Feature Request - Improved Backorder Management

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A user requests enhanced backorder management features in Shopify, noting that current functionality only shows inventory status on product pages. Once items are added to cart, there are no backorder indicators throughout the purchase flow or in admin panels.

Requested features include:

  • Display backorder status for line items in both admin and customer order views
  • Show backorder notifications in cart and checkout pages
  • Add customizable backorder messages (e.g., lead times) via tooltips or hover states
  • Include backorder details in order confirmation emails, potentially with a dedicated template

Workaround shared:
Another user describes a theme-based solution they implemented:

  • Use JavaScript to detect backorder state by comparing cart quantity to inventory quantity
  • Save backorder status as a line item property
  • Modify cart templates to display backorder warnings from theme settings
  • Create conditional blocks in order confirmation templates

This solution focuses on front-end user experience but doesn’t include backend order flagging via webhooks. The discussion remains open with no official Shopify response.

Summarized with AI on October 27. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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Improve Management of Backorders in Shopify

Currently backorders are limited to the in stock/inventory status of the product page. Once a customer adds to cart there are no further indicators that an item is on backorder. Not in the cart, checkout or order confirmation emails. Also in the Shopify admin there is no indicator to staff than order is on backorder or which line items are affected.

Key Features To Add1. In the admin and customer order view show which line items are on Backorder.

  1. Add Product Backorder note in the cart and checkout (similar to the subscription or discount functionality).
  2. Option to add backorder details displayed on hover via a tooltip etc. Store default backorder message, Example: This item is made to order with a lead time of up to 10 working days.
  3. Email order confirmations include backorder details for each line item. Possibly add a separate order email template for orders containing backorders.
1 Like
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Just did the same for client last month. Here is how we did that

  1. Detect backorderState using javascript , if (cartQty > inventoryQty) then save backorder: true as line item property.

  2. Modify cart.liquid / cart-items.liquid to display the backorder warning which is saved as block in settings_schema.json

  3. create a custom conditional block in order-confirmation.liquid with the same logic

But we omitted the part where the order is flagged as backorder using orders/create webhook
what we implemented was mostly theme dependent and focused on enhancing the user experience layer.