ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. Likely ‑ Like Me Button

Introduction

Navigating the Shopify App Store to find the right tools for customer engagement and conversion can be a complex endeavor for merchants. With thousands of options available, selecting apps that genuinely support business goals without introducing unnecessary complexity or cost requires careful consideration.

Short answer: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later focuses on capturing customer interest before purchase by allowing them to save items, while Likely ‑ Like Me Button leverages social proof to influence immediate buying decisions. Each app addresses a specific customer behavior, making the choice dependent on whether a merchant prioritizes deferred intent or immediate engagement. Integrated platforms, however, often offer a more cohesive approach, reducing the operational overhead associated with managing multiple single-function tools.

This post aims to provide a detailed, objective comparison of two specific Shopify apps: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Likely ‑ Like Me Button. By examining their core features, pricing, potential benefits, and limitations, merchants can gain a clearer understanding of which tool aligns best with their unique store requirements and strategic objectives.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. Likely ‑ Like Me Button: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

To make an informed decision, merchants need to look beyond the surface and evaluate each app across several critical dimensions. Understanding how these apps perform in practical scenarios, their financial implications, and their fit within a broader ecommerce strategy is paramount.

Core Features and Workflows

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later focuses on facilitating deferred purchases and improving customer recall. Its primary mechanism allows customers to add items to an unlimited number of wishlists, enabling them to categorize products based on their preferences or future needs. This feature is particularly useful for products that customers might consider purchasing at a later date, such as seasonal items, gifts, or high-value purchases requiring more thought. The app’s integration of the "saved for later" section directly under the cart is a strategic move, ensuring that when customers revisit their checkout process, their previously saved items are prominently displayed, potentially converting hesitant browsers into buyers with a single click. Social sharing capabilities are also built-in, allowing customers to share their wishlists with friends and family, which can organically extend a brand's reach without additional marketing spend.

Key features include:

• Unlimited Wishlists: Customers can create and manage multiple categorized lists.
• "Save for Later" in Cart: Direct visibility of saved items at checkout, streamlining the path to purchase.
• Social Sharing: Facilitates organic brand promotion through customer-initiated shares.

Likely ‑ Like Me Button, by contrast, centers on real-time customer engagement and social proof. By adding a customizable "like" button to product pages and featured products, the app aims to give visitors immediate feedback on product popularity. The premise is that seeing other customers "liking" a product can act as a form of social validation, encouraging new visitors to proceed with a purchase. This is a psychological trigger often employed by larger brands to build trust and confidence. The app also provides backend functionality for merchants to monitor which products are most liked, offering insights into customer preferences and popular items. This data can inform merchandising decisions, marketing campaigns, and inventory management. The ability to customize the button's appearance (icons and colors) ensures it aligns seamlessly with a store's branding.

Key features include:

• Product Like Button: Enables customers to "like" products directly on product pages.
• Real-time Reporting: Merchants can track the most liked products and total likes collected.
• Customization: Options for button icons and colors to match store branding.
• Data Export: Ability to export liked product reports for deeper analysis.

From a workflow perspective, ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is about capturing future intent and reminding customers of their interest, acting as a gentle nudge over time. Likely ‑ Like Me Button is about immediate impact, leveraging social cues to drive present-moment engagement and conversion.

Customization and Control

Customization is crucial for maintaining brand consistency and integrating new app features seamlessly into an existing store design.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later offers "a broad range of options for customizing how the app looks on your store." While specific details about the extent of these options (e.g., CSS control, pre-set themes, drag-and-drop builders) are not specified in the provided data, the emphasis on appearance suggests a focus on visual integration. Merchants would typically look for control over button placement, text, colors, and the layout of the wishlist page itself to ensure it feels like a native part of their store.

Likely ‑ Like Me Button explicitly states that merchants "can personalize the button with different colors and icons." This direct control over visual elements like the "like" icon and its color scheme is a significant advantage for maintaining brand identity. The app also works across product pages and featured products, indicating control over where the social proof element appears. The simplicity of a single button might mean fewer complex layout options compared to a multi-product wishlist feature, but the core visual branding is well-covered.

Both apps acknowledge the importance of visual customization, although Likely ‑ Like Me Button provides more specific examples of what can be controlled, primarily for the button itself. For ESC Wishlist + Save for Later, the "broad range of options" would require further investigation by a merchant to determine if it meets their exact design requirements.

Pricing Structure and Value for Money

Understanding the cost of an app relative to its features and benefits is critical for budget-conscious merchants.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later offers a single pricing tier:

• Monthly Plan: $5 / month. This plan description is very basic, simply stating "Monthly plan." No free trial or free plan is specified in the provided data. The value proposition here is straightforward: for a fixed, low monthly fee, merchants get unlimited wishlists, save-for-later functionality in the cart, and social sharing. For stores that identify a clear need for customer wishlists and a tool to re-engage customers who aren't ready to buy immediately, this fixed cost might represent good value, assuming the app performs reliably.

Likely ‑ Like Me Button offers two distinct pricing tiers:

• Starter Plan: $1.99 / month. Includes simple installation, unlimited likes, variety of like icons, and customizable icons.
• Basic Plan: $2.99 / month. Includes everything in Starter, plus "Get Most Liked Products" and priority support. No free trial or free plan is specified in the provided data.

Comparing the two, Likely ‑ Like Me Button is notably less expensive on a monthly basis, with its Basic plan still being significantly cheaper than ESC Wishlist + Save for Later's single plan. The pricing for Likely ‑ Like Me Button differentiates based on access to analytics (the "Get Most Liked Products" feature), which is a crucial component for deriving actionable insights from the likes. For merchants prioritizing budget efficiency and the core function of social proof, Likely ‑ Like Me Button offers a very accessible entry point.

When considering value for money, a merchant should weigh the specific functionality against the cost. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later targets a broader workflow of deferred purchasing and list management for $5/month. Likely ‑ Like Me Button provides a more focused social proof mechanism and associated analytics for a lower cost, starting at $1.99/month. A merchant's decision will depend on whether the specific problem each app solves justifies its individual a clearer view of total retention-stack costs.

Integrations and “Works With” Fit

The ability of an app to integrate seamlessly with other tools in a merchant's tech stack is increasingly important for a cohesive customer experience and efficient data flow.

For both ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Likely ‑ Like Me Button, the provided data does not specify any explicit integrations or "Works With" partners. This suggests a few possibilities:

• The apps are designed to be standalone tools with highly specific functionalities that don't inherently require deep integration with other platforms (e.g., email marketing, CRM).
• Integration capabilities are limited or not a primary focus of the developers.
• Information about integrations is not prominently displayed or available in the provided descriptions.

For merchants, a lack of specified integrations might mean simpler setup initially, as there are fewer moving parts to connect. However, it could also imply limitations for more advanced strategies. For instance, if a merchant wanted to trigger an email campaign based on a customer adding an item to a wishlist or liking a product, the absence of specified integrations with email service providers (ESPs) could be a constraint. This would require manual data export and import or custom development, potentially adding to operational overhead.

The "Works With" category is not specified for either app, implying they function within the standard Shopify framework without requiring specific third-party app compatibility to operate their core features. For merchants comparing plan fit against retention goals, the lack of specified integrations might simplify the initial choice but limit future scalability or automation efforts.

Analytics and Reporting

Data-driven decisions are fundamental to e-commerce growth. How an app provides insights into its performance and customer behavior is a key differentiator.

For ESC Wishlist + Save for Later, the provided description does not specify any built-in analytics or reporting features. While the app allows customers to save items and share lists, there is no mention of a merchant dashboard to track wishlist creation, items most frequently wishlisted, conversion rates from wishlists, or the impact of social sharing. This absence could mean that merchants would need to infer success from broader sales data or integrate other analytics tools.

Likely ‑ Like Me Button, on the other hand, explicitly highlights its reporting capabilities. It allows merchants to "Easily get the most liked product and total likes collected from the store" and to "Export report of liked products with product name and number of like counts." This provides direct, actionable data on product popularity, which can be invaluable for identifying best-sellers, optimizing product merchandising, and tailoring marketing efforts. The "Basic" plan specifically includes the "Get Most Liked Products" feature, underscoring its importance for gaining insights. This clear focus on reporting gives merchants tangible data to quantify the impact of the "like" button and understand customer preferences.

In terms of analytics, Likely ‑ Like Me Button clearly offers more direct reporting capabilities, providing immediate value for merchants looking to understand product popularity. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later, based on the available information, does not offer comparable built-in analytics.

Customer Support Expectations and Reliability Cues

The quality of customer support and the overall reliability of an app are often reflected in its user reviews and ratings.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later has a very limited track record in terms of public feedback, with "2 reviews" and a "1-star rating." This extremely low number of reviews makes it difficult to draw broad conclusions about the app's stability, support quality, or overall user experience. A 1-star rating, even from a small sample, can indicate significant issues for those who did review it. Merchants considering this app would need to proceed with caution, potentially relying heavily on their own testing and the developer's direct responsiveness. The developer, Eastside Co®, is a known agency, which might offer some reassurance regarding development quality, but the app-specific feedback is minimal.

Likely ‑ Like Me Button has a slightly larger, though still modest, review base of "10 reviews" with a "3.6-star rating." While not exceptionally high, this rating is more indicative of a functional app that generally meets expectations, even if there are areas for improvement. A 3.6-star rating typically suggests that most users find the app acceptable, but some may have encountered minor issues or wished for additional features. The "Basic" plan explicitly offers "Priority support," which is a positive signal for responsiveness, particularly for paid users. Centous Solutions, as the developer, has a slightly more established presence through this app's user feedback.

For merchants assessing app-store ratings as a trust signal, the higher review count and rating for Likely ‑ Like Me Button provide a slightly stronger foundation of confidence compared to ESC Wishlist + Save for Later. However, for both apps, the relatively low review volumes indicate they might be newer, less widely adopted, or serve very niche purposes.

Performance, Compatibility, and Operational Overhead

App performance, compatibility with different Shopify themes and versions, and the overall operational overhead they introduce are important considerations for a smooth-running store.

Both apps are designed for Shopify, implying inherent compatibility with the platform's core functionalities. However, specific details about their impact on page load speed, compatibility with various custom themes, or requirements for specific Shopify versions are not specified in the provided data for either ESC Wishlist + Save for Later or Likely ‑ Like Me Button.

Typically, single-feature apps like these are less likely to introduce significant performance overhead compared to complex multi-feature platforms, assuming they are well-coded. However, any app that adds elements to a storefront can potentially affect load times. Merchants should always test new apps in a development environment before deploying them to a live store to monitor performance impacts.

Operational overhead for both apps appears to be low.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later handles the display and management of wishlists. The main operational task for a merchant would be to monitor its visibility and ensure it aligns with their customer journey.
• Likely ‑ Like Me Button is largely "set and forget" once configured. The primary operational task would involve reviewing the analytics reports for liked products and potentially exporting data for other uses.

The key operational consideration, especially for smaller or growing teams, is the "app sprawl" effect. Running multiple single-purpose apps, each with its own interface, settings, and billing, can lead to increased administrative time and potential conflicts. While these two apps address distinct aspects of customer engagement, relying solely on single-feature apps for every need can quickly accumulate operational complexity. When evaluating options, considering selecting plans that reduce stacked tooling costs is a strategic step toward simplifying long-term management.

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

For many Shopify merchants, the journey to optimize their store often involves installing numerous single-purpose apps. Each app promises to solve a specific problem, from wishlists to social proof, reviews, loyalty, and referrals. While these individual tools can offer targeted solutions, this fragmented approach frequently leads to "app fatigue."

App fatigue manifests as several key challenges:

• Tool Sprawl: Managing a multitude of separate dashboards and configurations.
• Fragmented Data: Customer data spread across different apps, making a unified view of customer behavior difficult.
• Inconsistent Customer Experience: Disparate UIs and workflows from various apps can create a disjointed experience for shoppers.
• Integration Overhead: The constant need to ensure different apps communicate correctly, or manually transfer data between them.
• Stacked Costs: Individual monthly subscriptions that add up, often without a clear view of the total cost of ownership for the entire retention stack.

This is where the "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy, championed by integrated platforms like Growave, comes into play. Instead of acquiring a separate app for every engagement need, Growave combines several critical retention functionalities into a single, cohesive platform. This approach aims to provide merchants with a powerful suite of tools under one roof, reducing complexity and fostering a more seamless customer journey.

Growave integrates key modules designed to drive repeat purchases and increase customer lifetime value:

• Loyalty & Rewards: Merchants can implement sophisticated loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases, encourage higher spend, and foster a sense of belonging. This goes beyond simple wishlists by providing structured incentives for ongoing engagement.
• Reviews & UGC: The platform facilitates collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews, photo reviews, and Q&A, building trust and social proof—similar to the goal of a "like" button, but with richer, more persuasive content.
• Referrals: Empowering customers to become brand advocates, driving new customer acquisition through trusted recommendations.
• Wishlist: A core feature, allowing customers to save products, which can be integrated with loyalty programs or email marketing for targeted re-engagement.
• VIP Tiers: Creating exclusive experiences and rewards for high-value customers, encouraging them to progress through loyalty levels.

By consolidating these functions, Growave helps merchants overcome the limitations of isolated apps. Data from loyalty programs can inform review requests, wishlist activity can trigger personalized email flows, and social proof elements like reviews can be amplified alongside VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers. This synergy allows for a more holistic retention strategy, where each customer interaction point is interconnected and contributes to a comprehensive view of the customer.

For merchants aiming for scalable growth, especially those on Shopify Plus, an integrated solution can be particularly beneficial. Growave offers capabilities designed for Shopify Plus scaling needs, including features like checkout extensions and headless API support. This ensures that as a store grows, its retention strategy can evolve without having to re-architect its entire app stack. The cost efficiency of managing one subscription for multiple services, rather than several, often results in a lower total cost of ownership and clearer choosing a plan built for long-term value. Furthermore, having a unified customer success team for an all-in-one solution simplifies support and troubleshooting, providing a single point of contact for complex issues. An integrated solution also supports review automation that builds trust at purchase time, leveraging the seamless data flow between modules. This allows merchants to focus on strategic growth initiatives rather than the mechanics of disparate app management.

An integrated platform also means a consistent customer experience across all engagement touchpoints. Whether a customer is adding an item to their wishlist, earning loyalty points, or leaving a review, the interaction feels cohesive and on-brand, reinforcing trust and encouraging deeper engagement. This unified approach provides features aligned with enterprise retention requirements, ensuring robust functionality for growing brands.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Likely ‑ Like Me Button, the decision comes down to the specific customer behavior they wish to influence and their budget constraints. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is designed for capturing deferred purchase intent, allowing customers to save items and facilitating social sharing, fitting stores with longer sales cycles or higher-consideration products. Likely ‑ Like Me Button, on the other hand, focuses on immediate social proof and engagement through product likes, best suited for stores looking to leverage popularity signals for quicker conversions and insights into product trends. The minimal pricing of Likely ‑ Like Me Button makes it a highly accessible option for social proof, while ESC Wishlist offers its wishlist functionality at a slightly higher, fixed rate. Due to the very limited review data for both apps, direct experience and developer engagement are crucial during evaluation.

However, a broader perspective reveals the potential challenges of relying on multiple single-function apps, commonly known as app fatigue. The administrative burden, fragmented customer data, and potential for inconsistent user experiences can hinder overall growth. Integrated platforms like Growave offer a comprehensive alternative by consolidating essential retention tools—including loyalty, rewards, reviews, referrals, and wishlists—into a single, unified solution. This approach provides a holistic view of the customer journey, reduces operational overhead, and delivers a consistent brand experience across all engagement points. For businesses prioritizing mapping costs to retention outcomes over time and seeking to build robust customer relationships through a consolidated tech stack, exploring such a platform can be a strategic move. By leveraging a comprehensive platform, merchants can gain checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals that often highlight the benefits of an all-in-one solution. To reduce app fatigue and run retention from one place, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

What is "app fatigue" in e-commerce?

App fatigue refers to the challenges merchants face when managing too many single-function apps. This often leads to increased administrative overhead, fragmented customer data, inconsistent branding, and higher overall costs from multiple subscriptions. It can make it difficult to get a unified view of customer behavior and execute cohesive retention strategies.

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

An all-in-one platform, like Growave, integrates multiple functionalities (e.g., loyalty, reviews, wishlists) into a single solution, offering a cohesive experience for both merchants and customers. Specialized apps, such as ESC Wishlist + Save for Later or Likely ‑ Like Me Button, focus on one specific feature. While specialized apps can be effective for a niche need, an all-in-one platform provides a more unified data view, reduces administrative complexity, and often offers better value by combining services, especially when considering a pricing structure that scales as order volume grows.

Which app is better for encouraging repeat purchases: a wishlist or a like button?

Both a wishlist and a like button can contribute to repeat purchases, but through different mechanisms. A wishlist app (like ESC Wishlist + Save for Later) directly encourages repeat purchases by allowing customers to save items they intend to buy later, acting as a reminder. A like button app (like Likely ‑ Like Me Button) contributes indirectly by building social proof, which can make a product more appealing and thus increase the likelihood of an initial purchase. For direct re-engagement and nurturing future intent, a wishlist is generally more effective, especially when paired with incentives that pair well with lifecycle email flows.

Should merchants consider apps with very few reviews?

Proceeding with caution is advisable when considering apps with very few reviews, especially if the rating is low (like ESC Wishlist + Save for Later with 2 reviews and a 1-star rating). A limited number of reviews makes it difficult to gauge widespread reliability, support quality, or performance. Merchants should conduct thorough testing, reach out to the developer directly, and perhaps only use such apps for non-critical functions initially. When seeing how the app is positioned for Shopify stores, a sparse review section often suggests either a very new app or one with limited adoption.