Dive Brief:
- Alongside other retailers creating wedding e-commerce platforms, Minted unveiled the Minted Weddings Marketplace, a digital hub for wedding decor, gifts and accessories from independent creatives, the company announced on Monday.
- Shoppers can browse products such as candles, cards, cake toppers, robes, vow books and other items. The platform is comprised of artists and makers from the U.S. and from more than 100 countries.
- Customers can also access the company’s concierge service, which provides advice on wedding challenges like invitation etiquette and finding party favors. They also can order customized stationery through the platform, according to the announcement.
Dive Insight:
For Minted, the decision to enter the wedding market marks an expansion of its product assortment and brings another revenue opportunity for the sellers, the company said. In its announcement, the company also mentioned that its customers want their weddings to be visually appealing for their offline and online communities across social platforms, including Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok.
“The integration of a third-party marketplace alongside our first-party business allows us to scale product categories and offerings,” Minted CEO Melissa Kim said in a statement. “Customers can now access a constantly refreshed assortment of accessories, gifts and decor in the same place that they shop for stationery.”
Minted is entering the wedding market as a competitor navigates bankruptcy proceedings. Similarly to Minted, David’s Bridal launched its Pearl by David’s wedding planning tool in January, where shoppers could access advice content, connect with vendors and earn loyalty incentives. But by springtime, the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it announced plans to lay off more than 9,200 and reduce its store count.
Though David’s Bridal had considered cutting its store footprint, the post-bankruptcy sale of its business has been approved. As part of the deal, the retailer will keep its nearly 200 stores open and retain roughly 7,000 jobs in the U.S. Its new owner, Cion Investment Corp., poured $20 million into the business, according to a July 24 press release.
While David’s Bridal is sorting out its future, another marketplace has entered the wedding market: Etsy. In May, the company introduced an online wedding registry, enabling shoppers to browse handmade goods, vintage and custom products.
Like Minted, Etsy serves as a third-party marketplace platform where artisans can sell their products. However, the merchants have recently boycotted Etsy in response to its policy of withholding 75% of their funds for potential refunds, PYMNTS reports.
