RETAIL Gift registries take the guesswork out of buying what baby (and parents) need

The baby registry business is booming.
PRESS-ENTERPRISE (RIVERSIDE, CALIF.)
Babies may not come with instructions, but they do come with a lot of stuff.
And good luck to the parents -- and their gift givers -- who must navigate the maze of equipment. They have to choose from at least 50 kinds of strollers, dozens of baby monitors and an array of systems for disposing of stinky diapers.
No wonder the baby registry business is booming.
Most specialty stores and mass discounters offer registries, which allow expectant parents to choose the gifts they'd like to receive. Nothing is left to chance. Similar to bridal registries, the lists detail everything from pacifiers and diaper-rash ointment to big-ticket items such as cribs and rockers.
"It makes it a lot easier," said Connie Just, owner of stores offering the service in California. "We list everything, from how they're going to feed the baby up to their furniture selections."
Multiple showers
Changing attitudes about baby gifts are fueling the trend.
It used to be that women had showers only for their first child. But now they're having them for the second, third and fourth offspring, who get the benefit of new clothes, new bedding and new furniture, Just said.
"There's always a demand. They [parents] will buy for that baby and not have a couch to sit on," she said.
One more twist: Showers aren't just for the parents-to-be. Increasingly, grandparents are registering for items that allow them to set up a nursery at their own house, said Hayley White of Babies R Us.
Thriving business
Nationwide last year, more than 800,000 people registered at the baby-product specialty chain -- the world's largest, said White, a promotions specialist. With lists averaging 65 items worth $650, that's big business.
"We see more parents who are better educating themselves, using the Internet, coming in with a list in their hands of products. On the other hand, we have parents walk in here completely overwhelmed. They don't know where to start," White said.
It's no wonder, with the amazing spectrum of choices.
How would a shower guest know to choose between Gerber and Playtex, Graco and Evenflo?
"If people don't know what to get you, they tend to get clothes or a different brand or style than you want," said Kim Thompson of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. She registered at Babies R Us before her daughter, Isabella, was born in August, and got most of what she asked for.
Benefits
She and other moms see definite advantages to the baby registry.
Primarily, it eliminates duplicates.
"It's hard once the baby's born to make returns, or even right before, because you've got so much to do," Thompson said.
In the past decade, baby registries have become easier to establish and use. Parents-to-be use hand-held scanners to add items to their lists, and products purchased off a registry are logged automatically at checkout.
Most stores have specialists who walk customers through the process and explain the products.
Babies R Us offers resource packets in Spanish and seminars on everything from car-seat safety to baby-proofing a house.
Online convenience
Registries can also be created, purchased from and updated online through stores such as Target and Wal-Mart. Web-based businesses such as www.babycenter.com also offer these features.
"A lot of it is just convenience. It makes it easy for the expectant mom and the people who are going to buy her presents," said Pamela Faatz, a Babies "R" Us spokeswoman.
Destinee Fortunato of Upland, Calif., found another benefit to registering -- it makes shopping simple for out-of-state guests. She registered before the birth of her son, Nicholas, in November, and family members on the East Coast sent her gift certificates for a stroller system, swing and bedding.
Fortunato didn't register for the small stuff, though.
"I was overwhelmed," she said. "I walked in here and went 'Ah!' I think people knew what I needed more than I did."