ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. Swish (formerly Wishlist King): An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist tool is a common bottleneck for Shopify merchants trying to improve conversion and retention without bloating their tech stack. Both ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Swish (formerly Wishlist King) promise to help shoppers save items and return to purchase, but they target different levels of functionality and scale.

Short answer: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is a stripped-back, low-cost option for merchants that only need a basic saved-for-later widget under the cart. Swish offers a feature-rich, enterprise-minded wishlist with advanced notifications, analytics, and integrations for teams that want to personalise and automate wishlist-driven conversions. For merchants who want to reduce toolsprawl while gaining wishlist features plus loyalty, referrals, and reviews, a consolidated retention platform like Growave can deliver better value for money than adding a second or third single-purpose app.

This post provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Swish (formerly Wishlist King). The goal is to help merchants decide which app aligns with their priorities and to explain when an integrated suite makes more strategic sense.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. Swish (formerly Wishlist King): At a Glance

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Core Functionality and Product Scope

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: What it does best

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later focuses tightly on giving shoppers a way to save items they’re not ready to buy. The app keeps saved items visible under the cart so returning shoppers see them at checkout. Key selling points include unlimited wishlists (so customers can categorize items) and social sharing to extend reach.

The scope is deliberately narrow: it resembles a lightweight enhancement to the cart experience that nudges saved items toward checkout.

Swish (Wishlist King): What it does best

Swish positions itself as a full-featured wishlist platform. Beyond saving items, Swish adds personalised and automated wishlist notifications, advanced analytics, and integrations with popular marketing tools. Free setup and customisation are emphasised for all plans, and higher tiers add priority support and dedicated account management.

Swish is built for brands that want to treat wishlists as a channel for revenue recovery and customer engagement—not just a UI convenience.

Wishlist Behavior & Shopper Experience

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Saved items appear under the cart, creating a persistent reminder in the checkout flow.
• Unlimited wishlists allow categorisation, but the user journey is basic: add-to-wishlist, view under cart, click-to-purchase.
• Social sharing is available, which is useful for referrals driven by customers sharing wishlists with friends.

User experience strengths:

• Minimal disruption to existing storefront UI.
• Low cognitive friction — shoppers understand “save for later” immediately.

Limitations:

• No built-in automation to remind shoppers when a saved item goes on sale or comes back in stock.
• Limited customer account integration; wishlist persistence across devices may depend on cookies or simple account linking if supported by theme.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Allows wishlisting across the shopping journey: product pages, collection pages, and possibly search results, depending on theme integration.
• Wishlist items can be used to trigger personalised notifications (e.g., price drop, low stock, back-in-stock).
• Social and email sharing are supported, and wishlists can be curated via analytics for merchandising.

User experience strengths:

• Richer shopper lifecycle support with smart notifications that increase conversion opportunities.
• More seamless multi-device persistence when integrated with customer accounts.

Limitations:

• Greater feature set increases configuration complexity; stores without technical resources may need the free setup service Swish offers.

Customization & Theming

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Offers a “broad range of options” to customise how the widget looks, likely via theme snippets and CSS controls in the app admin.
• Because the app focuses on a single widget, theme integration tends to be straightforward for standard themes.

What to expect:

• Simple styling controls.
• Faster to go live for stores that need a quick visual match.

Constraints:

• Limited deep customization or multi-location placements without manual theme edits.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Built to integrate with all themes and match store aesthetics out of the box.
• Offers free customization during onboarding, which reduces friction for merchants with bespoke storefronts.
• Advanced plans add headless/Hydrogen support, which is essential for brands running modern, decoupled stacks.

What to expect:

• High degree of visual and behavior control.
• Professional setup to ensure consistent UX across devices and entry points.

Notifications, Automation & Conversion Tools

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Core focus is on surfacing saved items at cart; no native mention of automated wishlist notifications.
• Social sharing is a basic acquisition channel but not an automated conversion driver.

Real-world implications:

• Conversion improvements rely on in-session reminders rather than lifecycle emails or push messages.
• Merchants who rely on email or flows (Klaviyo/Omnisend) will need custom work to tie saved items into those channels.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Built with personalised and automated wishlist notifications in mind — increasing the chance to convert wishlists into purchases.
• Out-of-the-box integrations with Klaviyo, GA4, and Meta allow automated workflows and attribution of wishlist-driven revenue.
• Ability to trigger messages on price changes, restocks, or customer-defined triggers.

Real-world implications:

• Wishlist activity becomes a growth channel that feeds into marketing automation.
• Brands can recover cart value more proactively and measure impact through analytics.

Analytics & Reporting

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Minimal analytics presence is expected given the small app footprint and the very low review count (2 reviews, rating 1), suggesting limited reporting or user feedback around metrics.
• Merchants may need to rely on Shopify’s native reporting or build custom events if tracking is required.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Explicitly highlights advanced analytics and wishlist curation capabilities.
• Integrations with GA4 and Shopify event systems enable marketing teams to track wishlist behaviour as part of the overall funnel.
• 272 reviews and a 5-star rating indicate both higher market acceptance and likely stronger product maturity, including useful reporting.

Practical outcome:

• Swish provides actionable data for merchandising and personalised marketing, whereas ESC requires extra effort to create the same insights.

Integrations & Technical Compatibility

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Categorised under wishlist apps with basic theme-level installation.
• No explicit mentions of deep integrations with Klaviyo, GA4, or headless commerce in the provided description.

Implication:

• Works well for stores that want a widget without heavy dependencies.
• Brands that rely on advanced marketing stacks will likely need engineers to export events or rebuild triggers.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Works with Checkout, Hydrogen, Klaviyo, Customer Accounts, Search, and Recommendations.
• Higher tiers support headless architectures and dedicated onboarding.

Implication:

• Swish is ready for more complex stores and integrates with modern marketing and analytics tools, reducing engineering lift for capturing wishlist events and automating campaigns.

Pricing & Value

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Single plan: Monthly plan at $5 / month.
• Extremely low entry cost and predictable pricing for merchants that only want to add a simple save-for-later layer.

Value assessment:

• For merchants who need a no-frills wishlist visible under the cart, ESC provides very low-cost access.
• Low price does not imply low total cost of ownership if merchants later require integrations or automation; additional apps or custom development will increase spend.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Tiered plans by Shopify plan:
  • Basic Shopify: $19 / month
  • Shopify: $29 / month
  • Advanced: $49 / month
  • Shopify Plus: $99 / month (includes white-glove onboarding, priority support, Hydrogen/headless support)
• Free setup and customisation across plans simplifies onboarding and minimizes up-front implementation costs.

Value assessment:

• Swish is priced as a growth tool. The cost is higher than ESC but includes features and integrations that can directly drive revenue through automated notifications and analytics.
• For merchants measuring the incremental revenue from wishlist-triggered conversions, the ROI can justify the price.

Comparative lens:

• ESC is low-cost but narrowly focused.
• Swish is higher cost but includes features that enable measurable marketing impact, which can create a better return on investment for growth-focused stores.

Setup, Onboarding & Support

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Setup is likely lightweight and self-service; description does not mention free setup or dedicated onboarding.
• Support expectations should be modest given the small developer footprint and very low number of reviews.

Practical considerations:

• Merchants with limited technical resources can install quickly but may need developer time for more complex placements or tracking.

Swish (Wishlist King)

• Free setup and customisation across all plans is explicitly promised.
• Higher plans for Plus merchants include white-glove onboarding and a dedicated account manager.
• Larger review volume (272) and perfect rating suggest a reliable support experience.

Practical considerations:

• Swish removes implementation friction and reduces reliance on in-house development, which is valuable for time-strapped merchandising teams.

Data Ownership, Privacy & Migration

Both apps operate within Shopify’s app model, so core data resides in app-managed systems and Shopify. Considerations for both:

• Exportability: Swish is more likely to support data export and integration via built-in connectors (Klaviyo, GA4). ESC may require custom exports.
• Privacy: Both should follow Shopify’s app privacy standards, but merchants should validate data retention and GDPR/CCPA compliance with vendors.
• Migration: Moving wishlists between apps can be non-trivial. Merchants should ask both vendors about migration support and data formats prior to committing.

Performance & Store Impact

• ESC, being lightweight, likely has a small performance footprint if the widget is built efficiently.
• Swish’s richer UI and scripts may have a larger footprint but the free setup service can ensure best practices for speed and asynchronous loading.
• Both vendors should be asked about script loading behaviour, lazy-loading, and how they impact Core Web Vitals.

Conversion Impact & Business Outcomes

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later:

• Expected to nudge in-session conversion by keeping saved items visible at checkout.
• Best measured through simple metrics: saved-to-purchase clicks, add-to-cart from saved items, and checkout conversions.

Swish (Wishlist King):

• Enables measurable lifecycle interventions: price-drop alerts, restock notifications, and abandoned wishlist sequences.
• These flows can drive recovery of lost conversions and provide incremental revenue that is trackable through Klaviyo or GA4.

Decision factor:

• If the goal is immediate UX improvement and a small budget, ESC can help.
• If the brand wants to turn wishlists into a predictable revenue channel, Swish provides the infrastructure to do so.

Pros and Cons

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later — Pros

• Very low recurring cost ($5/month).
• Simple to install and understand.
• Unlimited wishlists and social sharing features for basic discovery.

ESC — Cons

• Very limited public feedback (2 reviews) and low rating (1) raise concerns about product maturity and support.
• No built-in marketing automation or deep integrations.
• Limited analytics and tracking transparency.

Swish (Wishlist King) — Pros

• Feature-rich with automation and analytics.
• Broad integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, Meta) and modern stack support (Hydrogen).
• Free setup and customisation; strong support posture for scaling merchants.
• High market validation (272 reviews, 5-star rating).

Swish — Cons

• Higher cost compared to single-widget alternatives.
• More configuration may require deliberate setup and resource allocation.
• For very small merchants, many features may be underutilised.

Who Should Choose Which

• Merchants who should consider ESC Wishlist + Save for Later:
  • Very small stores with minimal dev time and strict cost constraints.
  • Stores that only want a simple, visible “save for later” area under the cart.
  • Teams that plan to rely on manual marketing and don’t need integrated automation.
• Merchants who should consider Swish (Wishlist King):
  • Brands that treat wishlists as an acquisition and retention channel.
  • Stores with marketing automation stacks (Klaviyo, GA4) that want wishlist events fed into flows.
  • Shopify Plus or headless stores that need white-glove onboarding and dedicated support.

Migration and Practical Considerations

• Before installing any wishlist app, confirm how wishlist data is stored and whether it can be exported. Moving wishlists between services often requires customer opt-in or manual export.
• Test how the wishlist persists across devices and accounts. If wishlists are cookie-based rather than account-based, customers who switch devices may lose saved items.
• Verify how the app will behave when products are deleted, renamed, or variant SKUs change.
• Ask about GDPR/CCPA compliance and data retention policies, especially for EU or California customers.

Implementation Checklist (Before Choosing)

• Define the primary outcome: increase checkout conversion, drive back-in-stock purchases, or simply reduce friction?
• Map wishlist touchpoints across the customer journey: product pages, cart, email reminders.
• Review current marketing stack and identify necessary integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, Meta).
• Estimate incremental revenue required to justify monthly spend (use an internal conversion lift target).
• Ask vendors about onboarding, support SLAs, and migration assistance.
• Confirm how wishlist events will appear in analytics and whether custom events are needed.

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

Why app fatigue matters

Adding single-purpose apps for every micro-function is a common pattern that creates overhead for merchants. Each app brings its own admin, billing, scripts, and integration points. This makes day-to-day operations heavier, increases the risk of conflicts between apps, and adds recurring costs that scale linearly with each new feature.

App fatigue results in slower time-to-market for new campaigns, longer onboarding for staff, and fragmented data that makes it harder to measure lifetime value and retention.

Consolidation benefits

Consolidating wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into a single platform reduces friction and provides several measurable benefits:

• Unified customer profiles that show wishlist activity, referral behavior, and loyalty status in one place.
• Shared analytics that quantify how wishlist interactions move the needle on repeat purchases and LTV.
• Reduced maintenance: fewer scripts, fewer app updates, and simplified billing.
• Faster execution of retention initiatives because the tools are built to work together.

Growave: More Growth, Less Stack

Growave positions itself as an integrated retention platform that bundles wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers. The proposition is straightforward: achieve retention outcomes without managing multiple single-purpose apps.

Key platform strengths:

• Multi-tool consolidation reduces toolsprawl and aligns retention strategies across channels.
• Built-in integrations with major marketing tools and commerce platforms shorten implementation time.
• Enterprise-ready features (custom rewards, headless support, checkout extensions) are available as merchants scale.

Merchants evaluating consolidated solutions should explore how to consolidate retention features into a single contract and admin surface to reduce total cost of ownership.

How Growave compares to single-purpose wishlist apps

• Wishlist capabilities: Growave includes wishlist features while tying them directly into loyalty and referral mechanics, increasing the lifetime value of each saved item.
• Loyalty & rewards: When a customer saves an item, that behavior can be used to drive points or incentives—creating an integrated reward loop. Learn how merchants can build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
• Reviews & UGC: Combine wishlist data with social proof campaigns to re-engage shoppers; Growave lets merchants collect and showcase authentic reviews, elevating conversion opportunities.
• Integrations: Growave supports Klaviyo, ReCharge, Gorgias, and headless architectures, reducing the need for multiple connectors.
• Pricing clarity: Growave offers tiered plans with an entry-level offering and higher tiers for advanced needs. Merchants can compare options and decide whether consolidation is a better value for money than multiple single-purpose subscriptions. Evaluate plans to consolidate retention features.

Use cases where consolidation wins

• Brands that want to convert wishlist activity into loyalty points and referral incentives without wiring multiple apps together.
• Teams that want unified analytics across wishlist conversions, review submissions, and loyalty-driven purchases.
• Stores on Shopify Plus or modern headless stacks that need enterprise features and dedicated onboarding without adding dozens of vendors. See Growave’s solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated stack improves retention. Book a personalized demo

Specific feature match-ups where Growave adds value

• Wishlist + Loyalty synergy: Use saved-item behavior to trigger points or exclusive offers.
• Wishlist + Reviews funnel: Incentivise customers who buy from a wishlist to leave reviews or UGC.
• Analytics convergence: Track how wishlist interactions influence long-term revenue rather than ephemeral clicks.
• Reduced tech overhead: One dashboard for customer retention metrics, versus logging into multiple apps.

How Growave fits multiple merchant profiles

• Small merchants: Start with the free plan or Entry Plan at a predictable monthly fee to gain wishlist, reviews, referrals, and loyalty without adding multiple apps. Compare package options to see how consolidation stacks against single-app totals on the pricing page. Compare plans to consolidate retention features
• Scaling merchants: Growth and Plus plans add advanced customization, APIs for headless setups, and dedicated success resources—replacing multiple premium subscriptions with a single integrated partner. Browse customer stories and examples to see outcomes from similar stores. Read customer stories from brands scaling retention
• Enterprise & headless stores: Dedicated launch plans and checkout extensions meet enterprise needs while avoiding a fractal stack of point solutions. Explore the Plus-focused capabilities for high-growth stores. Explore solutions for high-growth Plus brands

Repeated resources to evaluate consolidation

• Check specific loyalty workflows and reward types at Growave’s Loyalty product page to understand how wishlist activity can feed programs. See loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases
• Review how Growave captures and displays reviews to leverage wishlist-to-review funnels. Learn how to collect and showcase authentic reviews

Implementation Checklist: Switching from a Single-App Wishlist to an Integrated Suite

• Inventory current apps and monthly spend; total the recurring costs to compare with a consolidated plan.
• Map customer journeys where wishlist, loyalty, and reviews could interact (e.g., save > purchase > review > referral).
• Confirm data migration options for existing wishlist items and verify what customer consent is required.
• Test integrations with Klaviyo and analytics platforms to ensure wishlist events are tracked consistently.
• Plan communication to customers about the new wishlist behavior and any loyalty incentives tied to it.
• Schedule a rollout window with QA to verify theme compatibility and performance impact.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Swish (formerly Wishlist King), the decision comes down to scope and ambition. ESC is a workable choice for very small stores that only need a simple “save for later” widget and want the lowest possible recurring cost. Swish is better suited to brands that want to turn wishlists into measurable revenue through automation, analytics, and integrations—particularly stores using Klaviyo, GA4, or headless architectures.

For merchants who are growing and want to avoid accumulating standalone apps, an integrated retention platform can be better value for money. Consolidation reduces toolsprawl, centralises customer data, and makes it easier to measure and increase customer lifetime value.

Start a 14-day free trial to explore how consolidating wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into one platform affects retention and growth. Start a 14-day free trial

If the priority is a quick, minimal-cost wishlist widget, ESC remains a simple option; if the goal is to build wishlist-driven revenue with automation and strong integrations, Swish is the stronger single-purpose solution. For merchants focused on long-term retention and operational simplicity, a unified platform provides a strategic alternative that often yields better long-term ROI—compare plans and see how consolidation could lower costs and speed execution. Compare plans to consolidate retention features

If a merchant wants to try the integrated route before committing, it’s straightforward to install from the Shopify App Store and evaluate the combined effect on repeat purchases and loyalty. Install from the Shopify App Store

FAQ

Q: Which app is easier to install and maintain for a very small store?

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is easier to install and maintain if all that’s needed is a visible save-for-later section under the cart. Swish requires a slightly more involved setup to leverage its full value, although it offers free setup support.

Q: Which app provides better marketing automation and measurable revenue uplift from wishlists?

• Swish provides built-in integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, Meta) and automated wishlist notifications, making it a better choice for merchants that want wishlist interactions to feed marketing automation and attribution.

Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialised wishlist apps?

• An all-in-one platform reduces the number of vendors, centralises data, and enables cross-feature strategies (e.g., use wishlist behaviour to drive loyalty points or referral incentives). This often results in lower total cost of ownership and clearer attribution of retention-driven revenue, though it requires choosing a partner that meets the store’s scale and technical needs.

Q: What should merchants ask vendors about before installing a wishlist app?

• Ask about data export and migration, cross-device persistence, integration with email/analytics tools, script performance impact, and the scope of support and onboarding. For consolidated platforms, also verify how wishlist events tie into loyalty, reviews, and referral programs.