What is a Wishlist and How Does it Work?
What is a Wishlist and How Does it Work?
Everything you need to know about saving, organising, and sharing items online
Oct 7, 2025
Ever seen something online that you’re not ready to buy yet, only to forget what it was and where you found it?
That’s exactly the problem a wishlist solves.
In this guide, we’ll explain what a wishlist is, how it works, and why people use wishlists for shopping, gifting, and planning purchases.
What is a wishlist?
A wishlist is a place to save items you like but aren’t ready to buy just yet.
It helps you keep track of products you’ve spotted online, compare options over time, and share ideas with friends or family, especially when a birthday, holiday, or special occasion is coming up.
Most people use wishlists to:
Save items for later
Compare similar products
Plan purchases more intentionally
Share gift ideas
Ready to create your free wishlist now? Start right here.
What Is a Wishlist on a Store Website?
Many online stores offer a built-in wishlist feature.
You’ve probably seen this before: a heart icon or “Add to wishlist” button next to the “Add to cart” option. When you click it, the item is saved so you can return to it later.
Store wishlists usually require you to:
Create an account
Stay logged in
Revisit the same website to access your saved items
Some retailers also send email updates about availability, discounts, or new colour options.
The downside of store wishlists
Unless you only ever shop on one website, store wishlists quickly become fragmented.
You end up with saved items spread across dozens of retailers, which makes them:
Hard to keep track of
Difficult to compare
Awkward to share with others
That’s where universal wishlists come in.
What Is a Universal Wishlist?
A universal wishlist lets you save items from any online store, all in one place.
Instead of belonging to a single retailer, universal wishlists live on independent apps or websites that work wherever you shop.
Moonsift is an example of a universal wishlist. It allows you to save products from any store using a browser extension or mobile app, whether you’re shopping on your phone, tablet, or computer.
With a universal wishlist, you get:
One central place for everything you like
Easy comparison across brands and stores
Simple sharing with friends and family
Access across all your devices
What does a wishlist do?
Once you start using a wishlist, it becomes surprisingly useful. Here are some of the main ways people use them.
What a Wishlist Does | How It Helps |
|---|---|
Save items for later | Keeps products you like in one place so you don’t forget them before you’re ready to buy. |
Compare similar products | Lets you view multiple options side by side, making it easier to choose the best one. |
Share gift ideas | Makes gifting simple by allowing you to share items you actually want ahead of birthdays, holidays, or life events. |
Collaborate on decisions | Helps teams, couples, or families make choices together for projects like home renovations or nursery planning. |
Track prices | Alerts you when prices drop so you can buy at the right time and avoid missing a deal. |
Start your free Universal Wishlist here
How Does a Wishlist Work?
Not all wishlists work the same way, but here’s a simple example using Moonsift:
Browse and shop as usual
Save items you like with one click
Revisit or share your wishlist whenever you want
It’s quick, flexible, and doesn’t interrupt how you already shop.
And yes, Moonsift is free.
What’s the difference between a wishlist and a registry?
The terms wishlist and registry are often used interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same.
Wishlist
A wishlist is primarily for saving items for later. You can keep it private, use it for planning, or share it casually.
Registry
A registry is created specifically for gifting.
Registries are usually tied to occasions like:
They often include features like:
Marking items as purchased
Preventing duplicate gifts
Optional anonymity for gift-givers
Create a wishlist on Moonsift
Moonsift combines everything people want from a modern wishlist:
Free to use
Save items from any store worldwide
Share with a single link
Access across all devices
Switch between wishlist and registry mode
Best of all, you can save items wherever you are, whenever inspiration strikes.
Create your free wishlist today and never lose track of the things you love again.
Things people ask about wishlists
What is an example of a wishlist?
One example would be a birthday wishlist.
Creating a birthday wishlist is a great way to let friends and family know what products you have your eye on, so they can get you gifts you actually want this year.
Here’s an example birthday wishlist we’ve created for inspiration.
What is the meaning of a wishlist?
According to Google’s English dictionary, the word ‘wishlist’ means ‘a list of desired things or occurrences.’
The word is often used to refer to unobtainable items. But in online shopping, it’s used to describe a list of items you’d like to purchase.
What is a wishlist on Amazon?
A wishlist on Amazon is a feature that lets you save products from Amazon’s store to one central place, so you can keep track of the items you like or share them with friends and family as gift ideas.
Amazon is a great store to create a wishlist on as it sells such a broad range of items. However, it still won’t give you as much choice as a universal wishlist.
At Moonsift, you can save items you like to your wishlist from any store in the world, meaning you’re not restricted to items from just Amazon.
If you want to create a free wishlist today to save all your favorite things, Moonsift is the place to be.
Ever seen something online that you’re not ready to buy yet, only to forget what it was and where you found it?
That’s exactly the problem a wishlist solves.
In this guide, we’ll explain what a wishlist is, how it works, and why people use wishlists for shopping, gifting, and planning purchases.
What is a wishlist?
A wishlist is a place to save items you like but aren’t ready to buy just yet.
It helps you keep track of products you’ve spotted online, compare options over time, and share ideas with friends or family, especially when a birthday, holiday, or special occasion is coming up.
Most people use wishlists to:
Save items for later
Compare similar products
Plan purchases more intentionally
Share gift ideas
Ready to create your free wishlist now? Start right here.
What Is a Wishlist on a Store Website?
Many online stores offer a built-in wishlist feature.
You’ve probably seen this before: a heart icon or “Add to wishlist” button next to the “Add to cart” option. When you click it, the item is saved so you can return to it later.
Store wishlists usually require you to:
Create an account
Stay logged in
Revisit the same website to access your saved items
Some retailers also send email updates about availability, discounts, or new colour options.
The downside of store wishlists
Unless you only ever shop on one website, store wishlists quickly become fragmented.
You end up with saved items spread across dozens of retailers, which makes them:
Hard to keep track of
Difficult to compare
Awkward to share with others
That’s where universal wishlists come in.
What Is a Universal Wishlist?
A universal wishlist lets you save items from any online store, all in one place.
Instead of belonging to a single retailer, universal wishlists live on independent apps or websites that work wherever you shop.
Moonsift is an example of a universal wishlist. It allows you to save products from any store using a browser extension or mobile app, whether you’re shopping on your phone, tablet, or computer.
With a universal wishlist, you get:
One central place for everything you like
Easy comparison across brands and stores
Simple sharing with friends and family
Access across all your devices
What does a wishlist do?
Once you start using a wishlist, it becomes surprisingly useful. Here are some of the main ways people use them.
What a Wishlist Does | How It Helps |
|---|---|
Save items for later | Keeps products you like in one place so you don’t forget them before you’re ready to buy. |
Compare similar products | Lets you view multiple options side by side, making it easier to choose the best one. |
Share gift ideas | Makes gifting simple by allowing you to share items you actually want ahead of birthdays, holidays, or life events. |
Collaborate on decisions | Helps teams, couples, or families make choices together for projects like home renovations or nursery planning. |
Track prices | Alerts you when prices drop so you can buy at the right time and avoid missing a deal. |
Start your free Universal Wishlist here
How Does a Wishlist Work?
Not all wishlists work the same way, but here’s a simple example using Moonsift:
Browse and shop as usual
Save items you like with one click
Revisit or share your wishlist whenever you want
It’s quick, flexible, and doesn’t interrupt how you already shop.
And yes, Moonsift is free.
What’s the difference between a wishlist and a registry?
The terms wishlist and registry are often used interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same.
Wishlist
A wishlist is primarily for saving items for later. You can keep it private, use it for planning, or share it casually.
Registry
A registry is created specifically for gifting.
Registries are usually tied to occasions like:
They often include features like:
Marking items as purchased
Preventing duplicate gifts
Optional anonymity for gift-givers
Create a wishlist on Moonsift
Moonsift combines everything people want from a modern wishlist:
Free to use
Save items from any store worldwide
Share with a single link
Access across all devices
Switch between wishlist and registry mode
Best of all, you can save items wherever you are, whenever inspiration strikes.
Create your free wishlist today and never lose track of the things you love again.
Things people ask about wishlists
What is an example of a wishlist?
One example would be a birthday wishlist.
Creating a birthday wishlist is a great way to let friends and family know what products you have your eye on, so they can get you gifts you actually want this year.
Here’s an example birthday wishlist we’ve created for inspiration.
What is the meaning of a wishlist?
According to Google’s English dictionary, the word ‘wishlist’ means ‘a list of desired things or occurrences.’
The word is often used to refer to unobtainable items. But in online shopping, it’s used to describe a list of items you’d like to purchase.
What is a wishlist on Amazon?
A wishlist on Amazon is a feature that lets you save products from Amazon’s store to one central place, so you can keep track of the items you like or share them with friends and family as gift ideas.
Amazon is a great store to create a wishlist on as it sells such a broad range of items. However, it still won’t give you as much choice as a universal wishlist.
At Moonsift, you can save items you like to your wishlist from any store in the world, meaning you’re not restricted to items from just Amazon.
If you want to create a free wishlist today to save all your favorite things, Moonsift is the place to be.
