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4 Ways Back in Stock Emails Increase Sales for Your Shopify Store

4 minutes read

Back-in-stock notifications are emails that let customers know when a product they want to buy is available again. Let’s dive into the basics of how back-in-stock notifications work and how these emails help increase sales for your Shopify store.

How back in stock notifications work

Back in Stock email notifications sends out-of-stock messages of products from your Shopify store. When customers add an unavailable item to their cart and check out, the Back in Stock function adds them to a waitlist for that specific variant. Customers receive email notifications any time a new waitlist is created or an item comes back in stock.

When a product becomes available again, these emails will go out automatically with no further action needed on your end.

Why should you use it?

Back-in-stock emails not only keep shoppers coming back for more but also help encourage impulse buys by sending reminders about items left behind during checkout (abandoned cart emails). The latter feature includes personalized recommendations based on products browsed by each customer and can be customized with advanced settings like segmentation, multi-language support, coupon codes for incentive campaigns, and more!

According to a study by Retail Dive, out-of-stock items account for 20% of eCommerce sales. Of those sales, an estimated 3% can be attributed to back-in-stock emails. If you sell products that are often out of stock, back-in-stock emails could be a huge boost for your business.

Back-in-stock emails work because people want what they can’t have. When someone lands on your site and sees the item they were looking for is unavailable, it creates a sense of urgency (i.e., “I need this now!”). That’s where back-in-stock emails come in. Most shoppers will simply give up when they see the item is out of stock, but offering an email makes them aware that it will be available again soon (along with a CTA to remind them to buy as soon as it is).


Here are the 5 ways back-in-stock emails can help boost your bottom line:

  1. Increased Sales

When a customer buys an item that’s out of stock at the time of their purchase, they’re likely going to be disappointed that they won’t be getting it right away. If you can use this moment as an opportunity to offer something else from your store, however—maybe something similar or complimentary—you’ll likely see those customers return for an additional purchase once the item comes back into stock again! And if not? Well then at least you’ve given them a reason to come back later! That’s always a win!

  1. Increased order value.

This first one is a no-brainer. By sending back-in-stock alerts to your customers about items that go out of stock, you can make sure you don’t lose their business. The customer will get an email when their favorite product is back on the market, so there’s no excuse for them not to buy it.

  1. Increased Loyalty

If you want your customers to keep coming back, then they must understand how much you care about them. By letting them know when their favorite products are available again, you are telling them “Hey, I know what you like and I’m willing to help you get it.” This makes the customer feel understood, which means they’re more likely to come back in the future because they know that you do care about them as an individual.

  1. Increased Customer Retention

If a customer has an item in their cart but they don’t complete the order, these emails are a great way of keeping them engaged and are also great for increasing customer retention. The more times you reach out to your customers and make it a personalized experience the more they are likely to return. If someone finds a product they love, but it’s out of stock—you’ve lost that sale. You can keep them interested by sending back-in-stock emails, especially if you have limited edition items. They’ll remember that item and be ready to buy it next time you restock.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that you’ll want to send an email every time one of your products goes back in stock. But sending a follow-up email after a few days (or weeks), even if the item is still in stock, can help boost your AOV. After all, when a customer sees something they like, they might decide to buy more than one product from you as well. By using back-in-stock notifications and subsequent follow-up emails, you can increase sales for your Shopify store and boost your average order value.

Back-in-stock emails used creatively can be one of the most effective strategies for stores to enhance sales and profitability. You may optimize your revenue from each sale by combining this tactic with additional ways such as introducing new items or giving shipping specials. It doesn’t take much to send a quick email informing shoppers that you have something in stock that they might be interested in—and it’s likely to lead to more sales for your store in the long term.

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