Wishlist option on listing and product pages: +1.84% transactions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a wishlist (save for later) option to listing and product pages lifted transactions by 1.84% and raised basket page views.
Clarins UK ran this test on its own site, and it was published as a VWO case study.
The team saw the wishlist as a way to make the buying decision simpler, not harder.
- Transactions: +1.84% for the wishlist version.
- Basket page views went up too. The size of that lift was not shared.
- No sample size, duration or confidence level was published.
The change
The variant adds a save-for-later wishlist option on the product page (and on listing pages).
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Product listing and product detail pages had no way to save an item for later.
Variant
A wishlist option was added to listing and product pages, so shoppers could save products they liked and come back to buy them.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Skincare shoppers often compare several products before buying. A wishlist gives them a place to keep a shortlist instead of leaving.
- Saved items act as a reminder, which can bring shoppers back to buy on a later visit.
- Product pages are often the first page a visitor sees. A low-commitment action gives early-stage visitors something to do besides bounce.
Caveats: Only the transaction lift was given as a number. No sample size, test length or significance was shared, and the result is vendor-published.
Who ran it
Clarins ran this test for Clarins and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Clarins →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we let shoppers save products to a wishlist from listing and product pages, then transactions will rise because undecided shoppers can keep a shortlist and return to it instead of dropping off.
- Primary metric
- Transactions per visitor
- Guardrails
- Add-to-cart rate
- Average order value
- Product page exit rate
- Who should test it
- Stores with considered purchases and larger catalogs, such as beauty, fashion or home, where shoppers compare and come back. Stores selling one or two products, or impulse buys, probably gain little.
Questions
Does a wishlist increase sales?
In this test it did: Clarins UK saw transactions rise 1.84% after adding one.
It works best when shoppers tend to compare products before buying.
Where should the wishlist button go?
Clarins added it to both listing and product pages.
A heart or save icon on product cards, plus a save option near the add-to-cart button, are common placements.
Will a wishlist take clicks away from add to cart?
It can, so watch add-to-cart rate as a guardrail.
Here basket page views rose rather than fell.
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