Why Your Store Needs a Wish List Feature For This Holiday Season

The holidays are right around the corner, which means most retailers are working on optimizing their ecommerce stores so that they can maximize their sales during this busy shopping period. Optimizing can range from buy online pickup in store functionality, to perfecting your product descriptions. 

Luckily, merchants on the Shopify platform are well positioned to optimize their stores thanks to the array of apps that can be installed. One way is to introduce wish list and gift registry functionality.

This feature is a fantastic way to both improve your customer’s shopping experience and gather data on what products your customers are most interested in. So read on to learn why you should add gift registry and wish list functionality to your store, and how. 

What is a wish list and gift registry? 

A wish list allows shoppers to create personalized collections of products they are considering buying, and save them in their user account for future reference. Wish lists signify a customer’s interest in a product without an immediate intent to purchase.

A gift registry similarly creates a personalized collection of favorite items, but is publicly accessible so that others can see the list and make purchases on the user’s behalf. Gift registries are popular tools for life events like birthdays, weddings, new babies, housewarming and more. 

Both wish lists and gift registries are features that customers appreciate because they make shopping simpler. Shoppers can keep an eye on items for sales, and they can easily relocate items that they perhaps weren’t sure about purchasing, or wanted to save for later. 

How does the wish list feature benefit merchants? 

Wish lists and gift registries are great tools for shoppers, but are mutually beneficial for the merchant. This feature provides merchants with a fantastic tool for monitoring product interest and shoppers’ behavior. Here’s how: 

• You can better manage inventory. If a product is out of stock, and you see that it is popular on wish lists, this is a great indicator that the product is worth restocking. An added bonus is that a wish list feature will also allow you to alert customers when an item is back in stock so that you avoid missing opportunities for sales. 
  
  
• You can analyze the data to see what items your shoppers buy right away and which items they save for later. This will help you identify any underlying issues that could be keeping your customers from completing purchases. For example, is the product listed at the right price point? Or maybe your customers are wanting more information on that product before purchasing? This data can also inform which items you should discount. If an item is saved in lots of wish lists, it will have a better chance of generating revenue when it goes on sale. 
  
  
• You will drive engagement with your customers. A wish list is a subtle tool for keeping your customers engaged with your brand because it requires your customers to create a user account. Your shoppers can then set up notifications for sales and restocking on items that they’ve saved, meaning you have more opportunities to convert them. Moreover, customers will share their lists with others which not only improves your likelihood of sales, but amplifies your company’s visibility. 

Wish lists for the holidays 

Planning for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday season is essential for ecommerce retailers because the majority of online sales happen during this period. According to Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions for 80 of the top internet retailers in the U.S., Black Friday alone pulled in a whopping $6.22 billion in online sales in 2018. Numbers like that prove that it's well worth investing in tools that will help you maximize your sales during this busy final quarter of 2019. 

Wish lists are a no brainer during gift giving holidays. Offering this feature provides an incentive to shop at your store because it simplifies the customer experience: 

• Couples, families, friends, colleagues, and secret Santa groups use wish lists to guide holiday purchases. 
• Wish lists can easily be shared and referred to. 
• Wish lists remove the need to “shop around” because all the items you’re looking for are at one store.

Here’s how do you add the wish list feature to your Shopify store

Gift Reggie is a quick and painless way to add wish list and gift registry functionality to your store. The app is available for download from the Shopify app store, and plans start just $5 per month.

Gift Reggie has several features which set it apart from the rest of the wish list apps that are available on the market. The app is “white label” meaning that it seamlessly integrates by sitting on top of your store and taking on the look of your theme.

The app works out-of-the-box, but can also be tweaked for merchants who’d like some elements customized. The app also provides POS integration, which allows products to be added to and purchased from Shopify’s POS system directly. Lastly, Gift Reggie has four pricing options so that merchants can select a plan that best suits their business needs. 

Gift Reggie is a quick and painless way to add wish list and
gift registry functionality to your store.

Installing Gift Reggie can be done quickly and painlessly. Once the app is downloaded, an install guide will provide step by step directions for getting the app added to your store and running smoothly. If you encounter any problems, Gift Reggie has a support team that is ready to help you via chat, email, or phone. 

Add the wish list feature for this holiday season 

With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s essential to consider all your options for a smooth Q4 that both pleases your customers and boosts your annual revenue. Adding wish list and gift registry functionality to your Shopify store is one simple way to add a feature that not only optimizes the experience of your customers, but provides valuable product, merchandising, and shopper insights that can be used to further enhance your store and product offerings. 

So take advantage of Shopify apps this holiday season - head over to the app store to get started with Gift Reggie today.