Customers use wish list as a place to temporarily hold desired items during a shopping session. However, the wish list option alone is not enough to boost overall sales. Most likely, without a follow-up strategy, wish list only causes a shift in path from checkout to just that – forever on hold.
Default Magento Wishlist
One of the many benefits of having a wishlist is that it fosters customer loyalty. Visitors that have made their wish list are more likely to come back to your site and check on the items periodically. However, some actions must be done to finally get that item out of the wish list and through the checkout process. Consider the following to get those wish list items into carts and finally, to successful purchases:
1. Encourage customers to make a wish list
Doing so drives the potential for gifting. Once your customer’s wish list is made public, this gives the opportunity for their family and friends to easily make the purchase for them. Get your customers to explicitly share their wish list on social media and help their loved-ones decide what to buy as your customer’s special day draws near.
Share your wishlist to your love-ones
2. Promote gifting
Another sure way to utilize purchase from wish list is to directly inform others about it. Once your visitor’s wish list is complete, offer an option to send the list to their friends and family in anticipation of special occasions. Another added benefit is that promoting wish lists provides another benefit of brand advertising. Hence, even though no one responds to your customer’s wish list promotion, your company is being effectively advertised.
Benefit of brand advertising
3. Update discounts on specific items
Another benefit of wish lists is that it gives you a better insight of what items you can effectively put on discounts and markdowns. One of the major reasons for items stuck in wish list for ages but are never checked out is because the price may be beyond your customer’s purchasing ability. A lowered price on specifically desired item can be a good push to your customers toward conversion.
Update discounts on specific items
But what if it doesn’t?
Occasionally, price may not be the major reason for the delay of the sale. It may be that your customers’ needs have changed over time and is starting to consider other products instead or they simply forgot ever adding the item on their list. This does not mean, though, that your discount updates are useless. Even without their expected response, your alerts bring the products back to your customer’s attention which may incentivise purchase by the time they need it again.
4. Send warning when stocks run low
As mentioned, some products may have gone out of your customers’ radar. They may have planned to purchase it at a given time but simply forgot. Another possibility for delayed purchase is your customer’s doubt regarding the effectivity of your product. Discounts can do so little to encourage sales. If this is the case, remember: A product of depleting supply due to a rising demand is one of the best natural advertisement. Whatever the case, a warning e-mail of a product going out of stock is an effective way to incite urgency of purchase while building trust on your item’s quality.
Friendly remind on stock availability
5. Back in stock reminder
We are all familiar with the proverb “the value of something increases when it’s gone” or some other fancy proverbs along that line. The point is, same principle can be applied to your shoppers. As your item finally runs out of stock, a sense of wasted chance maybe felt by your indecisive customers. As you replenish the stocks, a simple, yet personal information of a back on stock item may ignite the customer to grab this another opportunity of purchase before it runs out again. As it was established in the previous paragraph, urgency is a great call-to-action strategy.
Wishlist fosters customer loyalty
Conclusion
Web Store owners have to use various tactics to draw in leads and convert them to customers. One technique to increase sales, especially during the holiday season, is to include a Wishlist feature on your ecommerce site. Many web store owners underestimate the power of this feature to boost sales. Lest that not be the case for you. Utilize wish list and observe a rather surprising increase on your conversions!
