Back in Stock Notifications
From Spiffy Stores Knowledge Base
Contents
Overview
The Back in Stock notification system lets you keep customers informed when a sold-out product becomes available again.
When a customer requests a back in stock notification, they are added to a waiting list for that specific variation. When the variation returns to stock, customers can be notified by email according to a configurable schedule.
The Back in Stock notification requires specific support that is built into your theme. Our current themes are all being enahnced to support these notifications, but if your're running an older theme, please let us know and we'll add the support for you.
How It Works
- A customer visits a sold-out product and find that the particular variation is sold out. They can then request to be notified when the item is back in stock. If they are already logged in, they don't need to do any more. If not, an email address is required.
- The system records their notification request for that specific variation.
- When the variation's stock increases from zero or less to more than zero, notifications are automatically sent.
- Customers receive an email based on the notification schedule (if configured).
Notifications are variation-specific. If a product has multiple options (such as size or colour), the notification is tied to the exact variation the customer selected, not the product as a whole.
Customizing the Notification Email
The back in stock notification email is fully customizable using the store's email template system.
To edit the email:
- Go to Admin > Assets > Email & Notification Templates.
- Find the Back In Stock email template.
- Click the template to open the editor.
- Customise the subject line and the HTML content using Liquid markup.
The email template has access to the following variables:
Template:Customer– the customer who requested the notificationTemplate:Product– the product that is back in stockTemplate:Variant– the specific variant that is back in stockTemplate:Shop– your store detailsTemplate:Limited stock– a boolean indicating whether stock is low relative to the number of waiting customersTemplate:Product url– a direct link to the product page
You can also configure the email logo, accent colour, and background colour from the Email & Notification Templates page under the email settings section.
Customer Tags and the Notification Schedule
Customer tags allow you to prioritise and delay notifications so that certain groups of customers are notified before others.
The notification schedule uses your existing customer tags to determine the order in which customers are notified. To use this feature, you must first create customer tags on the Customers page.
The schedule consists of a series of tiers. Each tier has:
- A Customer tag – identifies which group of customers this tier applies to
- A Delay – the number of hours to wait after the previous tier before sending notifications to this group
The first row in the schedule is always sent immediately when stock returns. Subsequent rows are sent after the specified delay.
Example schedule:
| Tier | Tag | Delay | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VIP | 0 hours | Sent immediately when stock returns |
| 2 | Members | 24 hours | Sent 24 hours after the first tier |
| 3 | Other customers | 48 hours | Sent 48 hours after the first tier |
In this example, VIP customers are notified immediately, Members are notified a day later, and all other customers are notified two days later.
Configuration
To configure the Back in Stock notification schedule:
- Go to Admin > Assets > Email & Notification Templates.
- Scroll to the Back In Stock Schedule section.
- Add tiers using the customer tags you have created.
- Reorder tiers by dragging rows to set the notification priority.
- Set the delay (in hours) for each tier after the first.
- Click Save.
The schedule section will only display if you have defined at least one customer tag on the Customers page.
Requirements
For the Back in Stock notification system to function correctly:
- The product variant must have inventory tracking enabled.
- A Back in Stock email template must be enabled in your Email Templates settings.
- Customer tags must be defined if you want to use the notification schedule.
When Notifications Are Sent
A back in stock notification is sent only when a variant's inventory transitions from sold out (zero or less) to in stock (more than zero).
Examples:
- 0 → 5 units – notifications are sent
- −1 → 2 units – notifications are sent
- 5 → 8 units – notifications are not sent (already in stock)
- 2 → 10 units – notifications are not sent (already in stock)
This prevents customers from receiving repeated notifications while an item is already available.
Repeat Notifications
Notifications are retained after they are sent. If a variant sells out again and is later restocked, the same customers can be notified again automatically.
This is useful for popular products that sell out quickly and are replenished multiple times.
Notifications are only removed when a customer completes a paid order for that variant using the same email address.
Limited Stock Messaging
If a variant comes back into stock but there are more waiting customers than available units, the notification email can include a limited stock warning to set appropriate expectations.
The system does not reserve stock for customers who receive the notification.
Managing Notifications
You can view and manage pending back in stock notifications for a product directly on the product page in the admin area.
From the product page, you can:
- View which customers are waiting for each variant
- See pending and sent notification status
- Delete individual notifications if needed
Products that have associated notifications are marked with a back in stock status label for quick identification.