SERVICES FOR INCREASING THE UTILITY OF ELECTRONIC WISH LISTS

A computer-implemented service, provided in association with a browsable electronic catalog, automatically notifies a user when an item being accessed in the catalog is on an electronic wish list of an “affiliated” user. The affiliations may be created explicitly by the users (e.g., by completing an online form), and/or implicitly based on actions performed by the users (e.g., an affiliation is automatically created between two users when one purchases a gift for the other). In a web based embodiment, the notifications are presented by supplementing web pages, such as product detail pages, associated with particular catalog items. In some embodiments, users are also notified when the viewed items are merely similar to items on the wish lists of their affiliates. Also disclosed are services for reminding or notifying users of events associated with their affiliates, and for including within these reminders links to the associated wish lists.