Ask to Buy create & share cart vs. Pro Wishlist: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right app for a Shopify store can feel like picking a single tool from a toolbox of thousands. Two apps that address related customer intent—saving and sharing purchase intent—are Ask to Buy create & share cart and Pro Wishlist. Both sit in the wishlist/intent space, but they take different approaches: one focuses on enabling shared carts and checkout handoff, the other on letting customers save items for later. This article breaks down each app feature-by-feature, compares pricing, integrations, setup, and expected outcomes, and then explains when a merchant should pick one or the other. Finally, the article evaluates a single-platform alternative designed to reduce tool sprawl and improve retention.

Short answer: Ask to Buy create & share cart is a focused tool for stores that need shareable, pre-filled carts and checkout handoffs—useful for gift lists, parental checkout, and sales rep workflows. Pro Wishlist is a lightweight wishlist utility aimed at stores that want a simple, theme-friendly save-for-later feature. For merchants who want fewer apps and broader retention capabilities—loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist—an integrated platform like Growave offers better value for money and reduces the operational complexity of maintaining multiple single-purpose apps.

The purpose of this post is to provide an in-depth, objective, and actionable comparison of Ask to Buy create & share cart and Pro Wishlist to help merchants make an informed decision. The comparison focuses on features, pricing and value, integrations, analytics, support, setup and maintenance, and real-world use cases.

Ask to Buy create & share cart vs. Pro Wishlist: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Overview: Different problems, different tools

Ask to Buy create & share cart and Pro Wishlist both center on capturing purchase intent, but they address different moments in the buyer journey. Ask to Buy converts intent into immediate checkout behavior by handing off a pre-filled cart and checkout page to a paying party. Pro Wishlist captures interest earlier—helping browsers compile a list to return to later.

Merchants should evaluate which buyer journey matters most to their business: are conversions driven by immediate handoffs and group purchases, or are they driven by customers returning to saved items over time? The right choice depends on product types, average order value, buyer demographics, and sales channels.

Features and Capabilities

Ask to Buy create & share cart — Feature breakdown

Ask to Buy focuses on cart sharing and checkout handoff. Key capabilities include:

• Pre-filled checkout details so invitees only need to pay. This reduces friction for buyers who cannot complete purchase themselves.
• A share action that produces an email or link that lands invitees directly on the checkout page with a custom welcome message.
• Support for gift registries and group sharing workflows to let groups assemble a gift.
• A customizable AskToBuy button that can be placed on product pages or collection pages.
• Tracking of cart shares, conversions, and revenue generated from shared carts.
• Use cases for sales representatives to create dedicated carts and send them to customers for payment.

Practical implications:

• Ideal where one person should assemble a purchase and another will pay (teens buying via parents, B2B sales rep workflows, gift registries).
• Reduces entry friction by pre-filling shipping/billing details; invitees do not need to rebuild carts.
• Conversion tracking provides a basic ROI view for shares-to-sales.

Limitations to note:

• Scope is narrow—focused on sharing and handoff rather than long-term retention.
• No mention of built-in loyalty, referral, or review features.
• Number of public reviews is small (7), which suggests limited market exposure or a newer app. The rating of 4.4 indicates satisfactory user sentiment among those reviewers, but the small sample size reduces statistical confidence.

Pro Wishlist — Feature breakdown

Pro Wishlist focuses on wishlist creation and product-saving behavior. Core features include:

• Seamless theme integration designed for quick setup (under five minutes).
• Guest wishlist support to allow saves without an account, lowering barriers for casual browsers.
• Tracking of most-saved products to inform merchandising and inventory decisions.
• Responsive support for installation and troubleshooting.

Practical implications:

• Useful for stores that want a minimal, fast wishlist implementation with low maintenance.
• Guest wishlist reduces friction and can increase the volume of saves from new visitors.
• Knowing which items are most saved helps prioritize restocks and promotions.

Limitations to note:

• Public presence is minimal (0 reviews reported), which makes it hard to verify reliability, speed of support, and long-term stability.
• No public pricing stated, which requires merchants to contact developers or install to learn cost.
• No built-in loyalty, referral, or reviews features; this remains a single-purpose solution.

Feature Comparison — Side-by-side considerations

• Shared checkout vs saved intent: Ask to Buy moves intent toward purchase immediately; Pro Wishlist stores intent for later conversion.
• Analytics: Ask to Buy reports on conversions from shares; Pro Wishlist tracks saves (popularity metrics). Neither offers deep LTV, cohort or A/B testing analytics out of the box.
• Customization: Ask to Buy allows custom button design and a tailored invite experience. Pro Wishlist focuses on theme compatibility and a quick visual fit.
• Complexity: Ask to Buy may require mapping checkout pre-fill fields correctly and ensuring data privacy; Pro Wishlist is often simpler to install and maintain.

Pricing & Value

Pricing transparency and value-for-money are critical for merchants scaling with limited budgets.

Ask to Buy create & share cart pricing

• Publicly listed plan: basic — $15 / month.
• The $15 entry point positions the app as accessible and low-cost for stores that need specific share/checkout handoff capability.
• Given the narrow feature set, $15 is reasonable if the feature materially increases conversions (e.g., group gifts, parent-assisted checkouts).

Value considerations:

• For stores that actually benefit from pre-filled checkouts and share-initiated conversions, the $15 fee can be easily justified through revenue generated by share-to-checkout workflows.
• The app does not replace loyalty or review tools, so merchants will likely need additional apps for broader retention—raising total cost of ownership.

Pro Wishlist pricing

• No public pricing shared in the provided data.
• Absence of listed pricing can mean several things: pricing is custom, the developer prefers to discuss use cases first, or the app is new and pricing hasn't been set publicly.
• This lack of transparency necessitates direct contact or trial installation to evaluate cost.

Value considerations:

• Pro Wishlist’s apparent simplicity suggests lower overhead and possibly a lower cost than multi-feature apps, but without listed prices merchants must investigate.
• As a single-point solution, it will not replace broader retention or conversion stacks.

Pricing comparison — value-for-money

• Ask to Buy’s $15/month baseline is transparent and affordable for a single focused function. For stores whose revenue benefit from shareable carts, this is likely a good value for money.
• Pro Wishlist’s value is harder to assess without published pricing, but if the feature works as advertised and pricing is low, it can offer immediate wishlist functionality with minimal setup.
• For merchants evaluating total stack cost, single-purpose apps add up. Multiple single-function apps often create overlapping costs and increased maintenance overhead.

Integrations and Ecosystem Compatibility

Integration capacity matters for maintaining clean data and automating workflows.

Ask to Buy integrations

• The data does not list specific third-party integrations beyond Shopify. Core compatibility centers on checkout and cart data within Shopify.
• Because Ask to Buy populates checkout fields, merchants must ensure compatibility with custom checkout scripts (Shopify Plus) and third-party checkout extensions (like recurring subscription checkout apps).

Practical implications:

• Works primarily inside Shopify’s checkout and cart experience. For stores with advanced checkout customizations, testing is required.
• Limited ecosystem integrations mean manual workflows or additional tools may be required for loyalty, email automation, or CRM integrations.

Pro Wishlist integrations

• Pro Wishlist emphasizes theme integration and a fast setup. No explicit third-party integrations are provided in the supplied data.
• Theme-focused online stores should find it straightforward to match design, but complex multi-channel setups may need custom integration.

Practical implications:

• Best for simple storefronts where wishlist data can be used manually or exported.
• For merchants that want wishlist events to trigger email flows in an ESP (e.g., Klaviyo), a lack of native integrations may require middleware or custom development.

Integration comparison — what merchants should test

• Merchants using email automation, CRMs, or loyalty programs must validate whether wishlist or share-cart events surface in those tools.
• Stores on Shopify Plus or using subscription/recurring apps should test that Ask to Buy’s pre-fill behavior does not break subscription checkouts or scripts.
• If deep integration with retention marketing is a priority, consider platforms built to integrate across loyalty, referral, and reviews (see the alternative platform section below).

Analytics and Reporting

Data to measure impact is essential for deciding whether an app justifies its cost.

Ask to Buy analytics

• Feature set includes tracking of cart shares, conversions, and generated revenue.
• This directly ties share actions to revenue and helps calculate ROI for the app.
• Useful metrics: number of shares, conversion rate of invited users, revenue per share.

Limitations:

• Reporting depth is likely basic—no sign of advanced cohort, funnel, or lifetime impact analysis.
• Merchants who rely heavily on deeper analytics will need to supplement with other tools or export data for further analysis.

Pro Wishlist analytics

• Tracks the most-saved products; this is useful for inventory planning and merchandising decisions.
• Key metrics: number of saves per product, guest saves vs logged-in saves.

Limitations:

• Saves do not directly equate to conversions—merchant must analyze how many wishlist items convert and over what timeframe.
• No clear path to measure the long-term impact on customer lifetime value.

Setup, Ease of Use, and Theming

Time-to-value depends on how quickly an app can be implemented and maintained.

Ask to Buy setup

• Requires placement of AskToBuy buttons and validation of pre-filled checkout fields.
• Merchants must test flows for various product types, shipping profiles, and coupon compatibility.
• Customization of the invite experience requires familiarity with the app’s settings or theme files.

Practical tips:

• Test across device types and shipping profiles.
• If the store uses non-standard checkout customizations, test in staging or with limited traffic first.

Pro Wishlist setup

• Marketed as a setup in under five minutes with seamless theme integration.
• Likely requires inserting a snippet or installing via the Shopify app installation flow.
• Guest wishlist reduces friction as it avoids account creation complexities.

Practical tips:

• Ensure wishlist calls-to-action are visible on product and collection pages.
• Verify the design matches the store’s theme and mobile responsiveness.

Support and Trust Signals

Support responsiveness and community validation are important—especially for newer or lower-rated apps.

• Ask to Buy: 7 reviews, 4.4 rating. Small review count suggests the app has been adopted by a limited audience. The rating is positive, but merchants should interpret the small sample cautiously. Confirm support SLAs and whether they provide setup assistance or troubleshooting resources.
• Pro Wishlist: 0 reviews, 0 rating. No public users have left feedback in the review data provided. This can indicate the app is new, private, or not commonly used. Merchants should request case studies or ask for a live demo to validate reliability and support responsiveness.

Support considerations:

• Ask specific questions about response times, escalation paths, and version compatibility.
• Ask about proven stores or references to ensure the app handles edge cases.

Security, Privacy, and Data Handling

Any app that pre-fills checkout details or stores wishlist information must handle customer data correctly.

• Ask to Buy pre-fills checkout details; merchants should confirm how the app handles personal data, whether it stores customer emails or addresses outside Shopify, and how it complies with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
• Pro Wishlist may store product IDs and optional customer identifiers. Confirm where data is stored and whether it can be exported or deleted on request.

Best practice:

• Look for apps that use Shopify's APIs and host minimal PII outside Shopify.
• Request the developer’s privacy policy and data retention policy.

Mobile and Performance

Mobile-first design matters for conversion.

• Ask to Buy: Given that shares land invitees directly in checkout, mobile-optimized checkout experiences are crucial. Merchants should test the shared-cart checkout flow on mobile devices.
• Pro Wishlist: Theme integration and quick setup suggest mobile responsiveness is accounted for, but merchants should confirm that wishlist modals or pages perform well on low-speed networks.

Use Cases and Merchant Profiles

This section outlines the merchant types that best match each app.

Best Fit: Ask to Buy create & share cart

• Gift-oriented stores where shoppers assemble a list and a third party pays (e.g., gift registries, wishlists with parental payment).
• Brands that use sales reps to build carts for customers (B2B-lite or high-touch retail).
• Merchants looking to reduce friction when the shopper and payer are different people.
• Stores where conversion lifts can be directly tied to shared-cart workflows and justify the monthly fee.

Why it works:

• Direct checkout handoff reduces friction at payment, increasing conversion probability for share-driven purchases.

When to avoid:

• If primary goals are long-term retention, loyalty, or review collection, Ask to Buy does not cover these needs.

Best Fit: Pro Wishlist

• Stores that want a fast, unobtrusive wishlist solution integrated into the storefront.
• Merchants that want to track saved-product popularity for merchandising and inventory planning.
• Low-complexity shops where customers save items and then return on their own timeline to purchase.

Why it works:

• Low setup time and guest wishlist support reduce barriers to adoption.

When to avoid:

• When a merchant needs wishlist events to feed into email flows, loyalty upgrades, or long-term retention automation—lack of integrations can limit utility.

The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform

Single-purpose apps solve discrete problems, but they also create "app fatigue"—a condition in which merchants manage many small tools that each solve one problem but collectively increase cost, maintenance, and data fragmentation.

What is app fatigue?

App fatigue happens when merchants add multiple niche apps to cover wishlist, loyalty, reviews, referrals, and VIP tiers. Symptoms include:

• Fragmented customer data and limited cross-app attribution.
• Higher combined app spend and overlapping features.
• Increased time spent on setup, updates, and troubleshooting.
• Slower iteration because changes must be replicated across many tools.

These operational costs reduce margins and distract merchants from optimizing growth strategies such as retention and lifetime value.

Why consolidate?

Consolidation reduces friction across customer touchpoints. When wishlist events, loyalty points, referral rewards, and review collection live in the same system, merchants gain:

• Unified customer profiles that connect saves, purchases, referrals, and reviews.
• Easier automation: wishlist saves can trigger emails, loyalty points, or referral invites without Zapier or custom middleware.
• Cost savings from fewer subscriptions and less technical debt.
• Stronger measurement of the impact of retention programs on repeat purchases and LTV.

Growave’s “More Growth, Less Stack” proposition

Growave presents a single platform for the retention stack—loyalty, referrals, reviews and UGC, wishlist, and VIP tiers. The philosophy is "More Growth, Less Stack": provide the retention features merchants need without forcing them to maintain numerous single-purpose apps.

Key elements of Growave’s value proposition include:

• Consolidated retention features that link wishlist behavior with loyalty and review incentives.
• Enterprise-grade capabilities for scaling brands and Shopify Plus merchants.
• Pre-built integrations with marketing and support tools to accelerate deployment.

Merchants can evaluate Growave’s plans and pricing to compare cost-of-ownership versus multiple single-purpose apps by reviewing Growave’s pricing page and app listing:

• For plan details and a comparison of features across tiers, merchants can explore the pricing options.
• To view the app’s entry in the Shopify App Store, see the Growave listing on the Shopify App Store.

How Growave combines wishlist with retention tools

A wishlist that lives alongside loyalty and reviews changes how wishlist events are used:

• Wishlist saves can automatically trigger targeted email flows or points allocation, turning passive saves into active retention signals. Learn how merchants can build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
• Wishlist data can inform VIP segmentation so that the most engaged browsers receive early access, exclusive discounts, or personalized campaigns.
• Wishlist items can be incentivized with review requests or referral bonuses to encourage social proof and word-of-mouth.

For merchants focused on social proof and authenticity, the platform allows stores to collect and showcase authentic reviews, tying review incentives directly to loyalty programs.

Integration and ecosystem advantages

Growave integrates with many common Shopify ecosystem tools, which reduces the need for third-party middleware and manual exports. For merchants on enterprise plans or on Shopify Plus, Growave offers tailored solutions and enhanced integrations:

• Information about solutions for high-growth merchants is available for those interested in enterprise features and Shopify Plus support: solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

The integrations allow wishlist and loyalty events to feed major email platforms and CRMs with minimal custom work, enabling consistent orchestration of retention campaigns.

Operational benefits compared to single-purpose apps

• Single dashboard: Manage loyalty, wishlist, referrals, and reviews from one interface rather than toggling between separate apps.
• Unified reporting: Measure LTV uplift and retention across features rather than attempting to stitch data together.
• Fewer compatibility checks: Installing one multi-feature app reduces conflicts and unexpected behavior from overlapping DOM/insertion scripts.
• Centralized support: One vendor for troubleshooting reduces finger-pointing and speeds resolution.

Merchants can explore real-world brand implementations and use cases for reference: customer stories and inspiration from brands scaling retention.

Pricing and migration considerations

• Growave offers plans starting with a free plan and paid tiers at multiple price points. Compare feature tiers and sample costs on the pricing page: explore plan options.
• For merchants evaluating cost, compare the combined monthly spend of single-purpose apps (wishlist + loyalty + reviews + referrals) vs. a Growave plan that bundles these features. Often the bundled approach yields better value for money when multiple retention features are required.
• For enterprise merchants or those needing hands-on onboarding, Growave’s Plus Plan includes a dedicated launch plan and customer success support to reduce migration friction.

Merchants can test the platform first-hand by viewing the app in the Shopify App Store: discover Growave in the Shopify App Store.

How wishlist events amplify retention in an integrated stack

Within a unified platform, wishlist activity becomes actionable:

• Wishlist save → automated email reminding the user of saved item (with inventory or price-drop triggers).
• Wishlist save → points or micro-incentive to encourage account creation.
• Wishlist save → targeted offer when product stock drops or during cart abandonment flow.
• Wishlist popular items → feed merchandising strategies and loyalty tier rewards.

Integrating wishlist behavior into loyalty and reviews creates meaningful, measurable outcomes rather than isolated signals.

Two practical examples of integrated flows (actionable)

• Incentivize wishlist saves: Award loyalty points when a user saves an item and bonus points when they purchase from their wishlist. This can increase the conversion rate of saved items while making the loyalty program more engaging.
• Use wishlist data for VIP offers: Automatically promote customers who save and repeatedly view high-value items into VIP tiers with exclusive discounts, improving retention among high-intent browsers.

These flows are simpler to implement inside a single platform designed for retention because they do not require cross-app triggers or middleware.

Trial and evaluation pathway

Merchants evaluating Growave should:

• Compare the monthly total of current single-purpose apps to the Growave plan that matches feature requirements using the pricing page: review Growave pricing tiers.
• Review feature docs and integrations, especially if using Klaviyo, Omnisend, Recharge, or Gorgias, to confirm compatibility.
• Explore in-app demos or customer success conversations to validate workflows; for hands-on evaluation, merchants can check the app listing: find Growave on the Shopify App Store.

Which App Should a Merchant Choose?

This section provides actionable guidance based on merchant goals.

Pick Ask to Buy create & share cart if:

• The store frequently has a separation between the shopper and the payer (gift purchases, parental checkout, sales rep-created orders).
• The primary need is to increase conversion for share-driven workflows rather than long-term retention.
• The merchant wants transparent, low monthly cost ($15) for a focused feature set.
• The store does not currently need wishlist events integrated into loyalty or review flows.

Strategic outcome:

• Expect improved conversion on shared carts and simpler gift-registry experiences. The app solves a specific checkout friction point but does not address retention programs.

Pick Pro Wishlist if:

• The store needs a minimal wishlist that integrates cleanly with the existing theme and can be set up quickly.
• The priority is to let customers save items without logging in, and the store will manually use save data to inform merchandising.
• The merchant prefers a low-maintenance wishlist and is willing to accept potential manual work to integrate saved-item signals into marketing flows.

Strategic outcome:

• Expect more product saves and data on product popularity, which can inform restocking and promotion planning. Conversion uplift will depend on how wishlist saves are activated via email or on-site campaigns.

Choose an integrated retention platform (like Growave) if:

• The store plans to use wishlist behavior as a component of loyalty, referral, review, and VIP-tier programs.
• The merchant wants unified reporting and fewer apps to manage.
• The objective is to increase repeat purchases, boost customer lifetime value, and execute retention experiments quickly.
• The store values integrations with email platforms, substrate tools, and enterprise-level support.

Strategic outcome:

• Expect stronger retention, simplified operations, and better long-term ROI from coordinated programs. Merchants can weigh plan features and cost on the pricing page and see how the platform appears in the Shopify ecosystem via the Shopify App Store listing.

Implementation Checklist: How To Decide and Validate

Use this practical checklist to evaluate either app or a platform alternative.

• Define the primary use case (share-to-payer vs save-for-later vs retention stack).
• Estimate potential revenue uplift from the new capability (e.g., % conversion increase on share links).
• Evaluate technical compatibility (checkout customizations, subscription apps, and theme templates).
• Request references or live demos from the developer, especially for apps with few reviews.
• Test the flow on staging and mobile devices before full deployment.
• Monitor key metrics for 30–90 days: shares, saves, conversion rate, average order value (AOV), and customer return rate.
• If considering consolidation, compare current monthly app spend to a bundled platform price and projected retention lift.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Ask to Buy create & share cart and Pro Wishlist, the decision comes down to the problem to solve: Ask to Buy is best for merchants who need a reliable way to create shareable, pre-filled carts and enable third-party payment flows. Pro Wishlist is better suited for merchants who want a fast, theme-friendly wishlist to collect saved-item data and inform merchandising. Both apps serve distinct purposes—neither is a full retention platform.

If the goal is to improve long-term retention, increase lifetime value, and reduce the operational burden of managing multiple single-purpose apps, a consolidated solution can provide better value for money. Growave brings wishlist, loyalty and rewards, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers into one platform so wishlist saves become actionable retention signals, and rewards or review incentives can be automated without middleware. Merchants can compare how bundled features and pricing match current tool stacks by reviewing Growave pricing tiers and by checking the app’s presence and reviews on the Shopify App Store: discover Growave in the Shopify App Store.

Start a 14-day free trial to see how Growave consolidates wishlist, loyalty, and review features to reduce tool sprawl and accelerate retention: Start a 14-day free trial.

For merchants who want to explore specific retention features, Growave provides tools to build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and to collect and showcase authentic reviews. For examples of brands that migrated to a consolidated retention stack, merchants can review customer stories and inspiration.

FAQ

How do Ask to Buy create & share cart and Pro Wishlist differ in driving conversions?

Ask to Buy drives immediate conversion by handing off a pre-filled checkout to a payer, reducing friction when the shopper and payer are different people. Pro Wishlist drives potential future conversion by enabling customers to save products for later. The conversion impact for Pro Wishlist depends on whether wishlist events are actively used in remarketing or retained for merchandising.

Which app is better for stores with sales reps or high-touch B2B workflows?

Ask to Buy is better suited for sales-rep workflows because it supports creating dedicated carts and sending them directly to customers for payment. Its ability to pre-fill checkout fields and track revenue from shares makes it practical for those use cases.

How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps like these?

An all-in-one platform reduces app fatigue by consolidating wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into a single system. This centralization improves data continuity, automation capability, and measurement of retention metrics. For merchants aiming to scale retention and decrease operational overhead, a platform approach often provides better value for money in the medium term.

What should merchants test before committing to either app?

Merchants should test the full user flow on mobile and desktop, verify compatibility with existing checkout customizations and subscription flows, ask about data handling and privacy, and validate post-install support. For newer apps or apps with few reviews, request live demos or references to confirm reliability.