When running an online store with Shopify, running out of stock is an unavoidable issue.
By taking steps to prevent overselling out-of-stock products, you can avoid trouble with customers, and by implementing measures such as pre-orders and restock notifications, you can turn a stockout from a lost opportunity into a business opportunity.
In this article, we'll introduce five measures you can take when a product runs out of stock on Shopify.
Stop selling when out of stock
The most basic response is to automatically stop selling a product as soon as its inventory reaches zero. In Shopify's settings, you can configure the store to display a message such as "Sold out" or "Out of stock" once the inventory count hits 0. This prevents mistaken purchases and overselling by customers, and reduces the effort required for inventory management. Handling this honestly also helps build customer trust.
How to stop selling a product when it's out of stock on Shopify
(1) Go to "Admin > Products"
(2) Click the relevant product to open its detail page
(If the product has variants, also open the detail page for each variant)
(3) Uncheck the "Continue selling when out of stock" checkbox
(4) Click "Save"
Unpublish a product when it's out of stock
Another effective approach is to completely hide out-of-stock products from your store. This avoids confusing customers and helps maintain the overall appearance of your store.
On Shopify, you can use Shopify Flow to automatically unpublish products when they go out of stock.
The blog article below explains Shopify Flow in detail. Please use it as a reference.
How to unpublish a product when it's out of stock on Shopify
(1) Open Shopify Flow
(2) Click "Create workflow"
(3) Select "Product variant out of stock" as the trigger
(4) Select "Update product status" as the action, and choose "Draft" as the status to update to
(5) Click "Turn on workflow"
The blog article below introduces Shopify apps that can hide out-of-stock products besides using Flow. Please use it as a reference.
Run pre-orders when out of stock
By accepting pre-orders for the next restock, you can turn a stockout into a sales opportunity. On Shopify, using a pre-order app lets you display a pre-order notice along with the expected restock date. This not only improves demand forecasting and inventory management efficiency, but also meets customer expectations.
How to run pre-orders on Shopify when a product is out of stock
You can achieve this by choosing a pre-order app that lets you set inventory conditions for running pre-orders.
"RuffRuff 予約販売" is a pre-order app recommended for stores in Japan.
RuffRuff 予約販売 lets you run pre-orders when a product is out of stock, and it also supports a variety of other pre-order setups, such as running pre-orders for a limited time or limiting purchases to one per customer.
The page below is a demo product using the popular Shopify app "RuffRuff 予約販売" to run a pre-order when the item is out of stock. Please check out how it actually works.
The blog article below introduces recommended Shopify apps for running pre-orders on Shopify. Please use it as a reference.
Show a restock notification form when out of stock
On Shopify, using a restock notification app lets you add an email signup form on out-of-stock product pages for customers who want to be notified when the item is restocked. By automatically sending a notification email when the item is restocked, you can avoid losing potential customers while also building your email list.
The blog article below introduces recommended restock notification apps for Shopify. Please use it as a reference.
Get notified when out of stock
It's also important to set up automatic notifications so store admins can immediately know when a product goes out of stock. On Shopify, you can configure automatic notifications to admins via email, SMS, or app notifications whenever a stockout occurs. This allows for prompt restocking and countermeasures, minimizing lost business opportunities.
How to get email notifications when out of stock on Shopify
Using Shopify Flow, you can receive an email notification triggered by a stockout.
(1) Open Shopify Flow
(2) Click "Create workflow"
(3) Select "Product variant out of stock" as the trigger
(4) Select "Send internal email" as the action
(5) Enter the email address, subject, and body of the notification you want to receive ※ By using the variable {{productVariant.title}}, you can include the title of the out-of-stock product in the email. You can also include various other pieces of information in the email via "Add variable."
(6) Click "Turn on workflow"
How to receive a once-daily summary email of out-of-stock products
The Flow setup described above sends an email notification each time a product goes out of stock. This can result in a lot of notifications.
Flow templates also include one that sends a once-daily summary email of out-of-stock products, so consider using that template as well.
You can find it by searching "Send daily email summary with out of stock products" in the template list.
How to get an email notification when inventory is running low
You can also take measures to prevent a stockout from happening in the first place by receiving a notification when inventory is running low, and placing an order for the relevant product in advance.
Flow templates also include one that sends an email notification when the inventory count falls below a specified number, so consider using that template as well.
You can find it by searching "Get notified by email when product variant inventory is low" in the template list.
Conclusion
When running an online store on Shopify, stockouts are an unavoidable challenge. Rather than treating a stockout as merely a problem, viewing it as an opportunity for business improvement and continuing to make efforts to meet customer needs will lead to long-term success. Make the most of Shopify's features to achieve effective inventory management.
Finally, the blog article below introduces recommended Shopify apps that can help boost sales and streamline operations, beyond Shopify Flow, pre-order apps, and restock notification apps. Please use it as a reference.
