The Danish wishlist app GoWish has captured global attention after reaching No. 1 on the U.S. App Store ahead of the 2025 holiday season. On November 16, the app recorded 155,403 new downloads in the U.S. alone, climbing to the top of the overall App Store ranking the following morning.
GoWish now has over 7.23 million users in the United States and more than 15 million users worldwide. In Denmark, where the service operates under the name Ønskeskyen (“Wish Cloud”), it has gained more than 3.5 million users, achieving a remarkable penetration rate that exceeds half of the country’s population.
From State-Owned Postal Project to Global Scale-Up
GoWish originated in a rather unexpected way, diverging from the typical startup narrative. The app was first introduced in 2015 by PostNord, the Danish-Swedish national postal service, as a seasonal wishlist initiative.
In 2020, it was spun out by Danish VC Dotcom Capital, establishing the foundation for an independent product. Its international version, GoWish, launched in 2023 and quickly entered a global growth trajectory.
In early 2025, London-based investment firm Capital D acquired one-third of the company, accelerating its international expansion. Today, GoWish ranks among the top App Store apps across multiple markets—including the U.S., Norway, and Sweden—solidifying its presence as a global social shopping platform.
Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Casper Ravn-Sørensen describes the milestone: “This is not just a defining moment for GoWish, but Danish tech in general, as we become the first non-gaming app out of Denmark to hit no. 1 on the US app store.”
He continues: “Just five years ago, we spun the platform out, and to envision that we went from a state-owned Scandinavian wishlist gimmick to a global social shopping phenomenon, topping the download charts in the US, is a pretty wild origin story – and with much more to come, this is just the beginning.”
A New Model Combining Wishlists and Social Shopping
The transformation of a small public-sector digital initiative into a global platform can be attributed to strong strategic partnerships and a commitment to user-centric experience design.
GoWish allows users to easily create and share wishlists by adding products from any online retailer—via URL copy/paste, keyword search, or browsing the app’s inspiration feed.
A standout feature is its “gift reservation” function, enabling family and friends to reserve an item to prevent duplicate gifting—an especially valuable tool during the holiday season.
Ravn-Sørensen emphasizes: “We’ve built a platform that makes gifting fun, personal, and stress-free, which is perfect for the holidays.”
The team positions their mission as one that “fixes gifting,” aiming to modernize the gift experience in a digital era.
Snap Spotlights GoWish as a Success Story
GoWish’s rapid global expansion has been powered by advertising partnerships with Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap.
Snap highlighted GoWish during its Q4 earnings call, noting it was: “Outperforming other major digital platforms in cost-per-install and total installs.”
Such cost-efficient, data-driven marketing has accelerated user acquisition across global markets. Today, GoWish supports 65,000+ affiliate partners and over 700 brand partners, with further growth expected as the holiday season approaches.
Social Shopping Expands: Curated Commerce Platform ShopMy Also Surges
As wishlist- and gifting-based platforms reshape consumer behavior, another company gaining strong momentum in the same ecosystem is ShopMy, a U.S.-based curated commerce platform. The company raised $70 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in 2025, solidifying its role as a leading infrastructure for creator-driven commerce.
ShopMy now surpasses $1 billion in annual GMV, with more than 185,000 tastemakers participating globally. Over 1,200 premium brands partner with the platform, shifting away from ad-driven marketing toward value created through trusted curators and authentic taste.
CEO Harry Rein explains: “ShopMy is built on a belief in genuine value. Lasting brand equity isn’t created through ads or algorithms, but through curation and taste. Our mission is to help consumers discover and shop the world’s best products.”
This philosophy resonates deeply with GoWish’s own value system, which centers on gifting, human intention, and meaningful product discovery—rather than algorithm-driven consumption.
As brands increasingly seek to express their presence through cultural value rather than advertising spend, platforms like ShopMy and GoWish are playing a central role in redefining the commerce landscape. Their combined rise demonstrates that changes in consumer behavior are not temporary fluctuations but a structural market shift with clear direction.
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