Mst: Wishlist + Marketing Flow vs Presents & Gift Requests

Introduction

Choosing the right app for wishlist, gifting, or “buy for me” functionality can feel like a time sink for merchants juggling product priorities, conversion goals, and a tight tech budget. Single-purpose apps promise fast wins but can add complexity, make reporting fragmented, and increase monthly bills.

Short answer: Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow is a strong pick for merchants who want a straightforward, feature-rich wishlist with flexible customization and low cost; Presents & Gift Requests targets a single use case—making gifting requests easy from product pages—but currently has very limited social proof and fewer integrations. For merchants seeking a consolidated retention strategy that reduces app sprawl and improves lifetime value, an integrated platform that bundles wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews can offer better long-term value.

This article provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow and Presents & Gift Requests to help merchants decide which tool fits their immediate needs. The comparison covers core features, pricing and value, integrations, implementation, data capture, and merchant support. After the comparison, the analysis examines the trade-offs of single-purpose apps and explains how an integrated retention platform addresses those gaps.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow vs. Presents & Gift Requests: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Feature Set

Wishlist Core Features

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

Mst is built around wishlist use cases. It supports multiple wishlists per customer, guest wishlists, and unlimited items. Important features include:

• Multiple wishlists per customer and shared wishlists to enable social sharing.
• Guest wishlist support that allows visitors to save items without accounts.
• Customizable "My Wishlist" page using Liquid, HTML, and CSS for theme alignment.
• Price Drop and Back-in-Stock alerts delivered via email, SMS, and push notifications.
• API and headless theme support, with multi-language and multi-currency compatibility.

These features cover the common scenarios that convert saved intent into future purchases: persistent lists, re-engagement triggers for inventory/price changes, and shareability.

Presents & Gift Requests

This app focuses on making it simple for a shopper to request a friend or family member to buy a product. Key behaviors include:

• Adds a "Buy for me" button on product pages to capture gifting signals.
• Customizable popups and email capture for requests.
• Encourages social sharing to drive traffic and awareness tied to gifting occasions.

The approach is intentionally narrow: convert intent into a social/gifting action. The app does not appear to offer multiple wishlists, price-drop alerts, or deep wishlist pages.

Practical comparison notes:

• For merchants whose primary need is saving products and re-engaging customers when price or stock changes, Mst delivers a fuller toolkit.
• For stores that want to capture gifting intent and prompt direct asks to friends (useful around holidays or weddings), Presents & Gift Requests delivers a simple, focused flow.

Customization and Design

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Offers Liquid templates and direct HTML/CSS editing for the wishlist page, which means complete control to match brand design.
• Multiple UI options: merchants can tailor buttons, list layouts, and share dialogs.
• Built to be responsive across desktop and mobile.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Emphasizes ease of installation and “fully customizable” styling to match store branding.
• Customization primarily centered on the button and popup appearance, not on a full-page wishlist template.

Practical implication:

• Merchants that require pixel-perfect control over wishlist presentation or want to embed advanced behavior in the theme will find Mst’s templating capabilities more flexible.
• Stores seeking a lightweight button/popup that blends with the product page will find Presents & Gift Requests sufficient.

Alerts, Notifications, and Marketing Flow

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Includes Price Drop and Back-in-Stock alerts via email, SMS, and push, which are core conversion triggers.
• Works with common email and messaging providers (e.g., Klaviyo) for segmentation and richer journey automation.
• The alerts turn passive intent into actionable re-engagement that often raises conversion rates for previously interested buyers.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Captures emails through the popup and can use email for follow-up, but built-in email delivery options are part of pricing tiers.
• The gifting flow is primarily aimed at prompting immediate social sharing or a direct request to a friend rather than long-term re-engagement pipelines.

Practical implication:

• If the main goal is to re-capture shoppers who saved items, Mst’s alert system provides a stronger conversion mechanism.
• If the main goal is to spur social activity and immediate purchase requests from third parties, Presents & Gift Requests is purpose-made for that.

Data Capture and Privacy

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Stores wishlist activity tied to customer accounts when available; supports guest lists with mechanisms to tie lists to email addresses for follow-up.
• Uses integrations with messaging platforms, so data can flow into CRM systems.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Collects email addresses via popup and gifting requests. The Complete Package includes emails sent via the app’s DKIM-signed server, with a stated high deliverability rate.
• The app offers a capture-to-email flow which is valuable for immediate outreach but requires careful permission handling for GDPR/consent.

Practical implication:

• Both apps offer email capture; merchants should verify consent flows and ensure collected addresses are exported or integrated with primary marketing platforms.
• Mst’s integration-first design makes it simpler to leverage wishlist events in existing CRM journeys.

Pricing and Value For Money

Price Structure Comparison

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Single plan at $2/month for all features.
• One fixed cost covers unlimited wishlists, unlimited items, and core functionality.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Standard: $4.90/month — unlimited popup triggers, email & popup customization, email capture, use of merchant’s email server.
• Complete Package: $9.90/month — everything in Standard plus 1,000 emails/month, own DKIM-signed server, 99% email delivery guarantee.

Value assessment:

• Mst offers a very low entry price for a robust wishlist feature set; $2/month for all features is clearly positioned to be affordable for stores of all sizes.
• Presents & Gift Requests charges more for a narrower feature set and differentiates via email delivery guarantees and optional included sending volume.

Return-on-investment perspective:

• The ROI from Mst is driven by converting saved intent (wishlists) through price/stock alerts; this tends to create incremental conversions at a low monthly cost.
• The ROI from Presents & Gift Requests depends on the store’s ability to convert gifting requests into purchases, a metric that can spike seasonally.

Recommendations by budget and priority:

• For cost-conscious merchants who want a fully featured wishlist and alerts, Mst represents stronger value for money.
• For merchants with a specific gifting campaign budget and a need for guaranteed email delivery from the app, Presents & Gift Requests might justify its price at certain times of year.

Integrations and Ecosystem Compatibility

Native Integrations

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Lists compatibility with Customer accounts, Shopify Flow, and marketing platforms such as Klaviyo, PushOwl/Brevo, and Apploy mobile builder.
• API and headless theme support enables deeper integrations with third-party systems.

Presents & Gift Requests

• The app’s listing does not show a broad set of ecosystem integrations beyond email delivery. It supports use of the merchant’s own email server and provides an included sending option in the Complete Package.

Practical implication:

• Merchants that rely on Klaviyo or similar email platforms will find Mst easier to incorporate into existing automations.
• A narrow integration surface for Presents & Gift Requests means merchants may need manual exports or additional technical work to align events with their marketing stack.

Compatibility With Store Configurations

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Multi-currency and multi-language support and headless compatibility mean it fits a wide set of store setups, including high-growth and enterprise scenarios.

Presents & Gift Requests

• The focus on product-page popups and email capture is broadly compatible with most themes, but the app appears less geared for headless or complex architectures.

Practical implication:

• Stores using global storefronts and advanced setups are likely to have a smoother path with Mst.

Implementation, UX, and Merchant Experience

Setup and Theming

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Advertised as "easy app setup" but also provides deep customization through Liquid and templating—useful for stores that want both speed and control.
• The ability to customize the My Wishlist page allows merchants to match brand experience without hacks.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Emphasizes quick installation and an immediate "Buy for me" button on product pages.
• Set up focuses on the popup styling and email capture flows.

Practical implication:

• Merchants who want to launch quickly with minimal development resources will find both apps approachable, but Mst scales better when design needs evolve.

Customer Experience (Shopper-Facing)

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Delivers a familiar wishlist experience: add-to-wishlist buttons, saved lists, sharing options, and alerts that bring shoppers back.
• Guest wishlist and multiple wishlist support help convert casual browsers and gift shoppers alike.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Creates a direct gifting pathway: a shopper can indicate "I want this" and notify a friend/family member.
• The feature is personable and taps into social dynamics, which can drive traffic and conversions when promoted during gifting seasons.

Practical implication:

• The shopper experience for Mst is broad and long-term focused; for Presents & Gift Requests it’s highly tactical and social.

Support, Reliability, and Market Signals

Reviews and Social Proof

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• 150 reviews with an overall rating of 4.7 suggest a healthy level of adoption and satisfaction among users.
• A mid-sized review base indicates the app has been vetted across multiple merchants and use cases.

Presents & Gift Requests

• 1 review, rating 1.0. This extremely small sample size limits visibility into real-world reliability and merchant experience.
• Low review count makes it hard to assess long-term stability, developer responsiveness, and edge-case handling.

What merchants should read into this:

• A larger number of positive reviews (Mst) generally indicates broader real-world testing and faster resolution of edge cases.
• A single negative review (Presents) is not a definitive signal, but it does flag the need for merchants to trial the app carefully and confirm support SLAs.

Merchant Support and Documentation

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Integration with common marketing stacks suggests documentation is practical for common flows.
• Liquid and API support indicate a willingness to support developers and larger stores.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Documentation appears to focus on simple customization and popup behavior. Merchants should validate support response times and the level of assistance for technical needs.

Practical implication:

• Merchants with limited developer resources should prioritize apps with accessible docs and responsive support; Mst’s review base suggests more established support patterns.

Reporting, Tracking, and Measuring Impact

Events and Analytics

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Wishlist addition, removal, and alert triggers are events merchants can use to measure interest and forecast demand.
• Integration with analytics and email automation allows for tracking conversion lift from saved items to completed orders.

Presents & Gift Requests

• Captures gifting requests and email submissions; measuring downstream conversions requires linking requests to purchases, which may not be automatic.
• Merchants must plan how to attribute purchases driven by gifting requests (e.g., UTM parameters, coupon codes).

Practical implication:

• Mst provides clearer event signals linked to product interest that can be used for lifecycle journeys.
• Presents & Gift Requests can create valuable traffic spikes but may require work to attribute and measure direct revenue impacts.

Security, Compliance, and Deliverability

Email Deliverability

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Integrates with merchant-chosen email providers (e.g., Klaviyo), letting stores leverage existing authenticated sending domains and deliverability setups.

Presents & Gift Requests

• The Complete Package includes an email sending option with DKIM-signed server and a claimed 99% delivery guarantee for 1,000 included emails.
• For merchants who need reliable immediate sending from the app, this is a differentiator—but merchants should validate reputation and SLA details.

Practical implication:

• For large email programs, integrating wishlist signals into a merchant-managed ESP typically offers better deliverability control (favoring Mst).
• For short campaigns with small send volumes where immediate sending from the app is essential, Presents’ included sending may be attractive—keep in mind the limited scale.

Use Cases and Merchant Recommendations

Best Use Cases for Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

• Stores that want a robust wishlist system with deep customization and multiple wishlists per user.
• Merchants seeking price-drop/back-in-stock alerts to convert saved intent into purchases.
• Brands that plan to integrate wishlist events into their email/SMS automation (e.g., Klaviyo).
• Stores operating multi-language or multi-currency storefronts that require headless compatibility.

Why choose Mst:

• Strong set of wishlist-specific features for a low monthly price and proven merchant satisfaction.

Best Use Cases for Presents & Gift Requests

• Stores that want to capture gifting intent and encourage a friend/family purchase directly from the product page.
• Seasonal or gifting-heavy brands that want a simple, visible CTA to surface wishlist-like intent to third parties.
• Merchants who prefer a standalone gifting popup with built-in email capture and optional sending.

Why choose Presents & Gift Requests:

• Straightforward social/gifting conversion mechanism; useful when gifting is a core purchase driver.

When Neither Single App Is Enough

• Merchants who want to build lasting retention programs—loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlists working in a unified flow—will find neither single-purpose wishlist nor a gifting-only app sufficient.
• As stores scale, multiple single-purpose apps create operational friction, overlapping customer touchpoints, and fragmented reporting.

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

What App Fatigue Looks Like

App fatigue appears when merchants layer too many single-feature apps on top of a core platform. Signs include:

• Increasing monthly bills with overlapping functionality.
• Fragmented customer data across vendors, making unified segments and journeys difficult.
• Longer setup and maintenance time as separate apps require individual theme edits and updates.
• Inconsistent look and feel across customer touchpoints.
• Difficulty attributing the revenue impact of individual tools.

Merchants often start with a focused app for an immediate need—wishlist, reviews, or gifting—then add separate tools for loyalty, referrals, and UGC. Over time the "toolbelt" approach creates maintenance costs that erode margins and clarity.

Growave’s "More Growth, Less Stack" Value Proposition

Growave positions itself as a unified retention platform that combines wishlist, loyalty and rewards, referrals, reviews and UGC, and VIP tiers in one suite. The idea is to reduce tool sprawl and deliver coordinated customer experiences across discovery and retention channels.

Growave’s positioning addresses common merchant challenges by enabling stores to:

• Consolidate retention features and reduce monthly app overhead.
• Run consistent creative and reward programs across channels.
• Track customer journeys in one place, easing attribution and optimization.

Merchants can evaluate how an integrated suite changes operations by reviewing the pricing options and estimating consolidation benefits on the Growave pricing page: consolidate retention features.

(If a merchant prefers to see the platform live, a targeted demo is an efficient way to validate fit.)

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

How an Integrated Stack Replaces Multiple Point Solutions

An all-in-one platform like Growave replaces the common constellation of single-purpose tools in several ways:

• A wishlist feature inside the platform removes the need for separate wishlist apps while linking saved-item data to loyalty actions and review prompts.
• Loyalty and rewards programs increase customer lifetime value, making individual wishlist saves more valuable when re-engaged with incentives.
• Built-in referrals turn gifting intent into measurable referral conversions without a separate gifting app.
• Reviews and UGC modules allow merchants to collect authentic feedback and surface it next to wishlist items to improve persuasion.

When wishlist saves, loyalty currency, referral codes, and review invitations live in the same platform, merchants can design cohesive journeys—for example, reward points for adding items to wishlist and a referral incentive if a friend buys the requested gift.

This unified approach reduces friction and the need for custom integration work.

Specific Feature Mapping (Growave vs. Single-Feature Apps)

• Wishlist: Built into the retention suite, enabling cross-program actions (e.g., reward points for wishlist activity).
• Loyalty & Rewards: Robust program creation with tiering and custom actions that can be triggered by wishlist behavior.
• Referrals: Built to turn sharing and gifting signals into tracked referral sales.
• Reviews & UGC: Automates collection and showcases social proof near wishlist items or product pages.

Merchants can explore how an integrated loyalty program increases repeat purchases by reading about loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.

To understand how social proof plays a role, see how to collect and showcase authentic reviews.

Practical Considerations When Migrating to an Integrated Platform

• Data migration: Moving wishlist entries, customer points, and past referrals may require mapping and assistance. Growave provides onboarding for higher tiers and can help with migration planning.
• Theme implementation: A single integration point reduces repeated theme modifications and potential conflicts.
• Pricing trade-off: Entry-level plans are higher than a $2 wishlist app, but consolidation can reduce total monthly costs and administrative overhead.
• Measurement: One analytics layer for retention programs simplifies attribution and optimization.

Merchants can evaluate costs and projected savings by examining Growave’s pricing and feature tiers on the consolidate retention features page.

Use Cases Where an Integrated Platform Outperforms Single Apps

• High-growth merchants needing consistent retention mechanics across multiple channels.
• Stores that want to convert wishlist activity into repeat purchases through reward incentives.
• Brands that seek to reduce administrative overhead and improve cross-feature reporting.

For Shopify Plus or enterprise merchants with complex needs, Growave provides enterprise workflows and support: merchants can learn about solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

How to Evaluate If a Consolidated Platform Is Right

Consider these guiding questions:

• Is managing multiple apps taking more time than the incremental revenue they produce?
• Do wishlist saves, referrals, and reviews feel disconnected from loyalty programs?
• Is the cost of individual apps surpassing the monthly fee of a consolidated suite?

If the answer to any question is yes, an integrated solution may accelerate growth without adding administrative load. Merchants can review customer implementation stories and inspiration to see real examples: customer stories from brands scaling retention.

Practical Migration Checklist

• Audit current apps: List features, monthly costs, and overlap across wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals.
• Prioritize must-have features: Identify which single-feature behaviors are necessary day one and which can be folded into a broader program.
• Map data exports: Ensure wishlists, emails, and referral histories can be migrated or exported.
• Trial and measure: Use a demo or a trial period to compare outcomes against existing KPIs.
• Plan for launch: Build an integrated campaign that links wishlist actions to reward triggers and review requests.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow and Presents & Gift Requests, the decision comes down to scope and objectives. Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow is an excellent value for merchants who need a comprehensive wishlist system with multiple wishlists, guest support, robust customization, and price/stock alerts—backed by a meaningful review base (150 reviews, 4.7 rating). Presents & Gift Requests serves a narrow but useful role: surfacing gifting intent and encouraging social sharing via a “Buy for me” CTA, though its limited public reviews (1 review, 1.0 rating) suggest merchants should test carefully.

For merchants seeking to move beyond single-purpose tools and build stronger retention outcomes—higher repeat purchase rates, better LTV, and coordinated customer experiences—an integrated platform reduces complexity and drives better long-term value. Growave unifies wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers so stores can consolidate retention features and improve customer journeys. Explore how to consolidate retention features and learn how integrated loyalty mechanics can lift repeat purchases by checking examples of loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases. See how a unified reviews system helps surface social proof by exploring how to collect and showcase authentic reviews. Growave is available on the Shopify App Store for merchants wanting to assess the platform directly: install from the Shopify App Store.

Start a 14-day free trial to evaluate whether reducing tool sprawl increases retention and saves operational time: consolidate retention features.

FAQ

What are the core differences between Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow and Presents & Gift Requests?

• Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow focuses on a full wishlist experience—multiple wishlists, guest lists, price-drop and back-in-stock alerts, and deep customization at a very low monthly price ($2). Presents & Gift Requests is purpose-built for gifting interactions (a “Buy for me” CTA) with popup-driven email capture and social sharing, and it offers email delivery tiers for an additional fee.

How should a merchant choose between the two?

• Choose Mst for broad wishlist needs, long-term re-engagement through alerts, and strong theme control. Choose Presents & Gift Requests if the primary objective is to capture gifting intent and prompt social-driven purchases or referrals during gifting seasons. For merchants wanting a unified retention strategy that connects wishlist behavior to rewards and referrals, an integrated platform is likely the better investment.

Is one app clearly more reliable based on merchant feedback?

• Mst shows a solid set of merchant reviews (150 reviews, 4.7 rating), indicating broader usage and community feedback. Presents & Gift Requests has a single review (rating 1.0), which makes reliability and support harder to assess; merchants should trial that app carefully and confirm support responsiveness.

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

• An all-in-one platform reduces the operational overhead of multiple installs, centralizes customer data, and enables cross-feature campaigns (for example, rewarding wishlist actions with loyalty points). While specialized apps can be less expensive up-front or quicker to launch for a single need, consolidation often delivers better long-term value and simpler analytics for merchants ready to scale. Merchants can investigate consolidated options and pricing to see if the platform aligns with their retention and cost goals: consolidate retention features.