Guest wishlist — letting customers save items without logging in
Overview
Not every customer wants to create an account before saving a product. Guest wishlist removes that barrier by letting shoppers save items right away, even if they are not logged in.
When they later sign in or create an account, the items they saved as a guest are automatically added to their account wishlist. This creates a smoother shopping experience and helps more customers return to products they were interested in.
Guest wishlist helps reduce friction for first-time visitors by allowing them to save products before logging in.
How guest wishlist works
When a visitor who is not logged in clicks the wishlist button on your store:
The product is saved in that customer’s browser.
The customer can keep browsing and save more products without creating an account first.
When the customer logs in or registers later, their saved items are automatically synced to their account wishlist.
This means customers can start building a wishlist immediately, without interrupting their shopping experience.
Why this feature matters
Requiring customers to log in before they can save products often leads to drop-off. Many shoppers are interested in saving items, but do not want to stop and create an account in that moment.
By enabling guest wishlist, you make it easier for customers to save products while they are still engaged. This can help:
Increase the number of products added to wishlists
Improve the shopping experience for first-time visitors
Encourage customers to come back and purchase later
Reduce friction in the product discovery journey
If your store gets a lot of mobile traffic or first-time visitors, guest wishlist can be especially useful because it lets customers save products without breaking their browsing flow.
How to enable guest wishlist
Go to Apps and open WC Wishlist & Back in Stock.
Select General Settings → Guest Wishlist. Find the Guest Wishlist toggle and switch it on.
Save the setting so guest visitors can start using the wishlist button across your store.
Once enabled, both logged-in customers and guest visitors can use the wishlist button on your storefront.
What customers will experience
They can save products without being asked to log in first.
Their saved items remain available on the same browser and device. If the customer’s IP address remains the same, they can still access their wishlist items even when using a different device.
If they log in later, their guest wishlist items are merged into their account wishlist automatically.
The handoff from guest wishlist to account wishlist happens when the customer signs in or creates an account using the same browser where the products were originally saved.
Important things to know
Guest wishlist items are stored in the customer’s browser until they log in.
If the customer clears browser data, uses private browsing, or switches to a different browser or device before logging in, those guest-saved items may be lost.
When the customer logs in, guest wishlist items are merged with any wishlist items they already have in their account.
Items saved only as a guest will not appear in your Customer Wishlists admin view until the customer logs in and the wishlist sync completes.
Guest wishlist is browser-based before login. If a customer saves items on one device and then logs in on another device without first logging in on the original one, those guest-saved items will not carry over automatically.
Best practices
Keep wishlist buttons visible on product cards and product pages so guest visitors can save items easily.
Enable guest wishlist if you want to reduce barriers for new shoppers and improve product save rates.
Encourage account creation later in the customer journey instead of forcing it before wishlisting.
Test the experience on desktop and mobile to make sure wishlist buttons are easy to find and use.
Frequently asked questions
No. With guest wishlist enabled, customers can save products without logging in.
The items they saved as a guest are automatically synced to their account wishlist, so they can keep them after signing in.
No. Guest-saved items only become visible in your customer wishlist data after the customer logs in and the wishlist syncs to their account.
Yes. Because guest items are stored in the browser before login, they can be lost if the customer clears browser data, uses a different browser, or switches devices before signing in.
Need help?
If you are not sure which file to edit, or you would rather have us handle the installation, contact our support team:
Email: [email protected]
Live chat: available from the app admin
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