Understanding Smart Wishlist

Smart Wishlist lets your customers save products for later with a single click. Unlike traditional wishlists that become forgotten lists, DemandLoop automatically notifies customers when saved items restock, drop in price, or run low on inventory — turning passive interest into purchases.

What you'll accomplish

• Understand how Smart Wishlist works for customers and merchants
• Set up the wishlist widget on your product pages
• Configure auto-subscribe behavior and notification preferences
• Know which features are available on Free vs Growth plans

Requirements

• DemandLoop app installed on your store
• Products with inventory tracking enabled
• Free plan for basic wishlist; Growth plan for price drop alerts, low stock alerts, reminders, and analytics

How Smart Wishlist Works

For Customers

When a customer visits a product page, they see a Save for Later button (heart icon by default).

Saving an item:

1. Customer clicks the wishlist button on a product page
2. If logged in — item is saved immediately
3. If guest — a short email modal appears, customer enters their email
4. Button changes to a filled heart confirming the save
5. A toast notification confirms: "Added to wishlist"

What happens behind the scenes:

• If the item is out of stock, the customer is automatically subscribed to restock notifications (no extra step needed)
• The customer's email is remembered for future saves (stored locally in the browser)
• All saved items are accessible through the "My Saved Items" customer page

Removing an item:

1. Customer clicks the filled heart button again
2. Item is removed from the wishlist
3. Button returns to its default outline state

For Merchants

From the admin dashboard (Wishlist section):

• View all saved items across customers
• See which products generate the most wishlist interest
• Configure widget appearance and notification behavior
• Export wishlist data for analysis (Growth plan)

Automatic notifications — DemandLoop sends emails to customers when:

No manual work required. Notifications fire automatically based on inventory and price changes.

Setting Up the Widget

Add the Wishlist Button (Shopify)

1. Go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Themes → Customize
2. Navigate to your Product page template
3. Click Add block
4. Select Apps → DemandLoop: Wishlist Button
5. Drag the block to your preferred position (typically near the "Add to Cart" button)
6. Customize appearance in the block settings
7. Click Save

Block Settings

Configuring Wishlist Settings

Access merchant-level settings from Wishlist → Settings in the DemandLoop admin.

General

• Enable Wishlist — turn the feature on or off for your entire store
• Button Style — default icon style for the storefront widget
• Button Text — default text displayed on the button

Auto-Subscribe Options

• Auto-notify on restock (default: on) — when a customer saves an out-of-stock item, they are automatically subscribed to a restock notification. No extra opt-in step needed.
• Auto-notify on price drop (Growth plan, default: off) — subscribe customers to price drop alerts when they save any item.

Customer Portal

• Enable "My Saved Items" page — gives customers a dedicated page to view and manage their wishlist
• Allow multiple lists (Growth plan) — let customers organize items into named lists (e.g. "Birthday", "Home Renovation")

Widget States

The wishlist button has four visual states on the storefront:

Default — empty heart icon, ready to save Loading — spinner while the API call is in progress Saved — filled heart icon, item is in the wishlist Saved + Out of Stock — filled heart with a message: "We'll notify you when back in stock"

For guest customers who haven't provided an email yet, clicking the button opens a compact email modal instead of saving immediately.

Free vs Growth Plan

Verify

After setting up Smart Wishlist, confirm:

• The wishlist button appears on product pages in your storefront
• Clicking the button as a guest shows the email modal
• After entering an email, the item is saved and the button shows a filled heart
• Saving an out-of-stock item displays the "We'll notify you when back in stock" message
• Clicking the filled heart removes the item and reverts the button to its default state
• Saved items appear in the Wishlist section of your DemandLoop admin

FAQ

Q: Does the wishlist button slow down my store? The widget loads approximately 14 KB (gzipped). It loads asynchronously and does not block page rendering.

Q: What happens if a customer saves an out-of-stock item? The item is added to their wishlist and they are automatically subscribed to a restock notification (if auto-subscribe is enabled). When the item restocks, they receive an email — no extra action needed.

Q: Can customers see their wishlist across devices? Yes. Wishlist data is stored on the server, tied to the customer's email address. As long as they use the same email, their wishlist is consistent across devices. Locally cached state (filled hearts on product pages) syncs on page load.

Q: What if I disable the wishlist — are saved items lost? No. Disabling the wishlist hides the button from the storefront, but all saved items and subscriptions remain in the database. Re-enabling restores everything.

Q: Do wishlist notifications count toward my email limits? Yes. On the Free plan, wishlist restock emails count toward the monthly email limit. Growth plan has unlimited emails.

Q: Can I use wishlist and back-in-stock subscriptions together? Yes. They complement each other. The "Notify Me" widget captures intent from customers who specifically want restock alerts. The wishlist captures broader interest — customers saving items they like. When an out-of-stock item is wishlisted, DemandLoop auto-creates a restock subscription behind the scenes, so there is no duplication.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Wishlist button does not appear on the product page Likely cause: Block not added in theme editor, or widget is disabled in settings Fix: Open Shopify theme editor → verify the DemandLoop Wishlist Button block is present on the product template. Check Wishlist → Settings to confirm the feature is enabled. How to confirm: Visit a product page in your storefront; the button should appear near "Add to Cart."

Problem: Clicking the button shows "Smart Wishlist requires Growth plan" Likely cause: Your store is on the Free plan and the Growth-only enforcement is active on the backend Fix: This message appears when the backend returns a locked response. On the Free plan, the basic wishlist (save + restock auto-subscribe) should work within plan limits. If you see this error unexpectedly, contact support. How to confirm: Check your current plan under Billing → Plans in the DemandLoop admin.

Problem: Customer does not receive a restock notification after saving an OOS item Likely cause: Auto-subscribe to restock is disabled, or the email was not delivered Fix: Verify that Auto-notify on restock is enabled in Wishlist → Settings. Check the notification logs in Notifications → Activity for delivery status. How to confirm: The customer's email should appear in Subscriptions → Active with a restock subscription for that product.

Problem: Toast notification does not appear after saving Likely cause: JavaScript conflict with the theme or a content security policy blocking inline styles Fix: Open the browser developer console (F12) and check for JavaScript errors. If a CSP error appears, contact your theme developer to whitelist DemandLoop scripts.

Next Steps

• How Notifications Work — understand the full notification lifecycle
• Understanding Plans & Pricing — compare Free and Growth plans
• Widget Installation — set up the back-in-stock "Notify Me" widget
• Understanding Analytics — track performance and revenue