Set up Back in Stock notifications so customers can request alerts on out-of-stock products and get notified the moment you restock. Covers activation, channel selection, and how to test your setup end to end.
Before you start
You need:
The Notify Me! App Embed activated in your Shopify theme. If you haven't done this yet, follow Activate the Notify Me! App Embed in your Shopify theme before continuing.
At least one out-of-stock product with the right Shopify settings. To make a product eligible:
Inventory tracking is on.
Quantity is set to 0 or less.
Continue selling when out of stock is turned off.
If you want to show the Notify me button on products that allow pre-orders (Continue selling on), enable Show the "Notify me" button on pre-order product pages inside Back in Stock settings.
How Back in Stock works
When a customer visits an eligible out-of-stock product, Notify Me! adds a Notify me button below the Sold Out indicator. The customer enters their email, phone number, or both, and picks how they want to be notified (Email, SMS, Push). The moment you restock the product in Shopify, Notify Me! sends the notification automatically.
You can see every active Request at Back in stock → Requests, and every sent notification at Back in stock → Sent notifications.
Activate Back in Stock
In Notify Me!, navigate to Dashboard or Back in stock.
Confirm the status badge reads Active. If it reads Inactive, click Activate.
Choose your channels
Back in Stock supports four channels: Email, SMS, and Push. You can enable any combination.
In Notify Me!, go to Back in stock settings.
Under Notification status, choose the channels you want to send through.
Click Save.
SMS and WhatsApp have per-message costs that vary by country. See How SMS usage is billed and How WhatsApp usage is billed for the current rates.
Test your setup end to end
Run through a real test before customers find your store. This catches misconfigurations before they cost you a sale.
Open an eligible out-of-stock product on your storefront in an incognito tab.
Click Notify me.
In the subscription form, enter a test email or phone number.
Pick the channel you want to be notified through and submit.
In Notify Me!, go to Back in stock → Requests and confirm your test Request appears.
In Shopify admin, update the product's inventory to 1 or more to simulate a restock.
Wait a few seconds, then check the test inbox or phone for the alert.
Back in Notify Me!, go to Back in stock → Sent notifications to confirm the notification sent.
During the trial plan, you can send up to 50 email notifications and 5 SMS notifications per day. These limits reset every 24 hours.
Customize the widget and notifications
Once your setup works end to end, you can match the look and copy to your brand. The default styles work out of the box, so this step is optional.
Tips and best practices
Test with a real product, not a placeholder.
The widget only appears when product conditions are met, and a real product surfaces edge cases (variants, multiple locations, theme conflicts) that a placeholder won't.Enable more than one channel.
Customers who give you both email and phone are more likely to receive and act on the alert. Most stores see best results with Email plus SMS turned on.Set a minimum inventory threshold.
Sending an alert for a single-unit restock can create disappointed customers when the product sells out again immediately. See Set Minimum Inventory Thresholds.Migrate existing waitlists in.
If you're switching from another back-in-stock tool, you can import existing subscribers from CSV. See How do I import my existing Back in Stock subscribers.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't the Notify me button showing on my sold-out product?
Check the three product conditions: inventory tracking on, quantity at 0 or less, and "Continue selling when out of stock" turned off. Also confirm the Notify Me! App Embed is activated in your theme. See Notify Me Button Not Showing on Sold-Out Products for the full troubleshooting flow.
When do notifications send after I restock?
Notifications send automatically when the product's inventory rises to your minimum threshold (1 by default). You can change the threshold and the delivery policy in Back in Stock settings. See Advanced Notification Settings.
Can I send a back-in-stock alert manually instead of waiting for the auto-trigger?
Yes. Open the Request and click Manually Send. See How to Manually Send Back-in-Stock Notifications.
What happens if the same customer requests the same product more than once?
Notify Me! deduplicates Requests by contact point per product, so the customer only gets one alert per restock.
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