The add_to_wishlist event
add_to_wishlist is a GA4 recommended e-commerce event that fires when a visitor saves a product to a wishlist or favourites. It carries the items saved plus currency and value. It signals interest without immediate purchase intent — a softer signal than add_to_cart — useful for understanding consideration and for products people return to buy later.
What this means
add_to_wishlist is a GA4 recommended retail event sent when a visitor saves a product to a wishlist, favourites, or save-for-later list. Populate the `items` array with the saved products and set `currency` and `value`. GA4 treats it as a distinct intent signal alongside cart events.
Unlike add_to_cart, it expresses deferred interest: the visitor wants the item on their radar without committing to buy it in this session.
Reading consideration
Wishlist activity highlights products in the consideration phase. High save rates with low eventual purchase can flag price sensitivity, out-of-stock frustration, or items people buy only at certain times. Because wishlists often span sessions, pair this event with longer-window conversion analysis rather than expecting same-session purchases.
- Fires when a product is saved to a wishlist or favourites
- Carries items, currency, and value
- Signals deferred interest, weaker than add_to_cart
How it appears in analytics and logs
An add_to_wishlist event means a visitor wants to remember a product but is not buying now. A product saved often yet seldom purchased may have a price or timing barrier.
Diagnostic use case
Measure which products people save for later, separating considered interest from immediate purchase intent and spotting items that get saved but rarely bought.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID can record wishlist events first-party with item context, so consideration signals are measurable without third-party retail tags.
Common mistakes
- Treating wishlist saves as equivalent to cart adds.
- Sending value without currency.
- Expecting same-session purchase from saved items.
Privacy and accuracy notes
add_to_wishlist records the saved product, not the person who saved it. The items array is catalogue data; keep account or customer identifiers out of the payload.
Related pages
- The add_to_cart event
add_to_cart is a GA4 recommended e-commerce event that fires when a visitor adds a product to the cart. It carries the items added plus currency and value. It is a strong mid-funnel intent signal — stronger than a product view — and the denominator for cart-to-checkout and cart-to-purchase analysis.
- The view_item e-commerce event
view_item is a GA4 recommended e-commerce event that fires when a visitor views a product's detail page. It carries an items array describing the product (id, name, price) plus currency and value. It sits early in the purchase funnel — between browsing a list and adding to cart — and is the foundation for product-level engagement and conversion analysis.
- E-commerce events: the funnel before purchase
E-commerce events are a recommended set that model the shopping funnel before and around purchase: view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, add_payment_info, and purchase. Each shares a common items array, so the same product schema flows through the journey. Implemented consistently, they let you see where buyers drop off — and they carry product data, never buyer identity.
- Events documentation
Track wishlist saves first-party.
Sources and verification notes
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.