[citation needed] Registry managers will often not divulge who has purchased the registered items.
[citation needed] In the United Kingdom, a gift registry is frequently referred to as a "gift list" and has become an established part of British weddings, with the service often provided by most department stores.
However, online gift registries that are not specific to any retailer have become an increasingly popular alternative to retailer-specific registries, as the former offers more flexible means of adding gifts and coordinating purchases, as well as social networking capabilities.
In 2004, North American shopping centers (notably Galleria Edina) began to extend this concept by offering registries that had access to multiple shops within individual centers.
[2] A managed registry system has several goals: Gift registries are often used for a variety of occasions, such as anniversaries, baby showers, birthdays, civil ceremonies, graduations, and housewarming parties.