ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right Shopify apps can significantly impact a store's operational efficiency and customer engagement. Each app added to a storefront represents a decision with implications for cost, complexity, and the overall customer experience. Merchants often face the challenge of sifting through numerous specialized tools, each promising to solve a particular problem, yet collectively contributing to a fragmented tech stack.

Short answer: Both ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards offer foundational wishlist functionality, serving different operational scales and feature preferences. ESC is a straightforward, single-tier solution focused on "save for later" in the cart, while First Wish provides a tiered model that scales with wishlist activity and includes reporting. For deeper, more integrated customer retention, however, these single-function apps often highlight the benefits of platforms that consolidate multiple engagement tools to reduce operational overhead.

This article provides an objective, feature-by-feature comparison of ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards. The goal is to equip merchants with a clear understanding of each app’s capabilities, limitations, and ideal use cases, facilitating an informed decision that aligns with their specific business needs and strategic objectives.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Core Features and Workflows

Understanding the fundamental capabilities of each app is crucial for determining how they might integrate into a merchant's sales funnel and customer journey. While both apps primarily offer wishlist functionality, their approaches and additional features vary.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: Streamlined Saving for Later

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later focuses on a direct "save for later" mechanism. Its core strength lies in its integration with the shopping cart experience. When customers are at checkout, their saved items remain visible, making it convenient to add them to the cart for purchase. This design specifically targets impulse follow-through, reducing friction for items that were nearly purchased but deferred.

Key features include:

• Save for Later at Cart: Products can be saved and easily retrieved from a dedicated section under the cart, encouraging immediate conversion upon return.
• Unlimited Wishlists: Customers can create an unrestricted number of wishlists, allowing for detailed organization and categorization of desired products. This feature supports complex shopping behaviors or extensive product catalogs.
• Social Sharing: The app includes free social sharing capabilities, enabling customers to share their wishlists with friends and family across various platforms. This can act as a grassroots marketing tool, leveraging existing customer networks to increase brand visibility without direct advertising spend.

The simplicity of ESC Wishlist + Save for Later suggests it is designed for merchants who prioritize a clean, uncluttered user experience focused on the primary goal of deferring purchase decisions without losing track of interest.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Flexible Wishlists with Insights

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards offers a more expansive approach to wishlists, extending functionality beyond a simple "save for later." It caters to a broader range of customer behaviors by supporting both anonymous visitors and registered customers, a critical distinction for capturing interest from all site traffic.

Distinguishing features include:

• Anonymous and Registered User Support: Both visitors and logged-in customers can add items to their wishlists. For registered customers, wishlists are synchronized across devices, providing a seamless experience regardless of how they access the store.
• Curated Lists (Boards): Beyond a standard wishlist, customers can create "boards" – curated collections of products that can be kept private or shared. This allows for more personalized and thematic grouping of products, such as "Birthday Gift Ideas" or "Summer Outfit Inspiration."
• Extensive Sharing Options: Boards can be shared not only on social media but also via email or any messaging app. This broadens the potential reach and utility of customer-generated content.
• Admin Dashboard: A significant differentiator is the inclusion of an admin dashboard. This provides merchants with valuable insights into customer wishlists, identifying best-performing products, and offering activity reports. Such data can inform merchandising, marketing strategies, and inventory management.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards is designed for merchants who value flexibility, deeper customer engagement through curation, and data-driven decision-making regarding wishlist activity.

Customization and Control

The ability to tailor an app's appearance and functionality to match a store's brand identity and specific operational needs is paramount for a cohesive customer experience.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: Visual Integration

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later emphasizes visual customization. Its description highlights a "broad range of options for customizing how the app looks on your store." This suggests that merchants have significant control over the aesthetic integration of the wishlist feature, ensuring it aligns with the store's branding, color schemes, and overall design language. The focus here is on maintaining a consistent look and feel, preventing the app from appearing as a disconnected element within the storefront. However, the depth of functional customization beyond visual aspects is not explicitly detailed.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Label Localization

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards provides explicit mention of the ability to "customize or translate labels." This is a crucial feature for international merchants or those serving multilingual customer bases, allowing them to localize the wishlist experience directly. While comprehensive visual customization is not as prominently featured in its description, the ability to tailor text and language ensures that the user interface resonates with diverse audiences. This focus on text customization and translation supports a more inclusive and globally-aware approach to customer engagement.

Pricing Structure and Value for Money

Cost-effectiveness and scalability are critical considerations for any Shopify merchant. The pricing models of these two apps present distinct value propositions based on a store's size, volume, and feature requirements.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: Fixed, Low-Cost Entry

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later offers a single, straightforward pricing plan: $5 per month. This fixed rate provides access to all its features—unlimited wishlists, save for later functionality at cart, and social sharing—without any additional tiers or usage-based costs.

• Pros:
  • Predictable Cost: A flat monthly fee simplifies budgeting and eliminates concerns about fluctuating expenses based on customer activity.
  • Affordable Entry: At $5/month, it's a highly accessible option for startups, small businesses, or those with very tight budgets looking for basic wishlist functionality.
  • Feature Parity: All features are available on the single plan, meaning no functionality is gated behind higher price tiers.
• Considerations:
  • Limited Scalability for Features: While the price is fixed, there is no option to upgrade for more advanced features if the store's needs evolve beyond basic wishlist functionality.
  • Potential "Overshoot" for Minimal Usage: For stores with extremely low wishlist activity, even $5/month might feel less optimized compared to a free tier, although it still represents minimal investment.

This pricing model is ideal for merchants prioritizing cost predictability and simplicity over a wide range of features or granular control. It provides a solid foundation for "save for later" functionality without a significant financial commitment.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Tiered, Volume-Based Scaling

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards employs a tiered pricing model that scales with the volume of "wishlist adds/month." This approach directly links cost to usage, making it suitable for stores with varying levels of customer engagement or those anticipating growth.

• Free Plan:
  • Features: Wishlist for anonymous and logged-in customers.
  • Limit: 1,000 wishlist adds/month across all customers.
  • Value: Excellent for new stores or those with very low volume, allowing them to test the functionality without any financial outlay.
• Beginner Plan ($9.90 / month):
  • Features: Everything in the Free plan, plus customers can create unlimited boards and share them.
  • Limit: 5,000 wishlist adds/month.
  • Value: A step up for growing stores that need more volume and advanced "boards" and sharing capabilities, still at a reasonable price point.
• Advanced Plan ($19.90 / month):
  • Features: All benefits from the Beginner plan.
  • Limit: 20,000 wishlist adds/month.
  • Value: Caters to stores experiencing moderate growth in customer engagement, offering a higher volume allowance for wishlist activity.
• Pro Plan ($29.90 / month):
  • Features: All benefits from the Advanced plan.
  • Limit: 50,000 wishlist adds/month.
  • Value: Designed for larger, more established stores with significant customer interaction, providing a substantial capacity for wishlist additions.
• Pros:
  • Scalable Costs: Merchants only pay for the capacity they need, allowing costs to align with customer engagement.
  • Free Entry Point: The free plan provides a risk-free way to implement wishlist functionality.
  • Feature Progression: Higher tiers unlock more advanced features like unlimited boards and sharing, which are valuable for enhancing customer engagement.
• Considerations:
  • Usage-Based Constraints: Merchants must monitor their "wishlist adds/month" to avoid unexpected plan upgrades or hitting limits. This requires a bit more administrative oversight.
  • Higher Top-End Cost: The highest tier is significantly more expensive than ESC Wishlist, reflecting the increased volume capacity and additional features like the admin dashboard.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards is best suited for merchants who appreciate a free entry point, need a scalable solution, and are willing to pay more for advanced features like curated boards and analytics as their store and customer engagement grow. When evaluating feature coverage across plans, it becomes clear that understanding a store's current and projected customer activity is key.

Integrations and “Works With” Fit

The ability of an app to integrate seamlessly with a merchant's existing tech stack is crucial for efficient operations and a unified customer experience. For both ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards, specific integration partners are not detailed in the provided data.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: The information provided does not specify any "Works With" integrations for ESC Wishlist + Save for Later. Merchants considering this app should inquire directly with the developer about compatibility with other essential tools in their stack, such as email marketing platforms, customer service systems, or analytics tools. Without explicit integration details, it is assumed to function primarily as a standalone wishlist component within the Shopify ecosystem.
• First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Similarly, the data for First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards does not list any specific "Works With" integrations. As with ESC, merchants should proactively investigate its compatibility with their critical business applications. While the app itself offers an admin dashboard for insights, its ability to push this data to a broader CRM or marketing automation platform would depend entirely on its integration capabilities, which are currently unspecified.

For either app, the lack of specified integrations means merchants should anticipate potential data silos or manual processes if they require wishlist data to flow into other systems. This can be a significant factor for stores aiming for a highly automated and interconnected retention strategy.

Analytics and Reporting

Data-driven insights are invaluable for optimizing store performance and understanding customer behavior. The provision of analytics and reporting capabilities can greatly enhance the utility of a wishlist app beyond its basic function.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: The provided description for ESC Wishlist + Save for Later does not specify any analytics or reporting features. This suggests that merchants using this app would primarily rely on external analytics tools (like Google Analytics or Shopify's native reports) to track general engagement with the wishlist feature, rather than receiving dedicated insights from the app itself. For merchants who need simple functionality without the overhead of detailed reporting, this might be acceptable.
• First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards explicitly offers an "admin dashboard [that] provides insights into the customer's wishlists, best performing products, and activity reports." This is a notable advantage for merchants who wish to:
  • Identify Popular Products: See which items are most frequently added to wishlists, signaling strong customer interest even if not immediately converted to a sale. This data can inform inventory decisions, marketing campaigns, and product development.
  • Monitor Activity Trends: Track how customers engage with wishlists over time, identifying peak periods or successful promotions.
  • Understand Customer Intent: Gain a better understanding of what customers are considering, even if they're not ready to buy.

The presence of an admin dashboard positions First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards as a more data-aware solution, offering actionable insights that can directly contribute to marketing and merchandising strategies. This is a key differentiator for merchants who leverage data to refine their operations and improve conversion rates.

Customer Support Expectations and Reliability Cues

The reliability of an app and the responsiveness of its support team are vital for long-term operational success. For both ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards, the available public feedback is limited, which makes a definitive assessment challenging.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: With only 2 reviews and a 1.0 rating, the public feedback for ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is extremely scarce. A low review count, especially with a minimal rating, typically suggests either very limited adoption or early-stage development without widespread user feedback. Merchants considering this app would need to exercise caution and thoroughly test its functionality during any trial period. Direct communication with the developer, Eastside Co®, would be essential to understand their support channels, response times, and commitment to ongoing updates. The low volume of reviews means there isn't enough data to form a reliable expectation of support quality or app stability.
• First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Similarly, First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards has only 1 review and a 1.0 rating. This even more limited feedback makes it equally difficult to gauge the app's reliability or the quality of support provided by Vellir, the developer. Like ESC, its minimal public presence necessitates direct engagement with the developer for any merchant considering installation. Testing the free plan thoroughly would be a prudent first step to assess its performance and the developer's responsiveness to inquiries.

For both apps, the lack of extensive public reviews and high ratings is a significant factor. Established apps typically accumulate hundreds or thousands of reviews over time, providing a more robust signal of user satisfaction and developer reliability. Merchants should approach both options with a clear understanding that they are making a decision based on very limited external validation. This underscores the importance of a trial period and direct communication with developers to clarify support, updates, and feature roadmaps. When checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals, a greater volume of reviews often correlates with more robust support systems and feature stability.

Performance, Compatibility, and Operational Overhead

Integrating any app into a Shopify store can have implications for site performance, compatibility with themes, and the overall operational burden on a merchant's team.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: As a relatively simple app focused on a specific "save for later" function, ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is likely to have a minimal impact on site loading speeds, provided its code is optimized. Its single-tier pricing and focused feature set suggest lower operational overhead in terms of management and configuration. Compatibility with various Shopify themes would need to be verified, but its straightforward nature might lend itself to easier integration. The core benefit of "save for later" appearing under the cart indicates a clear workflow that aims to reduce customer journey friction rather than adding complex layers.
• First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards describes itself as "an easy to install wishlist," which is a positive indicator for initial setup. Its support for both anonymous and logged-in customers, along with device synchronization, suggests a robust underlying architecture that aims for broad compatibility and a consistent user experience. The tiered structure, while offering scalability, also introduces a need for merchants to monitor "wishlist adds/month," which adds a layer of operational oversight. However, the admin dashboard providing insights can offset some of this overhead by offering valuable data that justifies the management effort. Merchants should still verify theme compatibility during the free trial period.

For both apps, the operational overhead primarily relates to the learning curve for their specific features and any manual processes required due to a lack of deeper integrations. Since neither app specifies "Works With" data, merchants should assume they will function largely in isolation unless stated otherwise by the developers. This means data from wishlists might not automatically flow into CRM, email marketing, or inventory management systems, potentially creating additional manual tasks for the store team. Managing multiple single-function apps, each with its own dashboard and data, can lead to what is commonly known as "app fatigue," which the next section will explore further.

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

Merchants often find themselves juggling a multitude of single-purpose apps, each designed to solve a specific problem—one for wishlists, another for loyalty, a third for reviews, and so on. This approach, while seemingly effective in the short term, frequently leads to "app fatigue." This phenomenon manifests as tool sprawl, where too many apps create an unwieldy tech stack, fragmented data across disparate systems, and an inconsistent customer experience as users interact with different interfaces. The overhead of managing multiple subscriptions, ensuring compatibility, and integrating data manually can consume valuable time and resources, ultimately hindering sustainable growth. This is where the concept of an integrated platform, offering "More Growth, Less Stack," becomes highly appealing. For teams aiming to consolidate their tools, a clearer view of total retention-stack costs often comes from an integrated solution.

Growave provides a comprehensive solution designed to alleviate these challenges by integrating multiple essential retention tools into a single platform. It offers Loyalty and Rewards, Referrals, Reviews & UGC, Wishlist, and VIP Tiers—all managed from one unified dashboard. This integrated approach ensures that customer data is centralized, fostering a holistic view of the customer journey and enabling more cohesive engagement strategies. For merchants looking for loyalty programs that keep customers coming back, an integrated suite offers distinct advantages by connecting rewards with other customer touchpoints.

By combining these functions, Growave helps merchants avoid the complexities of integration overhead and reduces the total cost of ownership that comes with stacked app subscriptions. The platform’s philosophy is to empower merchants to build lasting customer relationships and increase lifetime value without the operational drag of a fragmented tech stack. It delivers a consistent user experience by ensuring that loyalty, reviews, and wishlists work together seamlessly, enhancing customer satisfaction and encouraging repeat purchases. Furthermore, the platform supports enterprise-level features and is built for platforms like Shopify Plus, offering capabilities designed for Shopify Plus scaling needs.

The benefits of a consolidated platform like Growave extend across several key areas of customer retention:

• Loyalty and Rewards: Instead of a standalone loyalty app, Growave integrates loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases directly with other engagement tools. This means points can be earned for various actions, from purchases to leaving reviews or sharing wishlists, creating a richer reward ecosystem. Merchants can implement VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers, driving deeper engagement.
• Reviews & UGC: Growave simplifies collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews and user-generated content (UGC). This functionality is intrinsically linked with loyalty, allowing merchants to reward customers for their contributions. The unified platform helps in creating social proof that supports conversion and AOV by making review collection an organic part of the post-purchase experience. This synergy ensures that review requests feel consistent and natural within the overall customer journey.
• Referrals: Leveraging satisfied customers to acquire new ones is made easier with integrated referral programs. Growave's referral module allows merchants to track and reward referrers and referred customers, all within the same ecosystem as loyalty and reviews, reducing the need for separate tracking or payouts.
• Wishlist: While ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards offer dedicated wishlist functions, Growave's integrated wishlist is part of a broader suite. This means wishlist activity can directly influence loyalty points, trigger personalized email campaigns, or be used to segment customers for targeted offers, enhancing its utility beyond a simple saving mechanism.
• VIP Tiers: Growave enables the creation of structured VIP programs, where customer status can be influenced by loyalty points, purchase history, and engagement across all integrated modules. This provides a clear path for customer progression, further strengthening customer lifetime value. Retention tooling suited for Plus governance needs ensures that even large, complex stores can manage sophisticated loyalty and review programs efficiently.

By choosing an all-in-one solution, merchants can streamline their operations, reduce app friction, and gain a more complete picture of their customer base. This approach fosters a more consistent and rewarding customer experience, encouraging stronger brand loyalty and driving sustained revenue growth. For those collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews while also running loyalty programs, the synergy of a unified platform is undeniable. Installing an app after confirming the install path used by Shopify merchants is a critical step, and choosing a platform that consolidates functions simplifies this decision. A unified platform simplifies a pricing structure that scales as order volume grows by bundling multiple features into a single, comprehensive plan.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards, the decision comes down to balancing simplicity, specific feature needs, and growth expectations. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later offers a very basic, fixed-cost solution focused on keeping items visible in the cart for later purchase, suitable for stores with minimal requirements and a tight budget. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards provides a more feature-rich, scalable option with tiered pricing based on usage, supporting both anonymous and registered users, offering curated lists, and providing valuable analytics.

Neither app, due to their single-purpose nature and limited public reviews, offers the comprehensive engagement strategy that many growing Shopify stores ultimately need for long-term customer retention. While both address the immediate need for a wishlist, they highlight a common challenge in e-commerce: the accumulation of disparate apps. This fragmented approach can lead to inefficiencies, data silos, and a disjointed customer experience.

For businesses looking to move beyond single-function tools and build a truly integrated retention strategy across loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists, an all-in-one platform presents a strategic advantage. Such platforms consolidate critical engagement features, provide a unified view of customer data, and deliver a consistent brand experience, ultimately leading to stronger customer lifetime value and less operational overhead. To streamline your customer retention efforts and minimize tool sprawl, considering a platform that integrates multiple crucial functions is a strategic move. For merchants mapping costs to retention outcomes over time, a platform that offers multiple growth tools under one roof can prove to be a more efficient investment. To reduce app fatigue and run retention from one place, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

How do wishlist apps encourage more sales?

Wishlist apps encourage sales by allowing customers to save products they are interested in but not ready to purchase immediately. This reduces cart abandonment by offering a convenient way to revisit desired items. They also facilitate social sharing, turning wishlists into a form of viral marketing as customers share their interests with friends and family, potentially leading to new traffic and sales.

What are the key differences between a basic "save for later" and advanced wishlist functionality?

A basic "save for later" typically allows customers to bookmark products for future reference, often appearing in a dedicated section or linked to their cart. Advanced wishlist functionality, on the other hand, often includes features like supporting both anonymous and registered users, device synchronization for logged-in customers, the ability to create multiple curated lists (boards), extensive social sharing options, and an admin dashboard with analytics on wishlist activity.

Can these wishlist apps be used by unregistered visitors?

Yes, First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards explicitly states that it works for both registered customers and visitors, allowing anonymous users to add items to their wishlist. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later's description does not explicitly specify support for anonymous visitors, but its "save for later" at cart implies a more transient, session-based interaction, though specific guest user behavior is not detailed.

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

An all-in-one platform like Growave combines multiple customer retention functions—such as loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists—into a single integrated suite. This contrasts with specialized apps, where each function requires a separate installation. The primary advantages of an all-in-one platform include centralized data management, a consistent customer experience across various touchpoints, reduced administrative overhead from managing multiple subscriptions and integrations, and the ability to create more cohesive and impactful marketing strategies by cross-referencing data from different modules. For example, loyalty programs can be designed to reward customers for submitting reviews or sharing wishlists, creating powerful synergies that single apps cannot replicate easily.