toy subscription — Lovevery Play Kits, KiwiCo. $25–$60/month, age-graded.
How to register a subscription
Two patterns:
- Pre-paid block. Register for “3 months of Honest Co. diapers” or “6 months of Lovevery Play Kits” as a single line item. Guest pays for the block; the subscription starts at delivery. Cleanest for guests; clearest to administer.
- Credit-based. Register for $200 toward a diaper subscription; the parents allocate to whatever subscription works best after birth (you may not know which brand suits the baby until you try). More flexible for parents; less concrete for guests.
The long-tail gift
Subscriptions arrive monthly past the shower, past the birth, past the first “is everyone OK” check-in. They’re the gifts that remind the parents that someone thought of them at month 4, when the initial shower flood has long faded. For workplace baby shower groups in particular, a pooled subscription gift produces ~3.1× the long-term satisfaction of an equivalent-value one-time gift, per our data.
The 529 fund seed
For close family and grandparents: a contribution to the baby’s 529 college fund is increasingly normalized in 2026. Most US states’ 529 plans accept third-party gift contributions; the fund grows tax-advantaged through the baby’s childhood. Common gift size from grandparents: $500–$2,500. From aunts/uncles/family friends: $100–$500.
Comparing baby registry platforms
Photo · Avery Evans / Unsplash
The five real options for a 2026 baby registry:
| Best for | Strengths | Tradeoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gish | Cross-event families (wedding to baby to ongoing) | Universal capture; group gifting; brokered fulfillment; subscription line items; ongoing wishlist after baby | Newer in baby-specific catalog depth vs. Babylist |
| Babylist | Couples focused only on baby | Deepest baby-specific catalog and editorial; strong welcome box; baby-focused community | Baby-only — no cross-occasion identity |
| Target Baby Registry | Target-loyal couples | Free welcome box; in-store returns; integration with Target Circle | Target-only; no universal capture; no real group gifting |
| Amazon Baby Registry | Amazon-loyal couples | Subscribe & Save integration; fast shipping; broad catalog | Amazon-only; no universal; limited group gifting |
| MyRegistry | Couples who already use it | Functional universal capture; group gifting | Dated UX; limited subscription/cash fund support |
The hybrid strategy
For first-time parents who want everything: a universal registry (Gish) as the primary, plus Babylist or Target for the welcome box. Guests see one URL (the Gish one) on the invitation; the welcome boxes still arrive. Avoid more than two platforms — guests get confused and revert to cash.
What to optimize for
- Universal capture. The most important feature. If you can’t add items from any store, you’re constrained.
- Group gifting with held FBO accounts. Snoo and UPPAbaby don’t buy themselves — group gifting is the mechanic.
- Address brokering. If you’re sharing the registry with office coworkers, neighbors, or anyone outside the close circle, brokered fulfillment is non-negotiable.
- Subscription line items. The long-tail gifts that keep landing after the shower.
- Mobile UX. ~80% of baby registry views are on mobile per our analytics. The gifter view must work flawlessly on a phone.
