ESC Wishlist vs. Mst: Wishlist + Marketing Flow

Introduction

Shopify merchants face a common problem: dozens of apps offer overlapping features, but not all are equally reliable or suited to specific growth strategies. Choosing the right wishlist tool affects conversion flows, customer retention, and how many other apps become necessary to reach the same outcomes.

Short answer: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is a very small, narrowly focused wishlist tool that works for stores that only need a basic “save for later” UI placed under the cart. Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow is a feature-rich wishlist and alert solution with strong social proof (150 reviews, 4.7 rating) suited to brands that want advanced customization and automated re-engagement. For merchants seeking one platform that reduces app sprawl and adds loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist in a single suite, an integrated retention platform can deliver better value for money than stitching together multiple single-purpose apps.

Purpose of this post: Provide an objective, feature-by-feature comparison of ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow so merchants can decide which app fits their store today — and whether a broader retention platform might be a smarter investment.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

This section compares the two apps across core merchant priorities: features, customization and UX, pricing and value, integrations and data flows, support and reliability, and which stores are best suited to each option.

Features

Core wishlist functionality

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Adds a “save for later” section under the cart so customers can move items in and out of checkout quickly.
• Offers unlimited wishlists for organizing items.
• Allows social sharing of wishlists.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Lets users create multiple wishlists and supports guest wishlist creation.
• No limit on wishlist items or number of customers.
• Includes fully customizable “My Wishlist” page with liquid, HTML and CSS access.
• Supports API and headless themes for advanced storefronts.

Analysis: ESC provides basic wishlist mechanics with a specific focus on cart placement. That makes it straightforward, but limited when merchants want product pages, dedicated wishlist pages, or guest sharing beyond simple social links. Mst covers the full spectrum of wishlist needs — from guest users to headless support — which is more practical for stores that expect growth or have complex themes.

Alerts and re-engagement

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Does not advertise built-in price-drop or back-in-stock alerts.
• No direct mention of email/SMS/push re-engagement.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Built-in Price Drop and Back in Stock alerts delivered via email, SMS and push notifications.
• Designed to reconnect shoppers automatically when wishlist items change price or stock status.

Analysis: This is a major differentiator. Price-drop and back-in-stock workflows directly drive conversions by reconnecting interested customers without manual campaign setup. Merchants relying only on a “saved items” UI will miss conversion opportunities unless they have separate automation workflows. Mst has clear advantage here for driving higher conversion from wishlists.

Customization & storefront experience

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• “Broad range of options” for visual customization.
• Focused placement under cart rather than dedicated wishlist experience.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Deep customization: liquid templates, HTML/CSS access, multiple UI options.
• Responsive by default and supports multiple currencies and languages.

Analysis: For merchants that need pixel-perfect integration with a brand theme, Mst offers greater control. ESC seems intended for quick installs where exact theme matching is less critical. For high-converting storefronts, flexibility to customize the “My Wishlist” UX and behavior matters.

Guest accounts and user persistence

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Supports unlimited wishlists — not explicit about guest persistence across sessions.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Explicitly supports guest wishlists and persistent wishlists for customers and guests.
• Integration options allow wishlist items to be linked to email or phone for re-engagement.

Analysis: Guest wishlist persistence and linking to identifiable channels (email/SMS) is crucial to re-engage anonymous visitors. Mst’s explicit support for guests makes it stronger for stores with high guest checkout traffic.

Pricing & Value

Price per month and cost predictability

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Monthly plan: $5 / month.
• Simple, single plan with very low monthly cost.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Monthly plan: $2 / month.
• One fixed cost for all features; no caps on items or customers.

Analysis: Both apps are low-cost on the surface. Mst lists a $2/month plan while ESC lists $5/month. Price alone is not the only measure of value. Mst’s $2 plan brings alerts, integrations, and customization that could replace other add-on apps. ESC’s $5 plan offers a focused UI with limited scope. In terms of pure feature-per-dollar, Mst appears to be better value for money because it bundles automated alerts and integration hooks that drive revenue.

Total cost of ownership (TCO)

When evaluating wishlist apps, merchants should consider not only monthly fees but also:

• The need for additional apps (email alerts provider, SMS provider, push notifications).
• Cost of developer time for integrations and theme customizations.
• Revenue uplift from alerts and re-engagement.

ESC may require additional tools to create price-drop or back-in-stock notifications or tie wishlists into email flows, which increases TCO. Mst’s built-in alerts reduce TCO by consolidating wishlist and re-engagement in one app.

Integrations & Data Flow

Native integrations

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Listed category: wishlist only; does not list specific third-party integrations.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Works with Klaviyo, PushOwl/Brevo, Shopify Flow, and mobile app builders.
• Headless/API support enables custom data flows.

Analysis: Mst’s explicit integrations matter for merchants already using Klaviyo or push providers. These connections allow wishlist actions to trigger targeted automations and messaging. ESC’s lack of listed integrations suggests merchants will need to connect wishlists to other systems manually or rely on theme-level scripts.

Data access and API

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• No explicit API or headless mention.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Offers API and headless theme support, meaning wishlist data can be surfaced in custom storefronts or used in downstream analytics.

Analysis: API access is essential for brands using headless architectures or needing to centralize event data. Mst supports modern architectures; ESC looks oriented toward traditional storefront embedding.

Marketing & Growth Capabilities

Using wishlists to increase conversions

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Improves visibility of saved items at checkout by keeping them under the cart.
• Encourages social sharing which may drive traffic but is less precise than email/SMS.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Includes behavioral triggers: price-drop and back-in-stock alerts.
• Supports multiple outbound channels (email, SMS, push) to capture conversions.
• Can be used as part of segmented campaigns (e.g., high-intent browse abandonment).

Analysis: Mst is built to convert wishlist interest into purchases through multi-channel re-engagement. ESC can nudge recovery via cart placement but lacks automated pathways to bring shoppers back at the moment of purchase opportunity.

Cross-channel and lifecycle fit

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Fits stores that rely on simple front-end nudges rather than lifecycle orchestration.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Fits stores that want to orchestrate lifecycle messaging and include wishlist events in the retention funnel.

Analysis: If the goal is to increase LTV with intent-based nudges, Mst integrates directly into that path. ESC is more limited to momentary UX improvements.

Usability, Setup, and Support

Ease of installation

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Presented as easy to add with configurable appearance options.
• Minimal setup expected.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Setup may be slightly more involved due to customization options and integration configuration.

Analysis: For merchants that need a plug-and-play widget, ESC is simple. For merchants willing to spend a little time configuring integrations and appearance, Mst’s setup effort can pay off through automation.

Support quality and community trust

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Shopify listing shows only 2 reviews and a 1-star rating. That low rating and sparse review set raises concerns about support responsiveness or product maturity.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• 150 reviews and a 4.7 rating indicate broad adoption and generally positive experiences. Larger review volume typically correlates with more active support channels and quicker iteration.

Analysis: Review quantity and rating are strong proxies for product stability and vendor responsiveness. Mst’s significant positive feedback is a practical advantage for merchants who depend on reliable support.

Security & Performance

App performance and storefront impact

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Minimal feature set likely results in lower performance overhead, but lack of API/modern architecture limits advanced caching or headless implementations.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• More features means more potential scripts and network calls; however, API and headless support enable more efficient server-side implementations and better performance optimizations.

Analysis: A feature-rich app can impact page speed if not implemented carefully. Merchants should test both apps in staging environments and inspect network waterfall and Lighthouse metrics. Mst’s headless and API options give developers control to minimize front-end impact.

Reporting & Analytics

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• No explicit reporting or analytics claims. Merchants may need to rely on Shopify analytics or custom tracking.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Because of integrations with email and push providers, wishlist events can be captured in existing analytics pipelines. API access allows custom analytics.

Analysis: Visibility into wishlist-to-purchase conversion is critical. Mst supports better analytics integration out-of-the-box. ESC’s lack of reporting features is a limitation for data-driven teams.

Use Cases & Recommendations

When ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is the practical choice

• A merchant wants a very small, simple “save for later” widget placed under the cart to nudge checkout conversion.
• Brand needs a low-effort install and has limited developer resources for customization.
• The store does not rely on lifecycle messaging or automated alerts and prefers social sharing as the primary post-save flow.
• Early-stage merchants testing the wishlist concept with minimal monthly spend.

Why choose it:

• Low monthly fee and limited setup complexity make this a low-risk option for minimal use cases.

Limitations to be aware of:

• Lack of built-in alerts and integrations means missed re-engagement opportunities.
• Poor rating and very few reviews suggest potential risks around support or product maturity.

When Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow is the practical choice

• The store expects to scale and needs automated re-engagement via price-drop and back-in-stock alerts.
• The brand uses Klaviyo, PushOwl, Brevo, or similar platforms and wants wishlist events to feed into segmentation and flows.
• The storefront requires theme-level customization, multi-language support, or headless architecture.
• The merchant wants a high degree of control over the wishlist page and user experience.

Why choose it:

• Robust feature set, integration-ready design, and strong marketplace rating make it suitable for ambitious merchants.
• The low cost of $2/month combined with extensive capabilities represents strong value for money.

Limitations to be aware of:

• More features require slightly more setup and a learning curve.
• Feature breadth can be unnecessary overhead for merchants who truly only want a single cart-placed “save for later” control.

Realistic Implementation Considerations

• Measurement: Before installing either app, define success metrics (e.g., wishlist-to-purchase conversion rate, conversion uplift from price-drop alerts, time-to-first-alert conversion).
• Theme compatibility: Test in a development theme to gauge conflicts and layout adjustments.
• Data flows: If relying on third-party automations (Klaviyo, SMS providers), map events and ensure consent/opt-in is captured for SMS/push.
• GDPR/Privacy: Confirm how user data is stored and what opt-in mechanisms are in place for marketing channels tied to wishlist events.
• Exit strategy: Ensure that wishlist data can be migrated or exported if switching vendors later (API access in Mst helps here).

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

Many merchants reach a point where the incremental benefit of one more single-purpose app diminishes compared with the overhead it creates. This problem is often described as “app fatigue”: the growing cost, maintenance, and integration friction from stitching together multiple apps for loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist functionality.

What is app fatigue?

App fatigue occurs when merchants:

• Maintain multiple billing lines for tools that could be consolidated.
• Spend developer hours integrating and reconciling data between systems.
• Face inconsistent customer experiences because features live in separate UIs.
• Lose strategic visibility when customer lifetime events are fragmented across services.

App fatigue increases total cost of ownership and slows the time it takes to run campaigns or iterate on retention strategies.

“More Growth, Less Stack” as a practical solution

A different approach is to reduce tool sprawl by selecting an integrated retention platform that bundles wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, and reviews. This approach minimizes the need for multiple single-purpose apps and centralizes customer events, which simplifies segmentation and increases the speed of experimentation.

Growave follows this “More Growth, Less Stack” philosophy: it provides wishlist features together with loyalty and rewards, referrals, and reviews to help merchants increase repeat purchases and lift customer lifetime value without managing a patchwork of point solutions.

• Surface wishlist events alongside loyalty behavior to create better reward triggers.
• Use a single dashboard to see how referrals, reviews, and wishlists contribute to retention.

Merchants that want to consolidate retention features can evaluate integrated solutions to reduce both complexity and total monthly spend relative to running several apps together.

How an integrated platform changes execution

• Campaign speed: Launch reward or referral campaigns that reward wishlist actions without additional development.
• Cross-channel orchestration: Link wishlist events to loyalty points or VIP tiers automatically for better lifecycle management.
• Unified data: Analyze wishlist activity in the same place as review collection and referral conversions to identify high-intent cohorts.

Growave: A consolidated retention stack

Growave combines wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews/UGC, and VIP tiers in a single platform. This combination reduces the number of external apps needed and centralizes retention strategy.

Key capabilities to consider:

• Loyalty and reward mechanics tailored to increase repeat purchases and LTV.
• Wishlist features that integrate with loyalty and referral triggers.
• Review collection and display tools to boost social proof and conversion.

Merchants can review pricing and plan options to see how an integrated approach compares to the combined cost of several single-purpose apps. For merchants evaluating consolidation, it’s useful to compare monthly and annual TCO, expected revenue uplift from integrated campaigns, and the developer hours saved.

Explore how to consolidate retention features and compare plans on the Growave pricing page: consolidate retention features.

Growave’s wishlist sits within a wider suite that supports loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases, and pairs wishlist interactions with incentive mechanics to push customers further down the value ladder.

Integration advantages with an all-in-one platform

• Fewer integrations: One vendor often has native connectors to ERPs, email providers and push systems, reducing the need to configure multiple apps.
• Consistent UX: A single vendor approach makes it easier to maintain design consistency across widgets (wishlist, rewards, referral prompts).
• Centralized reporting: See how wishlist behavior affects reward redemption and referral conversions without exporting events between systems.

Growave integrates with common marketing tools and storefront architectures, enabling merchants to leverage wishlist signals within automated flows. Merchants can learn from customer stories from brands scaling retention to see practical outcomes.

Interoperability with existing stacks

For merchants who already use specific marketing tools like Klaviyo, integrated platforms can still deliver value by connecting to those systems and simplifying the number of additional vendors to manage. Growave supports popular integrations and can complement an established stack rather than replace successful components in isolation.

To see integration fit and enterprise capabilities for larger merchants, review Growave’s solutions for solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Practical examples of switching to an integrated retention platform

• Rewarding wishlist actions: When a customer adds an item to a wishlist more than once or holds items for a certain period, the platform can automatically issue a discount code or loyalty points, increasing conversion rate.
• Review-driven incentives: After purchase of a wishlist item, invite customers to leave a review and reward their feedback with loyalty points—circulating UGC and repeat purchasing in one flow.
• Referral with wishlist context: Allow customers to share wishlists with friends, and trigger referral bonuses when shared wishlist items convert.

These combined flows reduce the need for separate automation platforms and accelerate the path to measurable lift in retention and LTV.

See the platform in action

For merchants who want to evaluate consolidation in depth, it can be helpful to schedule a walkthrough. Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention: see a tailored launch plan.

Merchants that prefer to trial before committing can compare options and pricing directly, including which plan fits expected order volume and feature needs on the Growave pricing page: consolidate retention features. The Growave listing on the Shopify App Store is another way to confirm compatibility and install directly: install from the Shopify App Store.

Comparing the TCO: single-purpose apps vs. integrated suite

• Single-purpose stack (example): Wishlist app + Review app + Loyalty app + Referral app = multiple monthly subscriptions, multiple integrations, separate billing and support.
• Integrated suite: One vendor billing, shared data model, fewer developer hours to integrate and maintain.

Merchants should quantify:

• Monthly spend on each app.
• Developer hours for integration and recurring maintenance.
• Revenue uplift attributable to each feature (wishlists, reviews, loyalty).
• Operational ease: how quickly new campaigns can be launched.

For many merchants, consolidation results in better marginal ROI on retention initiatives because the integrated platform simplifies experimentation and execution.

Implementation Checklist: What to Evaluate Before Choosing

• Business objective alignment: Is the priority immediate conversion at checkout, or lifecycle orchestration and LTV growth?
• Integrations required: Does the app have native integrations with email/SMS/push providers already in use?
• Theme compatibility: Can the app be visually customized to match the storefront?
• Headless or advanced architecture: Is API access or headless support needed?
• Support expectations: How many reviews and what rating does the developer have? Is 24/7 support required?
• TCO: Include monthly fees, anticipated add-on apps, and developer time in the calculation.
• Migration: Can wishlist data be exported or preserved if the merchant later switches platforms?

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow, the decision comes down to scope and growth plans. ESC is narrowly focused and suitable for stores that need a very simple save-for-later widget under the cart and want minimal setup. Mst is better for brands that require robust wishlist functionality, guest support, deep customization, and automated re-engagement via price-drop and back-in-stock alerts — and it offers strong social proof with 150 reviews and a 4.7 rating.

Beyond choosing between two single-purpose apps, merchants should consider whether an integrated retention platform could deliver greater overall value. Consolidating wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into one platform reduces app fatigue, centralizes customer data, and accelerates campaign execution. For merchants ready to evaluate consolidation, compare plan details and expected ROI on the Growave pricing page: consolidate retention features. To confirm platform fit and capabilities on Shopify, review the app listing: install from the Shopify App Store.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention and reduces tool sprawl: see a tailored launch plan.

Start a 14-day free trial to evaluate whether consolidating wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into a single platform improves conversion and LTV compared with managing multiple single-purpose apps: consolidate retention features.

FAQ

Q: Which app is better for a store that only needs a basic save-for-later button under the cart?

• A: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is built specifically for that use. It’s simple to install and positions saved items beneath the cart for quick recovery. However, it lacks alerts and deeper integrations.

Q: Which app is better if the goal is to re-engage customers when wishlist items drop in price or come back in stock?

• A: Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow includes Price Drop and Back in Stock alerts via email, SMS, and push. That capability is designed to turn wishlist interest into purchases without adding extra automation tools.

Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps like ESC and Mst?

• A: An integrated platform groups wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, and reviews, reducing the number of apps to manage and improving the ability to tie wishlist behaviors to reward incentives and referral mechanics. This typically lowers total cost of ownership and speeds campaign execution.

Q: What practical steps should a merchant take before switching wishlist apps or adopting an integrated platform?

• A: Define success metrics for wishlists, test the candidate app in a development theme, map required integrations (email/SMS/push), confirm data/export capabilities, and calculate total monthly and annual costs including developer time. If consolidating, evaluate how wishlist events will be used within loyalty and referral flows.

Additional resources for merchants evaluating integrated platforms include examples of how loyalty and wishlist mechanics work together to increase repeat purchases: loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and ways to collect and showcase authentic reviews.

For merchants who want to see consolidated retention features in action or get assistance building a migration plan, book a personalized walkthrough: see a tailored launch plan. For a quick sense of product-market fit and plan options, review plan tiers and pricing: consolidate retention features.