Not Just a Nice-to-Have: How Wishlist Features Secure Sales and Customer Retention
Exploring how “Save for Later” features quietly drive conversions and repeat visits in modern shopping experiences.
If you know me, you know I’m a chronic shopper. One day, while giving into my shopping addiction on CSB, I wanted to save a few pricier pieces for later only to realize there was no wishlist or favorite option. I shrugged it off, but when I returned months later, I forgot what I wanted and left empty handed.
Now take Sephora. Not only can I save products I love, but I also get reminders when they’re on sale or back in stock. And just like that, I’m back on the site… over and over again.
That got me thinking:
Are wishlist and favoriting features quietly driving customer returns and sales, or are they just “nice to have” buttons that brands could do without?
While wishlist and favorite features might seem like minor UI details, their strategic impact on user behavior and business outcomes is worth exploring, especially in the context of e-commerce retention, personalization, and conversion.
🤔 The Problem
As of 2025, there are over 11.9 million e-commerce businesses in United States alone. This shows how in today’s crowded e-commerce landscape, online shoppers can easily become overwhelmed with options. This leads to choice paralysis with choosing stores and within stores. When there are so many options, it makes it harder to make a decision, causing users to delay or abandon purchases altogether. In fact, a study by the Baymard Institute found that nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned1, and while some of that is due to pricing or shipping concerns, many users simply want to “come back later.”2
The real issue kicks in when there is no easy way for users to hold onto the items they liked. Without something as simple as a wishlist, save button, or even a basic bookmark, that original interest kind of floats away. You might love something in the moment, but if you cannot find it again when you are finally ready to buy, you are probably not going to go digging. That is a missed opportunity for both the user and the brand.
Favoriting and wishlisting are often thrown around as easy fixes for this kind of problem. But are they actually doing their job? Are they genuinely helping users re-engage and move closer to buying, or are they just there for show, forgotten buttons that do not really drive behavior?
Before assuming they work, I think it is worth digging deeper. What do the user patterns actually tell us? Are these features designed in a way that makes sense? And more importantly, are they being used in a way that meaningfully connects initial product interest with actual follow-through?
🧩 How Wishlist Features Work Strategically in UX
At first glance, wishlists might seem like just another UI component. But how does it work:
Cognitive Offloading
Wishlists let users “store” products for later, reducing decision pressure in the moment. Bizrate Insights found that 30% of users use wishlists to save items for future purchase, and about 17% use them to monitor prices3.
Session Continuity
They enable users to pick up where they left off, even after weeks or on different devices which is a crucial feature in fragmented, multi-session shopping habits.
Personalization
Saved items fuel smarter recommendation algorithms and remarketing campaigns. Swym reports that sites with wishlists see around 30% higher conversion rates, frequently generating millions in incremental sales by turning saved intent into purchases.4
Retention Loops
Emails or push notifications tied to wishlist events reignite buyer interest with higher intent. Significa notes that wishlists “keep products top-of-mind,” boosting return visits, especially when paired with follow-up emails5. Invesp also highlights wishlists as a “remarketing campaign dream,” offering visibility into customer intent6.
Usage Examples
ASOS: Surfaces wishlist activity on your homepage and in “Low Stock” or “Last Chance” email alerts, helping drive urgency and relevance.
Nike: Personalizes site visits by prioritizing your saved products, reinforcing session continuity.
Typology: Prompts you to take personalized quiz and saves your recommendations, emailing sales and reminder notifications
🛠️ My Design Perspective
As a product designer, I always think about how features like this don’t just live in the interface. They exist in the user’s mental model. Wishlists aren’t just for storing products; they give users space to pause, reflect, and return when they’re ready. That sense of control is subtle, but powerful.
A 2024 article by The Good found that e-commerce sites face a cart abandonment rate of around 75%, and wishlists act as a key recovery mechanism. They offer a frictionless way for hesitant buyers to save intent, revisit decisions, and ultimately complete a purchase. The article also stresses the importance of thoughtful design, from strategic icon placement and guest-user access to smart, personalized follow-ups that keep users engaged without overwhelming them.
Another recent case study by UXAvic further illustrates that wishlists are far from a “nice to have.” When the flower brand Colvin rolled out a dedicated favorites flow including a wishlist icon, sharing options, and a personalized page, they saw a clear lift in return visits, conversions, and average order value. Their success came from iterative UX testing and a phased rollout, proving that when thoughtfully integrated, these features aren’t just functional. They’re strategic.7
Wishlists support the natural ebb and flow of decision-making, especially in high choice, high consideration spaces like fashion, beauty, or tech. When done well, they’re not a growth hack. They’re a respectful design tool that empowers users to come back on their own terms.8
That’s where I see their real value: not just in driving metrics, but in creating trust, continuity, and long-term connection in the product experience.
🧪 Why Some Brands Still Don’t Use Them
Of course, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are trade-offs to consider:
Over-cluttering the UI: Some brands avoid adding wishlist features to preserve minimal design systems.
Guest user complexity: Saving items often requires sign-in, which adds friction — especially on mobile.
Over-marketing risks: Poorly timed or excessive wishlist notifications can feel spammy and turn users off.
Ignored Features: The worry that favoriting features are not even used and a back of mind solution that isn’t as important.
But these challenges can be addressed with thoughtful design:
Use lightweight icons or microinteractions to introduce the save feature without overwhelming the interface.
Consider offering wishlist functionality without requiring an account, via local storage or temporary session saves.
Give users control over notifications and reminders so they can opt into the frequency and type of engagement they prefer.
🧵 So... Do Wishlists Actually Work?
The real question isn’t just “Should we have a wishlist feature?”
It’s “How do we design wishlist experiences that reduce friction, support memory, and genuinely feel worth returning to?”
As product teams, we need to think beyond the UI element itself. The value of a wishlist lies in how it aligns with the user’s rhythm, the way they browse, pause, revisit, and eventually convert. And that rhythm looks different depending on who your users are and what you're selling.
Do your users need a more guided, dynamic experience with personalized prompts and calls to action? Or would a subtle heart icon be more appropriate, empowering self-driven behavior? There’s no one size fits all solution, but what’s clear is that wishlists consistently play a pivotal role in bringing users back.
When thoughtfully designed, they’re not just a feature. They’re a strategic touchpoint for trust, retention, and long term product engagement.