Registry regrets: Couples wish robotic vacuum cleaners, air fryers were on list

by Judy Stringer

Creating a wedding registry can be daunting. The registry represents an unparalleled opportunity to blend a couple’s tastes, needs and wants, and to make some major upgrades along the way. Before you sit down to register online or dash through stores armed with laser gun scanners, however, check out the results of a recent survey about gifts that newlyweds wished that they added to their wedding registry.

A 2019 survey conducted online by Falls Communications on behalf of Erie Insurance found that robotic vacuum cleaners, air fryers and lawn equipment cap the list of registry items people didn’t register for but now wish they had. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they wished they’d registered for a robotic vacuum cleaner, followed by 48 percent who regret not asking for an air fryer and 47 percent who now want lawn equipment. Other popular “registry regrets” wish list items included food saver/vacuum seal systems (38 percent), barbecue grills (37 percent), luggage (34 percent), bread makers (31 percent), stand mixers (27 percent), food processors and tools (both 26 percent).

Many of those items also received high ratings as “gifts they are still glad they registered for” among people who had received them. A whopping 93 percent of respondents who got a food processor, for example, had no regrets. More than four out of five also did not regret registering for their robot vacuum cleaners, air fryers, luggage, tools and grills.

When asked to write-in their favorite gift that they registered for and received, answers included an elephant ride, a trip to Paris and matching his and hers bathrobes. A back scratcher, dog seat covers and “too many casserole dishes” were among the written answers to the question of items most regretted.

Money matter

The survey – which included 500 Americans between the ages of 28 and 40 – also asked about registering for money. Almost half of those surveyed (46 percent) said they registered for money. Of those, 45 percent said it was for general use, while 31 percent said it was for a honeymoon. Ten percent said it was for a down payment on a house, and the same percentage said the money was for a home improvement project.

On the etiquette front, two-thirds (66 percent) of the respondents think registering for money is fine, the other third (34 percent) think it’s tacky or in poor taste. Registering for money is least socially acceptable in the Northeast where 41 percent of respondents think it’s in poor taste, while it’s most accepted in the South where fewer than a third (30 percent) think it’s tacky.