Hey there Shopify Community!
I am hoping to tap into the brilliance in this community and garner some recommendations on robust solutions and workflows to achieve these outcomes. I’ll also include what options I’ve explored to frame if I’m on the right track. Worth noting: This merchant cannot afford Shopify Plus, so Shopify Scripts won’t be available.
1. Product Questionnaire
Goal: improve the collection of product requests during checkout.
90% of the products sold on this website will have a series of questions that would streamline order fulfillment for this merchant. It would be nice to also have a few additional questions appear (as exampled below). These questions would ideally be answered on the product or cart page(s).
- Do you need A? [Y/N]
- Do you need B? [Y/N]
- Do you need C? [Y/N]
- [if yes] What type(s) of C do you prefer?
- Which C’s do you dislike?
- Will you be doing D?
Would the use of the Infinite Options app be the best course to take?
2. Product Information
Goal: in the search bar and product pages, clearly display “in-stock” and “preorder” so customers’ expectations are clearly maintained.
This site uses theme template PIPELINE, CLEAN by Groupthought. I’ve added a third-party app called: “Pre‑Order Now WOD” which sets products that reach an inventory quantity of 0 to preorder. However, to have preorder products be labeled as preorder in the search bar (natively by the template) there is a metafield switch that must be set to TRUE under the product. We would like to have that automatically switch to TRUE when the inventory reaches 0. Here’s some short documentation about how app integrations and the pre-order series has worked with the template: https://pipeline.groupthought.com/apps/app-integration
- How might it be possible to connect the preorder app to the metafield switch automatically?
3. Custom Shipping Profiles
Goal: allow customers to determine how they want preorders shipped. We have standardized shipping that applies to each order sent out ($7 for canvases / $12 for bags). If a customer orders product that ships for $12, any $7 item will fit inside and therefore should not be charged the extra $7. Customers who wish to be sent preorder items as they come in, will need to be charged $7/12 per order.
When a customer places an order, products have one of two shipping fees assigned (FLAT RATE = $7 / BULKY = $12) This fee is charged for each shipment.
Here’s the breakdown (For the purposes of the breakdown, I will reference only the $7 shipping charge):
- If a customer orders only in-stock items, we can ship the entire order immediately for a flat fee of $7.
- If a customer orders only preorder items and wants them shipped together once they become available, the shipping cost remains $7.
- If a customer orders a mix of in-stock and preorder items and requests separate shipments (in-stock items now and preorder items later), the shipping cost increases to $14. This covers the $7 fee for each shipment.
- If a customer orders multiple preorder items and elects to have them sent ‘as they become available.’ We must collect $7 for each shipment. (We do not have accurate estimates on when preorders will be ready for shipment, but if two arrive at the same time, we’d send them out together and refund one shipping charge).
- ~ If a customer orders a “bulky” item that has a $12 shipping fee associated and a ‘flat rate’ item with $7 — and both are shipping together — we would ship the $7 item in the same box as the $12 and save the customer the additional $7 fee. This should be reflected in the shipping quote at checkout.
Some customers prefer that we hold onto their entire order until all preorder items are ready, allowing for a single shipping charge. Other customers prefer the shipping to be split into multiple orders.
The solution I am seeking aims to reduce customer friction by capturing their shipping preferences during the checkout process and avoids stacking $7 & $12 shipments (sent together). I need a way to include this step in the cart to accommodate their preferences.
Thank you so much! 