Is Target Regirestry like a shopping list, or a list to share and tell people what you want?

It's a list of things you choose to help people know what you want.

lists you put together letting people know what you want /like to have as a gift

For baby showers, weddings and even birthdays. Registry is wonderful so you know just exactly what you need

It is both, a shopping list that you use to share with people, typically made public for people to search, or given a direct link. Hope this helps!