During a recent product planning session with a fashion accessory brand, we were debating which new colorway to develop next. The merchandise team had their preferences, but I suggested we look somewhere unexpected—their waitlist data.

What we found changed everything.

Their waitlist metrics revealed that a discontinued leather color had accumulated over 1,200 waitlist signups in just two months. Meanwhile, their planned new colors had minimal search interest or wishlist additions.

This isn't an isolated case. Your waitlist contains invaluable product intelligence that can reshape your development roadmap.

Here's how forward-thinking brands are using waitlist analytics:

Identifying Hidden Demand

For one home decor client, we discovered their "limited edition" holiday items had accumulated enough waitlist requests to justify making them permanent collection pieces—a move that generated an additional $240,000 in annual revenue.

Size/Variant Optimization

A clothing retailer consistently ran out of certain sizes while overproducing others. Waitlist analysis revealed:

• 42% of all waitlist signups were for size XL
• Only 15% of their inventory was allocated to XL sizes

Adjusting this mismatch increased their sell-through rate by 27%.

Seasonal Planning Refinement

By tracking waitlist signup timing, we helped another merchant identify demand patterns:

• Winter items garnered significant waitlist interest in early fall (earlier than expected)
• Summer accessories peaked in April (a full month before their planned marketing push)

This insight allowed them to adjust their purchasing calendar to better align with actual customer interest.

Discontinuation Decisions

Perhaps most valuable—waitlist data provides objective feedback on product discontinuation decisions:

• Low waitlist interest validates discontinuation
• High waitlist demand signals reconsideration

One client reversed their decision to discontinue a product line after seeing consistent waitlist growth despite zero marketing.

The key is establishing systems that make waitlist data accessible to product teams, not just marketers or customer service. When integrated into product planning workflows, this customer-generated data often contradicts internal assumptions in surprising ways.

How are you currently incorporating waitlist data into your product development decisions? It may be the most direct customer feedback you're not fully utilizing.