Introduction
Choosing the right app for customer engagement and conversion is a constant challenge for Shopify merchants. Single-purpose tools can solve narrow problems quickly, but the trade-offs—more apps, more maintenance, and fragmented data—can slow growth.
Short answer: Ask to Buy create & share cart is an efficient, focused tool for stores that need simple cart sharing and checkout pre-fill functionality, while CP24 Advanced Wishlist offers a richer wishlist experience with web push and price/stock alerts. For merchants who want to reduce tool sprawl and combine retention, referrals, reviews, and wishlist features, a unified platform such as Growave often delivers better value for money and smoother operations.
This post provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of Ask to Buy create & share cart and CP24 Advanced Wishlist to help merchants choose the app that best fits their workflow and growth goals. The analysis covers core features, pricing and perceived value, integrations and data portability, analytics, setup and UX, and real-world use cases. After the comparison, the article explains the limits of single-purpose apps and presents an integrated alternative.
Ask to Buy create & share cart vs. CP24 Advanced Wishlist: At a Glance
| Aspect | Ask to Buy create & share cart | CP24 Advanced Wishlist |
|---|---|---|
| Core Function | Cart sharing / checkout pre-fill | Wishlist + web push + price/stock alerts |
| Best For | Sales reps, gift registries, teen-to-parent checkout flows | Stores needing multi-device wishlists and automated wishlist re-engagement |
| Rating (Shopify) | 4.4 (7 reviews) | 5.0 (6 reviews) |
| Pricing (entry) | $15 / month (Basic) | Free plan available; paid tiers from $2.99 / month |
| Key Features | Pre-fill checkout, share cart via link/email, custom share button, tracking cart shares & revenue, group share | Guest wishlist, multiple wishlists, sync across devices, price drop & low stock alerts, web push, analytics |
| Typical Outcome | Faster purchase completion on shared carts; higher conversion from assisted sales | Improved re-engagement for wishlisters, automated recovery on price drops & low stock |
| Common Limitations | Narrow scope; focused on cart-share flows only | May require multiple apps for loyalty/referrals/reviews; volume caps on free tier |
Deep Dive Comparison
The remainder of this comparison breaks down the two apps across critical merchant-centric criteria: features, pricing and value, integrations, analytics & reporting, setup and UX, performance & privacy considerations, and strategic fit. Each section evaluates outcomes—retention, repeat purchases, and overall lifetime value (LTV)—and highlights which app is better suited for specific merchant needs.
Core Features
Ask to Buy: What it does, and what it does well
Ask to Buy focuses on enabling visitors, customers, and sales teams to create and share carts that land recipients directly in checkout with pre-filled details. The app is explicitly positioned to handle scenarios like:
- Teen shoppers assembling carts for parents who will complete payment.
- Gift registries where shoppers share curated selections with friends.
- Sales representatives building dedicated carts for customers and pushing them to checkout.
Strengths of its feature set include:
- Pre-fill checkout details so invitees only need to pay, lowering friction for off-site payers.
- A built-in or customizable AskToBuy button that can be placed on product or collection pages.
- Tracking for shared carts, conversions, and generated revenue—useful for measuring assisted sales.
- Group share (multiple invitees), and notifications to inviters when purchases finalize.
These features are optimized for one outcome: convert assisted or shared-cart sessions into completed orders with minimal steps for the payer.
CP24 Advanced Wishlist: What it covers
CP24 Advanced Wishlist is a full-featured wishlist system with a focus on re-engagement through automated triggers and web push notifications. Key capabilities include:
- Guest wishlist support and multiple wishlists per customer.
- Syncing across devices, so wishlists persist for logged-in customers.
- Price drop and low stock reminders for wishlisted items.
- Display of wishlisted counts and an Add to Wishlist button on product pages.
- Web push capture and campaigns to re-engage both visitors and customers.
- Configurable front-store text and multilingual support.
CP24 emphasizes automated reactivation: push notifications and wishlist reminders convert interest into purchases by surfacing urgency (low stock) or new incentives (price drops).
Feature Comparison Summary
- Shared-cart and assisted checkout flows: Ask to Buy is the focused solution.
- Persistent wishlist with multi-device sync and automation: CP24 is stronger.
- Re-engagement via web push: CP24 supports push tokens and campaigns; Ask to Buy does not.
- Tracking assisted revenue: Ask to Buy includes conversion and revenue tracking for cart shares.
- Multiple wishlists and guest capabilities: CP24 supports both, with higher-tier options allowing more volume.
Both apps operate in the wishlist category on the Shopify store, but their problem statements differ: Ask to Buy solves the “hand-off” checkout problem, while CP24 solves the “save-for-later and re-engage” problem.
Pricing and Value
Pricing translates directly into value for money when judged against outcomes: conversions, recovery, and reduced churn. Each app adopts different pricing models that suit particular merchant budgets and volumes.
Ask to Buy pricing
- Basic plan: $15 / month.
Observations:
- Single-plan simplicity makes budgeting straightforward but may limit flexibility for stores that need tiered volume, custom analytics, or expanded functionality.
- For merchants who only need cart sharing and are looking for a low-maintenance solution, $15/month can provide reasonable ROI if assisted-cart conversions increase revenue by covering the subscription cost.
CP24 Advanced Wishlist pricing
- Free plan — limited to up to 100 wishlist items/month and 100 push impressions/month; includes share wishlist and a metrics dashboard.
- Basic — $2.99/month with up to 2K wishlist items/mo and 10K push impressions/mo; adds multiple wishlists, price drop & low stock reminders.
- Professional — $9.99/month with 10K wishlist items/mo and 50K push impressions/mo.
- Enterprise — $19.99/month with expanded quotas.
Observations:
- CP24 provides a free entry point that allows merchants to test wishlist mechanics and web push before committing.
- Tiers scale with wishlist and push impression volume, which is practical for growth paths.
- Even the Enterprise price points are modest compared to multi-feature retention platforms.
Value-for-money assessment
- Ask to Buy can be better value for stores whose incremental revenue from assisted checkouts is high and whose needs are strictly cart-sharing.
- CP24 often represents better value for stores that want active re-engagement channels (price-drop alerts, web push) at a low monthly cost, especially starting with the free tier to validate effectiveness.
Neither app replaces loyalty, referral, or reviews functionality. Merchants that want those capabilities will need additional tools, which increases total cost of ownership and complexity.
Integrations & Data Flow
A critical factor for long-term growth is how well an app integrates with the wider tech stack—email platforms, customer service, analytics, and checkout flows.
Ask to Buy integrations
- The app’s description focuses on checkout pre-fill and landing invitees in checkout with a custom welcome experience. It appears to integrate directly with Shopify checkout flows and tracks cart shares and conversions.
- There is no explicit list of third-party integrations (Klaviyo, Gorgias, Recharge, etc.) provided in the app listing data.
Implications:
- Direct checkout integration is the core integration point and sufficient for the app’s primary function.
- Merchants who require cross-platform triggers (e.g., sending a shared-cart completion event into Klaviyo as a custom event) may need custom work or middleware.
CP24 integrations
- CP24 emphasizes web push and device sync; it likely integrates with web push systems internally and can display counts and sync wishlists across sessions.
- The app provides analytics within its own dashboard. Explicit integrations with email or CRM platforms are not listed in the provided data.
Implications:
- CP24 is self-contained for wishlist re-engagement via push. If merchants rely on third-party flows (e.g., use Omnisend for lifecycle emails triggered by wishlist events), integration checks are necessary.
- For stores that require a consolidated customer profile across many apps, both solutions may require additional integrations or middleware.
Integration conclusions
- Both apps integrate primarily within Shopify and provide internal analytics relevant to their use cases.
- Neither app is presented as an integration hub—merchants with complex automation needs should evaluate integration capabilities and consider whether APIs or webhooks are available.
- Fragmented data across multiple single-purpose apps makes cross-channel attribution and LTV measurement harder. This is a trade-off merchants should weigh when choosing focused tools.
Analytics, Reporting & Attribution
Accurate measurement of impact—how many sales, how much revenue, and where to allocate spend—drives smarter decisions.
Ask to Buy analytics
- Tracks cart shares, conversions, and generated revenue tied to shared carts.
- Provides visibility for assisted sales that originate from share links/checkout pre-fills.
Value:
- For teams that rely on sales reps or influencer-assisted purchases, the ability to attribute revenue to shares is critical.
- This reporting helps justify the app subscription by showing direct revenue impact.
Limitations:
- Analytics likely focus on shared-cart funnel metrics and may not connect to broader retention KPIs or lifetime value unless exported and stitched into a data warehouse.
CP24 analytics
- Includes detailed reports on wishlisted items, price drop and low stock reminders performance, and push impression metrics across tiers.
- Analytics aimed at measuring wishlist engagement and reactivation outcomes.
Value:
- Merchants can quantify how often alerts convert wishlist interest into purchases.
- Push impression and wishlist volume metrics are helpful for optimizing alert cadence and discounts.
Limitations:
- Attribution across channels (e.g., push vs. email) still requires cross-app tracking to establish incremental impact accurately.
Reporting summary
- Ask to Buy offers focused attribution for shared-cart revenue, which is valuable for assisted sales scenarios.
- CP24 provides engagement and reactivation metrics that help optimize wishlist-driven campaigns.
- For holistic LTV measurement and retention optimization, a centralized analytics approach or integrated platform simplifies attribution and decision-making.
Setup, UX, and Merchant Experience
How quickly an app can be installed, configured, and begin delivering results matters—especially for small teams or merchants without in-house technical resources.
Ask to Buy setup and UX
- Setup is likely straightforward: install the app, configure the AskToBuy button, and define welcome/checkout pre-fill behaviors.
- The core UX flows are simple by design: create cart → share link/email → invitee lands in checkout.
Merchant benefits:
- Minimal training required for sales reps or staff.
- Low complexity means faster time-to-value for assisted sales workflows.
Potential friction:
- Customization needs beyond the built-in options may require code edits or developer support.
CP24 setup and UX
- CP24 offers several configurable front-store text options and multilingual support, which benefits stores with international visitors.
- Enabling push campaigns requires adding the push prompt and configuring notifications.
Merchant benefits:
- The free plan allows testing without risk.
- Multiple wishlists and guest wishlist features are valuable for stores with substantial browsing-to-purchase cycles.
Potential friction:
- Web push requires user consent flows and careful setup for high opt-in rates.
- Managing push campaigns effectively takes ongoing strategy (timing, message content), which some merchants may need help with.
UX summary
- Ask to Buy is quick and focused; CP24 is more feature-rich and requires more ongoing optimization to extract value from push campaigns and wishlist reminders.
Performance, Privacy & Security
Data privacy and performance impact both compliance and user experience. Merchants should assess how each app handles data collection and site load.
- Both apps operate within Shopify's app ecosystem and must adhere to Shopify's App Store policies.
- CP24's web push functionality requires permission prompts; merchants should ensure compliance with local privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA) when capturing push tokens or collecting guest wishlist data.
- Ask to Buy that pre-fills checkout details must handle customer data carefully; ensure that storage and transmission of pre-fill information comply with Shopify and legal requirements.
Merchants should review each app's privacy policy and documentation before installation, confirm how data is stored, and verify options to delete customer data if requested.
Support & Reviews
Support responsiveness and quality can determine whether an app remains viable long-term. The public review counts and ratings offer a limited but useful signal.
- Ask to Buy: 7 reviews, 4.4 rating.
- The app has a small number of reviews, which limits the statistical reliability of the rating. A 4.4 rating indicates overall satisfaction among reviewers, but merchants should look for recent review content that specifically mentions support quality and ongoing updates.
- CP24 Advanced Wishlist: 6 reviews, 5.0 rating.
- A 5.0 rating across only 6 reviews suggests strong satisfaction among a small cohort. Merchants should read individual reviews to confirm that the app meets real-world needs at scale.
Practical guidance:
- Treat review counts as an indicator of market adoption. Low review counts suggest limited user testing at scale, which is acceptable for niche tools but may pose risk if a merchant depends on the app for critical flows.
- Contact app developers directly with pre-sales technical questions to evaluate responsiveness and willingness to support edge cases.
Strategic Fit: Which App Solves Which Business Problem?
This section helps merchants map each app to concrete business objectives.
Use cases where Ask to Buy is a strong fit
- Stores that rely on assisted sales channels: sales reps, influencers, or in-person teams creating carts for customers.
- Brands with gift registry needs where shoppers assemble lists for friends or family to complete purchase.
- Retailers who need to reduce friction for buyers who cannot pay directly (e.g., teenagers who select items but parents pay).
Key outcome: faster assisted conversions and clearer attribution of revenue from shared carts.
Use cases where CP24 Advanced Wishlist is a strong fit
- Stores that want to capture product interest and convert it through automated reminders (price drops, low stock).
- Merchants looking to implement web push as a low-cost re-engagement channel.
- Brands that need guest wishlists and multiple wishlists for heavier browsing behaviors.
Key outcome: improved recovery of interest-driven revenue and increased re-engagement rates from wishlist alerts.
Scenarios neither app solves alone
- Programs that require loyalty points, VIP tiers, referrals, and reviews—these require additional apps or a combined platform.
- Deep cross-channel automation where wishlist events must trigger complex flows across Klaviyo, Recharge, or customer service systems may require middleware.
Pros and Cons (Bulleted Summaries)
Ask to Buy create & share cart
Pros:
- Simple, targeted functionality for cart sharing and pre-filled checkouts.
- Directly attributes revenue from shared carts.
- Easy to understand and quick to implement.
Cons:
- Narrow scope; does not provide wishlist automation or push campaigns.
- Limited public review volume; long-term product roadmap and support responsiveness are less visible.
- Additional retention needs require extra apps.
CP24 Advanced Wishlist
Pros:
- Robust wishlist features with guest wishlist and multiple lists.
- Price drop and low stock alerts plus web push campaigns for automated reactivation.
- Free tier enables low-friction testing.
Cons:
- Volume caps on lower plans may require upgrades as store activity grows.
- Additional retention tools (loyalty, referrals, reviews) still require other apps.
- Web push requires ongoing strategy to avoid opt-out and spam complaints.
Migration, Maintenance, and Data Portability
Merchants often worry about vendor lock-in and data continuity. Both apps store wishlist or share data in Shopify and potentially in their own backends.
- Before installing, merchants should ask whether data (wishlists, shared-cart metadata) can be exported in CSV or via API.
- If switching apps later, confirm a migration path exists to move wishlists or share history to the new provider.
- Consider how much historical data is required for reporting; fragmented data across single-purpose apps increases complexity for audits and LTV calculations.
Practical Recommendations (By Merchant Profile)
- Small stores with occasional assisted sales and minimal retention needs: Ask to Buy provides targeted value for a predictable use case; the $15/month plan is reasonable if assisted sales are a measurable channel.
- Stores with a heavy browsing-to-purchase funnel that want actively automated re-engagement: CP24’s free-to-mid-tier plans allow experimentation with wishlist-driven growth and web push at low cost.
- Growth-focused brands that want to build long-term LTV with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlists: consider a consolidated approach to reduce tool sprawl and centralize customer data.
The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform
Single-purpose apps do one job well but often increase operational overhead as a store scales. Installing separate tools for wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews leads to “app fatigue”: rising subscription costs, fragmented customer data, multiple integrations to maintain, and more complexity when measuring impact on lifetime value.
Growave promotes a "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy aimed at reducing this complexity. Instead of stitching together multiple single-purpose apps, Growave offers an integrated retention suite that combines loyalty, referrals, reviews & UGC, wishlists, and VIP tiers into one platform.
Why app fatigue matters
- Multiple subscriptions add recurring cost and create administrative burden for billing, updates, and troubleshooting.
- Fragmented data makes it harder to identify which tactics actually move LTV and retention. When wishlist events live in one app and loyalty actions in another, cross-channel attribution requires manual stitching or expensive analytics.
- Each additional app increases the chance of conflicts, performance issues, and inconsistent customer experiences.
Growave's value proposition
Growave bundles complementary retention features into a single product, helping merchants capture more repeat purchases and defend margins by improving retention rather than relying solely on acquisition.
Key capabilities that address app fatigue:
- Loyalty and reward programs that incentivize repeat purchases and increase average order value.
- Wishlist functionality integrated with loyalty to turn wishlists into point-earning actions or triggers.
- Reviews & UGC tools to collect, display, and amplify customer-generated content.
- Referral programs that leverage existing customers to acquire new ones cost-efficiently.
- VIP tiers and custom reward actions that recognize and retain high-value customers.
Merchants can see how these combined tools work together by exploring Growave’s approach to loyalty and how it ties to long-term repeat purchase behavior through loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases. The reviews capability is useful for social proof and SEO; merchants can learn about how to collect and showcase authentic reviews.
Integrations and enterprise readiness
Growave supports a broad set of integrations that reduce the need for multiple point solutions. It works with major platforms and services to keep customer data centralized, including checkout and POS connections. For merchants on Shopify Plus or those scaling quickly, Growave provides tailored solutions and support for complex implementations (see options for solutions for high-growth Plus brands).
Merchants interested in hands-on evaluation can install Growave on Shopify to test core features directly, or choose to consolidate retention features into a single vendor for simpler operations. For those who want a guided walkthrough, a live option exists to book a personalized demo. Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention.
Pricing and ROI considerations for Growave
Growave’s pricing tiers are structured around order volume and feature needs. Pricing starts with an entry plan and scales to Growth and Plus plans that add advanced customization, integrations, and enterprise-level support. Merchants can evaluate pricing and feature fit by viewing the pricing breakdown to decide if consolidating tools into one platform reduces their total cost of ownership compared with multiple single-use apps: review options to consolidate retention features.
Repeated contextual links to pricing help merchants find the most appropriate plan quickly. For many stores, replacing two or three single-purpose subscriptions with one centralized platform often reduces subscription overhead while improving cross-channel measurement and customer experience. Explore how consolidating features into one platform can simplify stack management and reveal clearer paths to higher LTV by checking the pricing and plans to consolidate retention features.
How Growave maps to the problems solved by Ask to Buy and CP24
- Cart sharing and assisted checkout: While Ask to Buy specializes in pre-filled shared carts, Growave’s wishlist and referral flows can be used to construct alternative assisted-purchase experiences—e.g., VIP or shared wishlist actions that trigger notifications or checkout links. Where merchant requirements are strictly pre-fill oriented, Ask to Buy may still be the fastest path; however, for merchant goals focused on retention and repeat business, Growave reduces the need for another app.
- Wishlist reactivation and web push: CP24 excels at wishlist alerts and web push. Growave’s wishlist integrates with loyalty and rewards, enabling richer incentives for wishlist conversions—such as awarding points for adding items to a wishlist, or offering targeted discounts for wishlisted items. Merchants can combine wishlist triggers with reviews campaigns for social proof when an item becomes available or drops in price, leveraging both web and email channels with fewer integrations.
- Attribution and reporting: Growave centralizes key retention metrics—points redemptions, referral conversions, review impact, wishlist behavior—making it easier to measure outcomes across tactics and attribute LTV improvements directly to program changes. Merchants can collect a more complete view of customer value without stitching together logs from separate apps.
Feature links and resources
To evaluate specific capabilities:
- Learn how loyalty and rewards can be structured to increase repeat purchases and customer lifetime value with loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
- See how review workflows and UGC can build trust and conversion via collect and showcase authentic reviews.
- Browse customer stories to understand implementation patterns and outcomes by reading customer stories from brands scaling retention.
- If ready to test, merchants can install Growave on Shopify or explore pricing to consolidate retention features.
Conclusion
For merchants choosing between Ask to Buy create & share cart and CP24 Advanced Wishlist, the decision comes down to the primary business need:
- Choose Ask to Buy if the immediate goal is seamless assisted purchases—sales rep-assisted checkouts, gift registries, and parent-pay flows—where converting a shared cart into revenue with minimal friction is the priority.
- Choose CP24 Advanced Wishlist if the focus is on capturing product interest, re-engaging shoppers through price/stock alerts, and experimenting with web push at a low cost.
Both apps solve clear problems within their narrow domains, but neither replaces the capabilities required for a robust retention strategy across loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists. For merchants ready to reduce app fatigue and consolidate retention into one platform, Growave provides an integrated alternative that combines loyalty, wishlists, reviews, and referrals into a single product. Start a 14-day free trial to see how unifying these features increases repeat purchases and reduces tool sprawl.
FAQ
Q: Which app is better for assisted sales through in-person reps or influencers? A: Ask to Buy is purpose-built for assisted carts and pre-filling checkout details so invitees only need to complete payment. It tracks share conversions specifically, which helps attribute assisted revenue. CP24 focuses on wishlist saving and automated re-engagement, not sales-rep workflows.
Q: Can CP24 replace a loyalty program or referral engine? A: No. CP24 provides wishlist and re-engagement features (price-drop alerts, push campaigns), but it does not include loyalty points, referrals, or comprehensive review management. Merchants needing those functions will require additional tools or an integrated platform.
Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps? A: An all-in-one platform reduces subscription overhead, centralizes data for clearer attribution, and enables combined tactics (for example, awarding loyalty points for wishlist actions). While specialized apps can be fast and narrowly optimized, an integrated stack simplifies maintenance and often delivers better long-term value for merchants focused on retention.
Q: If a store starts with Ask to Buy or CP24, can it migrate later to an integrated platform? A: In most cases, yes. Merchants should confirm export options (CSV or API) for wishlists, shared-cart metadata, and historical analytics before migrating. An integrated platform will typically import existing data, but preparation and testing are necessary to preserve attribution continuity.







