gowish App Sees Record Growth - Shopping & Wish Lists

GoWish Experiences Record Growth Ahead of the 2025 Holiday Season

Despite ongoing concerns about a potential recession, the wish list and shopping application GoWish is demonstrating significant momentum. The platform is currently experiencing unprecedented user activity in anticipation of the 2025 holiday season.

This week marked a particularly successful period for the app, boasting its highest single-day performance to date. On Monday, GoWish reached the No. 2 position on the U.S. App Store rankings.

Surging User Base and Market Penetration

While previous years have shown consistent growth, 2024 has proven to be a pivotal year for GoWish. The app has effectively doubled its user base compared to the previous year.

November alone has seen hundreds of thousands of new daily users joining the platform, contributing to this substantial increase.

Currently, the app boasts nearly 6.2 million users within the United States. Furthermore, it maintains a strong presence in the U.K. with approximately 1 million users.

In its native Denmark, GoWish has achieved over 50% market penetration, with more than 3.5 million registered Danish users.

From Postal Service Initiative to Independent Tech Company

The origins of GoWish are rather unique, evolving from a humble beginning within the postal service.

Initially launched in 2015 by PostNord, the Danish-Swedish national postal service, the app was known as “Ønskeskyen” – Danish for “wish cloud.” It began as a limited-time seasonal promotion.

However, the app’s creators quickly recognized its potential for broader application and future development.

In 2020, GoWish was acquired by Dotcom Capital, a Danish venture capital firm. The firm is owned by Casper Ravn‑Sørensen, who currently serves as GoWish’s chief growth officer, alongside CEO Mads Dahlerup.

Following the acquisition, the app was restructured as an independent technology company and an international version of Ønskeskyen was created.

Casper Ravn‑Sørensen remarked to TechCrunch, “We might be the first state-founded tech platform to go global as a privately-owned scale-up.”

How the App Functions and its Business Model

GoWish allows users to create multiple wish lists tailored to themselves, family members, and friends, and for various occasions.

Products from online retailers can be easily added to these lists through URL copying, direct searches, or by browsing inspirational feeds containing millions of items.

With a single tap, users can be directed to the retailer’s website to complete a purchase.

The company has established approximately 65,000 affiliate partnerships and over 700 brand collaborations. Many brands are now integrating “GoWish” buttons directly onto their websites.

This strategy has proven successful, with GoWish reporting net profits after tax of $1.7 million in fiscal year 2024. These profits are being reinvested to fuel further growth. (The company has not disclosed its total revenue figures.)

Marketing Success and Future Plans

The company attributes its recent growth to targeted marketing campaigns across platforms like Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap.

Snap specifically highlighted GoWish as a successful partnership during its Q4 earnings call.

Ravn‑Sørensen stated, “We’re very good at optimising our marketing spends across digital platforms and that makes our global roll-out very effective.”

Future development plans include the integration of AI, though specific details remain undisclosed at this time.

Vision and Company Structure

Ravn‑Sørensen articulated the company’s mission: “We have a mission of ‘fixing gifting’,” adding that GoWish aims to fulfill “users’ dreams and wishes come true while making double-gifting and returns a thing of the past.” The app’s reservation feature prevents duplicate gifts.

Looking ahead, the company envisions becoming “the ‘global genie’ of social shopping, that can predict future consumer trends across generations.”

Based in Copenhagen, the GoWish team currently comprises 90 individuals. The company is backed by Capital D, a London-based private equity firm that acquired a one-third stake in early 2025, with the remaining ownership held by Dotcom Capital.

GoWish is accessible on both iOS and Android devices, and a Chrome extension is available for adding items to wish lists directly from a computer.