Hello,
I would like to add a badge or just a line that informs the customer that the item is ready to be shipped or “Ships in 1-3 business days”.
Here’s the catch - some of the variations of the products will be available for shipping immediately since they’re in my storage (lets say a pink item), and another variation will be a pre-order (blue item).
What app can I use to make those distinctions clear for the customers and make sorting products that are available and pre-order easy?
Thanks
I haven’t seen an app that does exactly this but you might take a look at https://apps.shopify.com/dynamic-variant-description?search_id=070d71c7-9b83-4bd4-bf79-c87730848db2&surface_detail=variant+status&surface_inter_position=1&surface_intra_position=10&surface_type=search
Hi,
Thank you - I will look into the app!
Hi there,
To set the right customer expectations, a clear distinction between a regular and pre-order item is necessary. The shipment time for an in-stock item could be 7-10 days, however, the delivery time for a pre-order item could be much longer.
One of my clients uses HotWax Commerce Pre-Order Management App, which helps Shopify merchants in displaying accurate pre-order product information on their eCommerce PDP by performing the following actions:
With this app, Shopify retailers can ensure that their customers always have the most up-to-date information and have a clear understanding of when they are ordering a pre-order product and their delivery timelines.
Did this work for you? I am looking for the same thing!
Hey,
The native approach: Go to Products → select your product → in Variants, toggle Continue selling when out of stock ON for the blue item (pre-order), leave OFF for pink (ready-to-ship).
For distinct labeling, create a product metafield at Settings → Custom data → Products → Add definition (e.g., “shipping_status” with values like “Ready to ship” or “Pre-order”). Add the value per variant and reference it in your description to inform customers. Shopify’s inventory docs.
Trade-off: Shopify doesn’t natively show variant-level badges or automate sorting without custom theme code.
If you need automated badges and easier variant-level control, an app like K1 PreOrder handles this (I’m the founder) with variant-level configuration, custom messages, and automated badge rendering. K1 PreOrder listing if relevant.
Happy to help with metafield setup if needed.
Best regards,
Yauheni
You can do this with REZ Preorder (I’m the cofounder btw!).
Our app works at the variant level, so in-stock variants can show the normal Add to Cart button, while preorder variants automatically show a Preorder button with a clear shipping message (e.g. “Ships in 1–3 business days” or your custom preorder date).
You can also customize the preorder button color so it’s easy for customers to distinguish it from the regular Add to Cart button.
We have a generous free plan, and paid plans start at just $4.99 if you’d like to try it. I’d be happy to help you get everything set up.
This is a common need and there are a few clean ways to handle it depending on how much flexibility you want.
For per-variant shipping badges and messaging:
Preorder Wolf handles exactly this, you can set different messaging per variant, so the pink item shows “Ships in 1-3 days” while the blue shows “Pre-order ships in X weeks.” It also manages pre-order payments and notifications cleanly.
Timesact is another strong option for the same use case. Per-variant pre-order settings, customisable badges, and mixed cart handling, so a customer can order one in-stock variant and one pre-order variant in the same transaction without issues.
For just the badge without pre-order complexity:
If you don’t need pre-order payment handling and just want the visual distinction Variant Subtitle or a simple metafield approach can add a line of text per variant that shows on the product page. Less setup, no monthly cost, but more manual to maintain.
The thing worth thinking through first:
Mixed carts where a customer adds both an in-stock and pre-order variant can create fulfilment complexity. Worth deciding upfront whether you’ll hold the in-stock item until the pre-order is ready, split the shipment, or prevent mixed carts entirely. Timesact and Preorder Wolf both have settings for this but the right choice depends on your preference.
Preorder Wolf or Timesact are the most complete solutions for your specific use case per-variant messaging, badges, and pre-order management in one app.
You don’t necessarily need an app for this. If you’re using Shopify, you can display dynamic badges like “Ready to Ship” or “Ships in 1–3 Business Days” based on inventory or product variants using theme customization or metafields.
If you prefer an app, look for one that supports variant-specific availability badges and pre-order labels. This makes it easy to show different messages for each variant and helps customers distinguish in-stock items from pre-orders.
For a lightweight badge (rather than a full pre-order app that swaps the buy button), you can do this with an availability-badge widget that reads variant stock directly.
The key is variant-level detection: a variant that’s in stock shows a “Ready to ship” badge, and one that’s out of stock but still purchasable (inventory tracked + “continue selling when out of stock” on) shows a “Pre-order” badge. Because it keys off the variant, the badge updates live when a shopper switches between your pink/blue options — pink shows Ready to ship, blue shows Pre-order, no theme code needed. For cases where stock doesn’t tell the whole story, a product tag (e.g. preorder) can force the Pre-order badge regardless of inventory.
Full disclosure: I build one of the apps that does this (PopBoost) — its Product Badge widget has a Pre-order / Ready-to-ship option that works exactly this way, and you can set the labels/colors yourself. But the approach above (variant availability → badge) is the general pattern, so any badge app that’s variant-aware will get you there. If you specifically need the Add to Cart button to change to “Pre-order” and collect pre-order timelines, that’s where the dedicated pre-order apps others mentioned (K1, REZ, etc.) go further than a badge.