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August 13, 2025

Lookalike Audience Creating using the Wishlist Plus data

Reach New Audiences with High Shopping Intent Using Wishlist Plus Data

Overview

If you're using Wishlist Plus and seeing wishlist activity from your shoppers, you're sitting on a goldmine of intent data. Now, you can take this a step further by using that data to find more high-intent shoppers just like them via social media ads.

This playbook shows you how to:

  • Export your wishlist shoppers and wishlisted products
  • Build lookalike audiences in Meta, Google, and other ad platforms
  • Use popular wishlisted products as creative hooks
  • Drive higher ROI on your ad spend by targeting audiences with similar purchase intent

Why This Matters

Traditional targeting is based on demographics and interests. But wishlist data captures real buyer intent—these are people who saved a product they genuinely want.

By building lookalike audiences from wishlist users, you are:

  • Targeting people who behave like your high intent users
  • Improving click-through and conversion rates
  • Reducing wasted ad spend on cold traffic

What You’ll Need

  • Wishlist Plus app installed and active
  • Shopper wishlist activity (Identified Shoppers with saved products)
  • Access to Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) or other platforms like Google Ads
  • Email or phone data from wishlist users (for better audience match rate)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Export Wishlist Shopper Data

  1. Go to your Wishlist Plus App
  2. Navigate to → Reports tab 
  3. Apply filters (e.g., shoppers who wishlisted in the last 90 days)
  4. Click Export CSV

Step 2: Export Wishlist Products Data

  1. Select Wishlist activity from the Reports tab
  2. Apply filters (e.g., wishlisted products in the last 90 days)
  3. Click Export CSV

📌 Pro Tip: Use only “identified” shoppers (logged-in users with email or phone) for better match rates on ad platforms.

Step 3: Create Lookalike Audience in Meta

  1. Go to Meta Ads Manager → Audiences
  2. Click Create Audience → Custom Audience
  3. Upload your exported CSV file
  4. Choose identifiers like email and phone
  5. Name it something like “Wishlist Shoppers – Last 90 Days”

For optimal ad performance, aim to create lookalike audiences using at least 1,000 shoppers who have wishlisted but not purchased, with valid email or phone identifiers.

✅ After the custom audience is created:
6. Click Create Lookalike Audience
7. Choose 1%-5% similarity based on your campaign size and budget
8. Choose target country or region
9. Save audience

Learn more about creating a lookalike audience here.

Step 4: Build Creatives Using Top Wishlisted Products

  1. From the same export file or dashboard, identify the most frequently wishlisted products
  2. Create ads showcasing:
    • Best-sellers loved by real shoppers
    • “Back in stock soon” urgency for most wishlisted items
    • Gift ideas based on wishlist trends

🎨 Use language like:

"Loved by thousands. Wishlisted for a reason."
"This [product] is topping every wishlist — grab yours today!"

Step 5: Launch and Monitor Campaigns

  • Use the Lookalike Audience as your targeting group
  • Run A/B tests with product creatives and messages
  • Drive to product or collection pages, not just homepage

What Success Looks Like

Metric Why It Matters
CTR (Click-Through Rate) Higher when using intent-based targeting
CVR (Conversion Rate) Better because audience has similar buying signals
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) Efficient spend due to warm-ish traffic
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) Reduced by better targeting

Bonus Experiments

  • Re-engage Existing Wishlist Users: Run ads just for them to complete purchase. Learn more about this in our Re-Engage Wishlist Shoppers playbook.
  • Segment by Product Category: Build lookalikes from shoppers who wishlisted specific categories (e.g. shoes vs skincare)

Wishlist Plus isn't just a shopper tool—it’s a strategic growth lever. With just a few clicks, you can turn your highest intent users into a magnet for acquiring new ones.

Join over 45,000 brands that use Swym

Get Swym Wishlist Plus