zero stock-ability to notify

Retail & Point of Sale

Topic summary

Merchant seeks a way to offer pre-orders or inquiries when inventory reaches zero, rather than blocking checkout, to inform customers of restock timing or fulfill quickly.

Proposed approaches:

  • Enable “Continue Selling When Out of Stock” so customers can still purchase at zero inventory; add pre-order messaging in product descriptions to set expectations.
  • Use theme/code customization to relabel the Add to Cart button (e.g., “Preorder Now”); some themes include built-in pre-order features.
  • Use a pre-order/back-in-stock app (Early Bird) with a free plan: capture pre-orders (optional partial deposit), back-in-stock sign-ups, and back orders; optionally show both back-order and notify-me choices when sold out; bulk-send delay emails if shipments slip. The back order feature is a simpler, catalog-wide option.

Support offered: optional video call or step-by-step guidance; gathering merchant feedback for Shopify on pre-orders and partial deposits.

Status: No decision from the merchant yet; practical solutions provided. Discussion remains open.

Summarized with AI on December 14. AI used: gpt-5.
1

I run a small shop selling one type of product and the online system shows the number of items for sale that i carry until the stock number shows zero. Is there anyway to adjust the site so when the stock reaches zero instead of no sale can it offer a pre-order or enquiry to all more options for the customer.? for example , I could possibly be able to order it very quickly or inform the customer of when i could get next stock in. Currently it just doesn’t give the customer any options.

Any help would be appreciated in re- configuring my site.

2

Hi @matt_hundredrec ,

Josiah here. :waving_hand:t2: There are a few ways you can approach this.

“Continue Selling When Out of Stock”

You can enable “Continue Selling When Out of Stock” in your products’ settings, so when the stock number is zero your customers can still make a purchase. You can then add the pre-order info manually to your product descriptions to set their expectations.

You can also use some code to change the Add to Cart button to Preorder Now (there are some posts on this forum that can help you). Otherwise, you can also look into some themes out there that would have built-in pre-order functionalities.

Using a pre-order app to take care of everything for you

If you’re open to using an app to do everything above for you and more, we’re an Aussie-founded pre-order/back-in-stock app (Early Bird). Free Plan available with no commission fees to help small businesses get started.

You can take the following approaches via our app:

  • Capture pre-orders automatically when sold out; partial deposit option available
  • Capture back-in-stock notification sign-ups when sold out
  • Capture back orders when sold out
  • Capture back orders OR back-in-stock notification sign-ups when sold out (Display both options to your customers)
  • You can one-click bulk-send pre-order delayed emails to customers if your shipment is delayed.

Our Back order feature is essentially a simpler version of the pre-order campaign feature. Enable it across your entire catalog instead of setting up campaigns for advanced functionalities.

There are more features in our app, but just listing the ones that are relevant to your business.

Happy to jump on a video call or email you a step-by-step guide to walk through each of the above. :slightly_smiling_face:

PS. Would love to hear how you’re operating your shop & online store if you’re up for a chat - we’re helping Shopify gather merchant feedback on how to better support pre-orders and partial deposits at the moment. Can pass on your feedback!

Josiah

1 Like
3

Hey,

You can enable Shopify’s Continue selling when out of stock setting to allow purchases at zero inventory. Go to Products → select your product → scroll to Inventory → check Continue selling when out of stock → Save. You can also add text like “Pre-order” to the product title or description to inform customers. Here’s Shopify’s official guide.

The main limitation is that the “Add to cart” button text stays the same and you’ll need to manually update product descriptions with restock dates or availability information.

Because Shopify doesn’t automatically change the button or display restock information, an app like K1 PreOrder can automate that (I’m the founder of K1 PreOrder) with automatic button replacement when stock reaches zero, customizable button text (e.g., “Pre-order” or “Enquire”), and per-product messages showing delivery dates or restock timelines. If this is relevant, here’s the K1 PreOrder listing.

Happy to help with the Shopify settings if needed.

Best regards,
Yauheni