Goal: Show variant-specific delivery messages—“In stock, ordered before 15:30, delivery tomorrow” vs. “Delivered in 3–10 workdays”—based on whether a size is in stock. Images illustrate the desired messaging.
Solution adopted: Recommendation to use the BackStock app for item-specific ship dates. The store tried it and confirmed it works.
Platform constraints: Shopify lacks a built-in, dynamic way to change delivery messages per variant in real time. Static text in product descriptions won’t auto-update when inventory changes.
Alternatives:
Theme code customization (main-product.liquid) to check variant inventory and display conditional messages. Requires coding and ongoing maintenance.
App-based automation (e.g., K1 PreOrder) that evaluates variant-level inventory, supports thresholds, custom rules/messages, and dynamic metafields (store data fields) for product-specific dates.
Trade-offs: Custom code is free but manual; apps add subscription cost but automate updates.
Status: Resolved for the original request via BackStock; broader implementation options and trade-offs are noted for others.
At our store we’re selling products with different sizes. We don’t have the capacity to have every size in stock. So what would like to have is the following option.
When a client selects for example a size 38 which is in stock: there will be a message like the one on picture 1. Saying “In stock, ordered before 15:30, delivery tomorrow.” If not in stock I would like to get a message of a back order, saying delivered in 3-10 workdays, like picture 2. Is this possible in Shopify and anyone who can help me?
There is an app called BackStock that allows you to effectively communicate out-of-stock sales with item-specific ship dates. Which I think will suit your needs.
If you are looking for more specific features, I’d suggest looking into hiring a Shopify expert to create a custom-coded app solution at an affordable rate.
If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know.
Just to add for the community, Shopify doesn’t have a built-in way to display different delivery messages based on real-time inventory levels per variant. You can add static text to product descriptions, but they won’t update automatically when stock changes. You’d need to edit your theme code (usually main-product.liquid in Online Store → Themes → Edit code) to check variant inventory and show conditional messages.
Alternately, an app like K1 PreOrder can automate this (I’m the founder). It handles variant-level inventory evaluation and shows different messages based on stock status—you can set thresholds to trigger your back-order message, create custom messages per rule (like “In stock, ordered before 15:30, delivery tomorrow” vs “Delivered in 3-10 workdays”), and use dynamic metafields for product-specific dates. Here’s the K1 PreOrder listing.
The trade-off: theme customization is free but requires coding and ongoing maintenance when stock changes; an app automates everything but adds a subscription cost.
Happy to help with theme customization if needed.
