David's Bridal launches digital wedding planning tools

Dive Brief:

David's Bridal on Thursday introduced a series of digital wedding planning tools, including a vision board, an interactive wedding checklist and a customizable website, according to a company press release.
After answering a few questions, couples can use the Wedding Vision Tool to curate their vision for their wedding day, including details like the overall decor, attire for the wedding party and music for the reception, per the release.
The digital vision board also allows loved ones and wedding planners to download and view the couple's wedding vision, while the customized wedding website and registry tools let couples share their event and curate and track their registry across retailers.

Dive Insight:

The launch of these new digital tools comes after David's Bridal named its first chief digital experience officer and introduced its virtual assistant chatbot "Zoey." Additionally, in the summer of 2018, the retailer completed the acquisition of tech startup Blueprint Registry. With the announcement that the retailer has come out of bankruptcy and the appointment of a new CEO it appears the company is trying to turn itself around.

"From easy-to-use planning tools, to texting 'Zoey,' our virtual stylist to book an appointment, to trackable checklists with built-in reminders, to launching your own personal website, we continue to make major strides and investments in our digital transformation," Jim Marcum, CEO of David's Bridal, said in a statement. "We are relentless in our pursuit of becoming the most relevant, digitally modern, and innovative company to serve today's modern bride."

That relentlessness will be necessary as David's Bridal competes with other established and up-and-coming rivals. Last week, Macy's announced a partnership with Zola to introduce a custom wedding registry. In September, Bed Bath & Beyond partnered with VEBO, a wedding registry experience platform, to add experiences to its wedding registry categories. Back in 2018, Zola added Crate & Barrel to its retailer roster.

All this is occurring as consumer tastes and marital traditions are changing. Bridal retailers have experienced a decline as fewer couples are getting married. Those that tie the knot now have digital alternatives vying for their registries, like Zola and Honeyfund.