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When the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger crooned You can’t always get what you want, it was 1969, and online shopping was a long, long way off. Still, the anthem about the Swinging Sixties is a handy mantra when it comes to e-commerce, especially the art of “wishlisting”.
Retailers and consumer behaviourists agree that in the online era, wishlisting is the new window shopping, and can reveal a plethora of insights about how – and when – consumers are spending their money.
Wish-listing can provide the rush of shopping, without the post-purchase regret.Credit: Getty
Anastasia Lloyd-Wallis, head of customer insights for the Retail Doctor Group, says wishlisting is a form of “shoptimism”, which in times of financial stress can give consumers “small moments of pleasure” without the threat of experiencing post-purchase regret.
“It’s also known as the ‘lipstick effect’ – buying small items to make themselves feel better,” she says. “Beauty does well here, or mid-level restaurants, takeaway food – anything considered a treat.”
Some retailers have undervalued wishlisting as a resource because it’s hard to give purchases not made (or delayed) a monetary value, she says.
“You can’t put a value on it, but in terms of engagement it creates a bond [between customer and brands] that can last for life.”
Lloyd-Wallis has advised retailers including The Iconic on how they can use insights from customers’ wishlisting behaviours to improve their online shopping experience. She says during 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing, retail was focused on efficiency. Now, the emphasis is more on customer engagement, and wishlisting has become an important factor.
“Consumers are valuing their time more [since COVID] – wishlisting fills that gap. [It provides] an entertainment experience that’s part of shopping,” she says.
Why wishlist?
The reasons consumers wishlist range from finding inspiration and sharing outfit ideas with friends, to more practical things such as budgeting and planning. Popping an item in a wishlist is also a surefire way to be alerted if it goes on sale, something many retailers encourage (second to paying full price, of course).
According to The Iconic, one in every four items sold on its platforms originates from a wishlist. A spokeswoman says the retailer watches wishlist data closely, and uses it to personalise customer recommendations. (On Friday, The Iconic is gifting one in three customers something on their wishlist as part of a promotion to mark its 12th birthday.) Over the past 12 months, wishlists on The Iconic have included 562,000 products; dresses are the most wishlisted garment by a wide margin.
What type of wishlister are you?
- ‘Planner’: uses lists to get organised for events such as Christmas; to be notified of sale alerts.
- ‘Budgeter’: uses lists to track spending and savings goals; also to get sale alerts.
- ‘Creative’: uses lists for “social proof” by sharing with friends.
- ‘Hedonist’: uses lists for the thrill of shopping, regardless of intention to buy.
Source: Anastasia Lloyd-Wallis, Retail Doctor Group
Lloyd-Wallis says wishlisting is the modern-day version of our grandmothers’ adage of “sleep on it” before making a big purchase. “It’s like the old-fashioned days of cutting [an item] out of a catalogue and putting it on a moodboard.”
But wishlisting isn’t only for fantasy items, such as the $50,000 Hermes Birkin on the list of one customer of The Iconic (sold through a retail partner). Smaller items are also heavily wishlisted. According to beauty retailer Mecca’s most wishlisted items, the dearest is a $61 perfume mist by Sol de Janeiro.
A spokeswoman for Mecca says use of wishlists has grown significantly in the past two years, and the company notices spikes in the lead-up to events such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
All the lists in one place
Suffering list overload? There’s an app for that. Jodine Wolman and Alexis Aaron founded Sortd (formerly Walah), which allows users to keep their wishlists from any online retailer in the one place, which makes budgeting and planning for events such as Christmas simpler than tracking lists on individual retailers’ websites.
Wolman says Sortd’s subscribers, who are predominantly women aged 18 to 35, are “high intent” wishlisters, and aren’t just in it for the thrill. “Our consumers use our universal wishlist to streamline the process when deciding what it is they need to buy for [a particular] event,” she says.
As well as bringing a more social element to online shopping (lists can be shared with friends, one of Sortd’s most popular features, according to Wolman), Sortd’s founders acknowledge the role the app can play during a cost-of-living crunch.
“Consumers often don’t have a dispensable income, they want to be more cautious and thoughtful when it comes to their spending,” she says. “Sortd encourages thoughtful and informed purchase decisions.”
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