Author: Eliza

Prefer a video? Click here to watch Oli explain your options when products sell out of stock.

Every out-of-stock product on your Shopify store is a sale walking out the door. The fix isn’t a “notify me” form. It’s letting shoppers commit and pay (or reserve) right now via a pre-order. That’s what PreProduct does: it swaps the greyed-out “Sold Out” button for a pre-order button so demand converts instead of bouncing to a competitor.

This is what happens by default when products go out of stock on Shopify. And it costs more than you think. According to industry research, 69% of online shoppers will abandon a purchase entirely and shop with a competitor when they encounter an out-of-stock item. For first-time visitors, the damage is even worse: 42% are unlikely to return after hitting a stockout.

But a product going out of stock doesn’t have to mean lost revenue. Stockouts are increasingly common across popular product categories, and there are several ways to handle them, from quick settings changes to revenue-preserving strategies like pre-orders and back-in-stock notifications. The right approach depends on your situation: whether the product is coming back, how long restocking takes and how you want to manage customer expectations.

This guide walks through every option available to Shopify merchants.

Why Does My Shopify Store Say “Sold Out”?

Before jumping into strategies, it’s worth understanding why a product shows as sold out on Shopify in the first place. Sometimes it’s expected (inventory genuinely hit zero). Other times it’s a settings issue that’s costing you sales unnecessarily. (If you’re specifically wrestling with the “Sold Out” badge rather than the underlying inventory question, our companion guide on sold out products on Shopify walks through what to do at the product page itself.)

Here are the most common causes:

Inventory genuinely reached zero. This is the straightforward one. Shopify tracks inventory quantities, and when a product or variant drops to zero, the buy button is replaced with “Sold Out.” This is default Shopify behaviour and it’s working as intended.

Inventory tracking is misconfigured. If “Track quantity” is turned on but no inventory count was entered, the product defaults to zero. This catches merchants who add new products without setting initial stock levels. Check the Inventory section of your product in Shopify admin and make sure quantities are correct.

Multi-location inventory confusion. If you use multiple inventory locations in Shopify (warehouse, retail store, 3PL), a product can show as sold out if the location assigned to your online store has zero stock, even if other locations have plenty. Verify that the right location is stocked and assigned.

Variant-level stock issues. A product with multiple variants (sizes, colours) can appear partially or fully sold out if individual variants hit zero. One variant at zero stock won’t necessarily make the whole product unavailable, but it can confuse customers if the default-selected variant is the one that’s out of stock.

Sync problems with third-party apps. If you use a 3PL, ERP or multi-channel selling tool, inventory syncs can lag or fail. This is a common frustration in Shopify community forums, with merchants posting about products showing “Sold Out” despite having stock on hand. If this is happening, check your integration settings and sync logs.

Once you’ve ruled out (or fixed) technical issues, the next question is: what do you do when a product is legitimately out of stock?

The Shopify “Continue Selling When Out of Stock” Setting

Shopify has a built-in setting that lets you keep accepting orders even when inventory drops to zero. It’s a checkbox labelled “Continue selling when out of stock” in the Inventory section of any product or variant.

How to enable it:

1. Go to Products in your Shopify admin
2. Click into the product you want to update
3. Scroll to the Inventory section (or click into a specific variant)
4. Check “Continue selling when out of stock”
5. Save

Once enabled, the buy button stays active regardless of inventory count. Customers can purchase even when stock is at zero or negative.

When this makes sense:

• You have confirmed restock coming soon (within days)
• You’re running a made-to-order or build-to-order model
• You’re pairing it with a pre-order app that manages expectations
• You have a reliable supply chain with short lead times

When it gets risky:

This setting is not a “set and forget” solution. The biggest risk is customer expectations. If someone buys a product expecting normal shipping and then discovers it won’t ship for weeks, you’ll get support tickets, refund requests and potentially chargebacks.

Without clear messaging on the product page, at checkout and in order confirmation emails, enabling this checkbox alone can create more problems than it solves. If you’re going to use it, pair it with one of the strategies below.

Five Strategies for Out-of-Stock Products on Shopify

There’s no single right answer for every stockout. The best approach depends on whether the product is coming back, how long restocking takes and what kind of customer experience you want to deliver. Here are five options.

1. Take pre-orders

Pre-orders let you keep accepting orders for out-of-stock products with full transparency about when they’ll ship. Instead of hiding the product or blocking purchases, you give customers the option to buy now and receive the product later.

This is the most revenue-positive approach for products that are definitely coming back.

A pre-order app like PreProduct replaces your standard “Add to Cart” button with a pre-order button when a product is out of stock. It manages customer expectations through customisable front-end messaging, email updates and customer portals.

Payment flexibility matters here. Not every pre-order needs to charge upfront. Depending on your situation, you can:

• Charge upfront: Collect full payment now. Best for short lead times where you know the product will ship soon.
• Charge later: Vault the customer’s card and charge when stock arrives. Good for longer lead times where you want to reduce refund risk.
• Take a deposit: Collect a percentage upfront and charge the balance later. Useful for higher-ticket items where you want commitment without asking for the full amount.

Pre-orders also give you valuable demand data. If 200 people pre-order a product, you have a much clearer picture of how much inventory to order than if you just showed a “Sold Out” badge and guessed.

Best for: Products being restocked, new launches, seasonal items coming back, made-to-order products.

2. Set up Shopify out of stock notifications

If you’re not sure when a product will be available again (or don’t want to commit to a timeline), back-in-stock notifications let customers sign up to be alerted when the product returns.

This typically involves adding a “Notify Me” or “Email Me When Available” button to sold-out product pages. When the product is restocked, subscribed customers receive an email or SMS notification.

The main advantage is low risk. You’re not taking payment or making a fulfilment promise. You’re just collecting intent signals.

The downside is that you’re not capturing revenue. The customer leaves your store without buying, and there’s no guarantee they’ll come back when notified. Open rates on back-in-stock emails can be strong, but conversion rates vary widely depending on how long the customer has been waiting and whether they found an alternative.

Best for: Uncertain restock timelines, products that may or may not return, lower-ticket items where pre-orders feel excessive.

3. Hide out-of-stock products or push them down

Rather than showing customers products they can’t buy, some merchants prefer to hide out of stock products on Shopify or de-prioritise sold-out items. There are a few ways to do this.

Smart collections filtering. You can set up a smart collection with the condition “Inventory stock is greater than 0” to automatically exclude out-of-stock products from collection pages. This keeps your browsing experience clean.

Shopify’s “unlisted” status. Introduced in late 2025, you can set a product status to “Unlisted.” The product won’t appear in your storefront search or collection pages, but the URL remains accessible. This is useful for SEO because search engines can still crawl and index the page.

Push-down apps. Several Shopify apps (like Nada or StockIQ) automatically move sold-out products to the bottom of collection pages rather than hiding them entirely. This keeps the page live for SEO while improving the browsing experience.

A word of caution on hiding products: If you unpublish or delete a product page, you risk losing any SEO value that page has built up, including backlinks, indexed pages and ranking signals. More on this in the SEO section below.

Best for: Large catalogues where browsing experience matters, seasonal products that won’t return for months, discontinued items.

4. Recommend alternative products

When a product is out of stock, don’t let the customer hit a dead end. Use the sold-out product page as a jumping-off point to suggest similar items they might want instead.

You can do this with:

• Shopify’s built-in product recommendations (based on purchase patterns and product descriptions)
• Manual “You might also like” sections using related products
• App-powered recommendations that use browsing behaviour and purchase history

This is especially effective for stores with large catalogues where multiple products can fill a similar need. A customer looking for a specific colour of t-shirt might happily buy a different colour if it’s presented well.

Best for: Large catalogues with substitutable products, discontinued items with successors, fashion and lifestyle brands with range depth.

5. Show estimated restock dates

Sometimes the simplest approach is the most effective: tell customers when the product will be back.

Adding an estimated restock date to the product page (“Expected back in stock: March 15”) sets clear expectations. Customers can decide whether to wait, sign up for a notification or look elsewhere.

This works particularly well when paired with pre-orders. Instead of just showing a date, you can let customers place a pre-order with the restock date displayed prominently. That way they know exactly when to expect delivery.

Best for: Products with predictable restock timelines, brands that prioritise transparency, items with consistent demand.

Which Out-of-Stock Strategy Should You Use?

The right approach depends on a few factors. Here’s a quick decision framework:

In practice, many stores combine strategies. For example, you might take pre-orders for your best-sellers while hiding lower-priority out-of-stock products and showing alternatives for discontinued items.

How Out-of-Stock Pages Affect Your Shopify SEO

How you handle out-of-stock products has real SEO implications. Get it wrong and you can lose rankings, traffic and link equity that took months to build.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

Don’t delete product pages that have backlinks or organic traffic. If a product page has earned backlinks from other websites, or ranks for any keywords in Google, deleting it creates a 404 error and throws away that SEO value. Even if the product is gone, the page still carries weight.

Use 301 redirects for permanently discontinued products. If a product is never coming back, set up a 301 redirect to the most relevant alternative: a similar product, the parent collection page, or a newer version. Avoid redirecting everything to your homepage. Google treats homepage redirects as “soft 404s,” which means you still lose the SEO value.

Keep temporarily out-of-stock pages live. If the product is coming back, leave the page active. You can update the product description to reflect availability (adding a pre-order option, a notification sign-up, or an expected restock date) while keeping the URL indexed and ranking.

Use availability schema markup. Shopify themes generally include product structured data, but make sure the availability status is accurate. Setting it to “PreOrder” or “BackOrder” (rather than just “OutOfStock”) tells Google the product is still purchasable, which can help maintain visibility in search results and Google Shopping.

Consider Shopify’s “unlisted” status for seasonal products. If you want to remove a product from your storefront without affecting its SEO, “unlisted” keeps the URL live and crawlable while hiding it from your store’s search and collection pages.

Automate with Shopify Flow. If you’re managing a large catalogue, manually updating product statuses is tedious. Shopify Flow can automate actions like tagging products when inventory hits zero, hiding them from collections and republishing when stock is added back.

Preventing Out of Stock on Shopify in the First Place

The best out-of-stock strategy is not needing one. While stockouts happen to every Shopify store eventually, there are ways to reduce their frequency.

Track inventory levels and set low-stock alerts. Shopify lets you set up notifications when inventory drops below a threshold. Use these to trigger reorder processes before stock actually runs out.

Use pre-orders to gauge demand before committing to inventory. One of the biggest advantages of pre-orders is demand validation. If you’re launching a new product or restocking, taking pre-orders first tells you exactly how much inventory to order. This reduces the risk of overstocking (and the discounting that follows) while ensuring you don’t run out.

Diversify suppliers for best-sellers. If a single supplier has issues, your top products go out of stock. Having backup suppliers or manufacturers reduces this risk, even if the cost per unit is slightly higher.

Build safety stock buffers for high-velocity SKUs. Safety stock is extra inventory held as a buffer against unexpected demand spikes or supply delays. For your highest-selling products, maintaining even a small buffer can prevent the revenue loss that comes with a stockout.

Forecast demand using historical data. Look at your sales trends, seasonality and marketing calendar to anticipate demand. If you’re running a promotion that drives a traffic spike, make sure your top products have enough inventory to handle it.

Wrapping Up

Products going out of stock on Shopify is inevitable. What matters is how you handle it.

If the product is coming back, pre-orders are the most effective way to keep capturing revenue while being transparent with customers. If you’re not sure about restocking, back-in-stock notifications collect interest without commitment. For discontinued products, clean redirects and product recommendations keep your SEO intact and your customers engaged.

The key is matching the strategy to the situation rather than defaulting to a “Sold Out” badge and hoping customers come back later. In most cases, they won’t.

Whatever approach you choose, clear communication is what separates a good out of stock experience on Shopify from a frustrating one. Tell customers what’s happening, when to expect the product, and what their options are. That transparency builds trust, even when the product isn’t available yet.

Ready to turn stockouts into pre-orders? Start taking pre-orders on Shopify with PreProduct and keep selling even when inventory hits zero.

Pre-sell With PreProduct

7 day free trial with all plans

Prefer to watch a video? Click here to see Oli explain how pre-orders work on Shopify.

Pre-orders let customers buy products before they’re available to ship. It’s a simple concept, but the mechanics behind how pre-orders work can vary depending on the payment model, the platform and the type of product being sold.

At PreProduct, we’ve processed over $85 million in pre-order sales across more than 1 million orders. That dataset gives us a clear picture of how pre-orders actually work in ecommerce, who uses them, what payment models perform best and how long customers are willing to wait.

This guide breaks down how pre-orders work from both sides of the transaction. Whether you’re a customer wondering what happens when you pre-order something or a merchant exploring whether pre-orders make sense for your store, this covers everything you need to know.

What Does Pre-Order Mean?

So what does pre-order mean exactly? The pre-order meaning is straightforward: it’s an order placed for a product that isn’t yet available or in stock. The customer commits to buying the item, and the merchant commits to delivering it once it’s ready.

Pre-orders are common across ecommerce, not just gaming and entertainment. According to data from 1 million+ pre-orders processed through PreProduct, the top industries using pre-orders are apparel (16.7%) and beauty and fitness (13.9%). Fashion brands, tech companies, beauty labels and food producers all use pre-orders to take orders before stock arrives.

It’s worth noting the differences between related concepts. A pre-order is for a product that’s coming soon or being restocked. A backorder is for a product that’s already listed but temporarily out of stock. A waitlist collects interest without any purchase commitment. Each serves a different purpose, and you can read our full breakdown of pre-orders vs backorders vs waitlists for more detail.

How Pre-Orders Work Step by Step

Understanding how pre-ordering works is easier when you see the full process laid out. The pre-order flow follows a straightforward path, whether you’re selling on Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or any other platform.

1. The merchant lists a product for pre-order.
This could be an upcoming launch, a restock of a sold-out item or a made-to-order product. A pre-order app or tool replaces the standard “add to cart” button with a pre-order button and displays companion wording like estimated shipping dates or payment terms.

2. The customer places a pre-order.
They browse the product page, see the pre-order terms and click to buy. The checkout experience is similar to a regular purchase, with any pre-order-specific details (like estimated shipping dates) shown before they confirm.

3. Payment is collected.
This is where pre-orders diverge from regular orders. Depending on the merchant’s setup, the customer might be charged immediately, later when the product ships, or asked to pay a deposit upfront. We’ll cover the payment models in detail below.

4. The merchant communicates updates.
Good pre-order experiences depend on communication. Merchants keep customers informed about production progress, shipping timelines and any changes to the expected delivery date.

5. Stock arrives and the merchant fulfils orders.
Once stock is in hand, the merchant processes the pre-orders. If payment was deferred, charges are triggered at this stage. Fulfilment holds are released, and orders flow through to shipping.

6. The customer receives their product.
The pre-order is complete. From the customer’s perspective, the main difference between a pre-order vs a regular order is the wait, which can range from a few days to several months.

That’s how pre-ordering works at a high level. However, the payment step is where things get interesting.

How Do You Pay for a Pre-Order?

One of the most common questions about how pre-orders work is whether you pay for pre-orders immediately. The answer depends on the payment model the merchant uses.

Based on data from over 1 million pre-orders, here are the four main payment models and how often merchants use them:

Charge-later (43.8% of listings)
The most popular model on PreProduct (Shopify and BigCommerce). The customer’s card is vaulted (saved securely) at checkout, but they’re not charged until the product is ready to ship. This gives customers confidence that they won’t pay for something that isn’t ready, while still letting the merchant secure the order.

Capture-only / payment link (28.7% of listings)
The merchant collects the customer’s payment intent and sends a payment link when the product is ready. This works well for merchants who want to avoid holding customer payment details for extended periods.

Charge-upfront (14.9% of listings)
The customer pays the full price at checkout, just like a regular order. The merchant gets immediate cash flow, but takes on more responsibility to deliver on time. This model works best when the product is close to shipping.

Deposit-upfront (12.6% of listings)
The customer pays a partial amount (the deposit) at checkout, with the balance collected later. This strikes a balance between securing commitment and reducing risk for the customer. It’s popular for higher-ticket items where paying the full amount months in advance feels like a bigger ask. Learn more about how deposit pre-orders on Shopify work.

Each model suits different situations. Short lead times pair well with charge-upfront. Longer waits tend to favour charge-later or deposits. For a deeper comparison, see our pre-order payment models guide.

Why Do Merchants Offer Pre-Orders?

Merchants run pre-orders for practical reasons, not just to build hype. Here’s what drives them:

Take orders and revenue sooner. You don’t have to wait until stock is sitting in your warehouse to start selling. Pre-orders let you capture demand as soon as a product is announced or listed, whether it’s a brand new launch or a restock of something that sold out.

Validate demand before committing to inventory. Pre-orders give you real purchase data for demand forecasting, not just interest or email signups. If 500 people place pre-orders for a new product, you know exactly how much to manufacture. This reduces the risk of overproducing and having to discount or write off unsold stock.

Improve cash flow. With charge-upfront or deposit models, revenue starts coming in before you’ve paid for manufacturing or shipping. That cash can fund the production run itself, which is why pre-orders are especially popular with smaller brands and independent makers.

Avoid missed sales on out-of-stock products. When a popular product sells out, most stores put up a “sold out” message and lose the sale. Pre-orders keep the revenue flowing by letting customers secure their order and wait for the restock.

Build anticipation for product launches. A well-run pre-order campaign creates momentum. Customers who pre-order are invested in the product and often share it with others. Brands like Daylight Computer have turned pre-orders into a VIP experience, offering a “Founders Edition” insider club that transforms the wait into part of the appeal.

Use data to plan production. Pre-order numbers give you concrete demand forecasting data. Instead of guessing how many units to produce, you can base manufacturing decisions on actual orders. This is especially valuable for brands producing in small batches or working with seasonal suppliers.

One insight from our dataset that surprises people: 90.4% of pre-orders are not discounted. Customers pre-order for access, not savings. They want to be first in line, not to get a deal. That’s a meaningful signal for merchants who assume they need to offer a discount to make pre-orders work.

Cancellation rates are low too. The average across our dataset is just 5.4%, which suggests customers who pre-order are genuinely committed. Understanding how pre-orders work from the merchant side makes it clear why so many brands build them into their launch strategy.

When Do Pre-Orders Make Sense (and When They Don’t)

Pre-orders aren’t the right fit for every situation. Here’s a practical framework for deciding.

Pre-orders work well for:

• New product launches. You’re confident the product is coming. Pre-orders let you build demand and take revenue before it ships.
• Restocks of popular items. A product sold out and you know it’s coming back. Pre-orders capture customers who don’t want to miss it again.
• Limited editions and seasonal collections. Scarcity and time-sensitivity make pre-orders a natural fit.
• Higher-value items. Products priced at $250 or more make up 26.8% of pre-order listings in our dataset. Customers are willing to commit early for items they’ve been eyeing.
• Made-to-order products. Brands like Frahm Jackets use pre-orders as a core part of their business model. As they put it: “Each design is made once a year. We deliberately don’t make enough to meet demand, so we don’t overbuy.”

Pre-orders are less ideal for:

• Very short timelines (under seven days). If the product is shipping that soon, a regular order is simpler for everyone.
• Products with uncertain specs or timelines. If you don’t know what the final product looks like or when it’ll be ready, you’re setting up for frustrated customers.
• Merchants without communication systems in place. Pre-orders require keeping customers informed. If you can’t send updates about shipping timelines or production status, the experience falls apart.

The simplest test: if you know you’re going to sell the product and just need time for stock to arrive, pre-orders are a good fit.

How Long Do Pre-Orders Take to Ship?

How long do pre-orders take? Shipping timelines vary widely depending on the product, the manufacturer and the supply chain involved.

From our dataset, the most common pre-order shipping timeframe is 121-150 days, accounting for 28.1% of all pre-order listings. However, 20.6% of pre-orders ship within 30 days, so there’s a wide range.

The specific duration matters less than transparency. Customers are willing to wait months for a product they want, as long as they know what to expect. The merchants who run successful pre-order campaigns communicate estimated shipping dates clearly on the product page and send updates if anything changes.

If you’re managing inventory around pre-orders, our guide on how to manage pre-order inventory in Shopify covers the operational side in detail.

Pre-Order FAQs

Do you get charged right away for a pre-order?
It depends on the merchant. 43.8% of pre-order listings on PreProduct use a charge-later model, meaning you won’t be charged until the product is ready to ship. Others charge upfront or take a deposit. The payment terms should be clearly stated on the product page before you checkout.

Can pre-orders sell out?
Yes. Merchants can set limits on how many pre-orders they accept. This is common for limited-edition releases or products with capped production runs. Once the limit is reached, the pre-order option is removed.

Can you cancel a pre-order?
In most cases, yes. The average cancellation rate across our dataset is 5.4%, which means the vast majority of customers keep their pre-orders. Cancellation policies vary by merchant, so check the store’s pre-order policy before placing your order.

Do pre-orders cost more than regular orders?
Typically no. 90.4% of pre-orders in our dataset are sold at the regular price with no discount applied. Some merchants offer an early-bird discount or deposit incentive, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

What’s the difference between a pre-order and a backorder?
A pre-order is placed before a product launches or while it’s being restocked. A backorder is placed for a product that was in stock, sold out and is being replenished. The customer experience is similar, but the context is different. Read our full pre-orders vs backorders vs waitlists comparison for more detail.

What’s the difference between a pre-order vs a regular order?
The main difference is timing. A regular order ships from available stock straight away. A pre-order is placed before the product is ready, with the customer waiting for fulfilment. Payment handling also differs. Pre-orders may use charge-later, deposit or payment-link models, while regular orders are always charged immediately at checkout.

Are pre-orders worth it for small businesses?
Yes. Pre-orders help smaller merchants validate demand and reduce inventory risk. Instead of guessing how much stock to order, you can use real pre-order numbers to plan your production run. The charge-later and deposit models also reduce the financial commitment required from customers, which can help smaller brands compete with larger ones.

How do I set up pre-orders on Shopify?
You’ll need a pre-order app to handle the checkout flow, payment collection and customer communication. Our complete guide on how to do pre-orders on Shopify walks through the full setup process.

Wrapping Up

Now you know how pre-orders work, from the step-by-step process to the four payment models and the data behind what makes them successful.

Pre-orders let you take orders before stock arrives, with flexible options for when and how to charge customers. Whether you use a charge-later model to reduce customer risk or a charge-upfront model to improve cash flow, the right approach depends on your product, your lead times and your customers.

The data from over 1 million pre-orders shows that customers are willing to wait, cancellation rates are low and discounts aren’t necessary to drive pre-order sales. Pre-orders work because customers want access to products they care about.

If you’re thinking about adding pre-orders to your store, start with our guide on how to pre-sell online or jump straight to setting up pre-orders on Shopify.

Pre-sell With PreProduct

7 day free trial with all plans