Dive Brief:
- Making a wish list of future purchases is a valuable activity, according to 26% of consumers polled by the Future Foundation, a London-based trendspotting firm.
- The activity is even more popular in Asian countries such as China and Indonesia, where 56% and 59% of consumers make wish lists, respectively.
- Retailers including Target and Wal-Mart are creating wish list apps to encourage aspiration and conversion, with Target awarding 10% off purchased items.
Dive Insight:
Making a shopping wish list online has become so pervasive that it is approaching the status of leisure-time activity, according to the London-based Future Foundation. But fortunately for retailers, such digital saves are open to sharing, mining, and retargeting, unlike the written lists and scrapbooks of the past.
Customers of the online apparel wishlisting service Lyst often collect thousands of items they might buy, and occasionally convert. And Pinterest, the online bulletin board with more than 100 million users, is arguably nothing more than the largest shoppable wish list in existence.
Retailers, too, are building their own wish list functions and apps this holiday season, when tradition dictates that kids ask Santa for a range of items. Wal-Mart, for example, is offering a “Merry Little Wish List” app to help giftees make not-so-subtle requests of their friends and families.
