H​ow to Use Ecommerce Demand Forecasting for Future Success

H​ow to Use Ecommerce Demand Forecasting for Future Success

Inventory Management, Uncategorized

As an ecommerce shop owner, you know how complicated the business can be. Things change fast, and you must be on top of those changes and ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. That said, there are some tried and true methods you can follow to maximize your sales and bottom line.

This is where ecommerce demand forecasting comes in. When you make a point of doing this well, you’ll have a good handle on your customers’ demands including what they want, when they want it, and how you can fulfill that need. Here, we’ll tell you all about this type of forecasting, the benefits it brings to you, and how to go about estimating and predicting your ecommerce shop’s demand.

Get Started with Ecommerce Demand Forecasting

With Back in Stock, you automatically capture consumer information and send them notifications when your products are in stock again.

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What is Ecommerce Demand Forecasting?

Ecommerce demand forecasting is the method of estimating and predicting your business’ future demand for products or services — ultimately, sales. The idea here is that when you understand your sales trends, you’ll have a leg up and can beat your competition. The ultimate goal of ecommerce demand forecasting is to establish accurate benchmarks that guide your cash flow, inventory levels and marketing strategy.

Once you have accurate information you can make the right decisions for your business. These include knowing your niche’s market potential, how much stock to replenish and when, and how to price merchandise effectively, to get that healthy bottom line and profit.

Back In Stock is a great tool that can help you get these critical insights. We’ll get into it shortly, but first, check out the benefits of forecasting demand for your ecommerce business.

Why Bother? Benefits of Ecommerce Demand Forecasting

demand forecasting for ecommerce

When you implement demand forecasting into your ecommerce business, you set yourself up to reap a variety of benefits, like these.

Reduce Risks

Demand forecasting helps you spot, assess, balance and get past the risks inherent to growing an ecommerce shop. By making educated investments of money and time, this type of forecasting arms you with the background and information needed to:

  • Plan for new product launches.
  • Deal with inevitable competition, economic downfalls and seasonal effects on your business.

With demand forecasting, you can spot trends in your shop’s activity and sales by understanding what’s happened before and what’s going on now. If those trends consistently create a pattern, you’ll have an educated baseline of what will most likely happen down the road. And, if that baseline isn’t positive, the great thing is you’ll have the chance to avoid similar past mistakes. Reducing risk comes down to fully controlling the inputs to your business so that you can better control the outputs it creates.

Strategize Pricing and Sales

how to strategize pricing

Rather than view your pricing as static and fixed, it’s healthy to remember you have complete flexibility over it. Pricing is as open as makes sense for your business. Say you have a top-selling product that sells poorly during the winter, like a surfboard. Rather than decrease supplier orders in colder months, you could consider lowering the price during this time in the hopes of higher unit sales. (And with US ecommerce projected to continue growing over the next five years, why wouldn’t you want to?) That same surfboard could sell out at the height of the summer. With the same rationale, you could raise the price rather than order more units.

Improve Customer Awareness

When you maintain stronger cash flow, you have more freedom to invest in advertising and marketing. With that, you can boost your brand’s customer awareness through targeted campaigns to increase conversions.

Fulfill Customer Demand

Your customer data, such as engagement and purchase details, are invaluable to your business and should impact your digital marketing strategy. These insights are key to informing things like campaign launches, email marketing product features, advertising, seasonal procurement and inventory management. For instance, forecasts are used in inventory planning to establish customer demand for existing and new merchandise, demand by location, or demand by occasion or time of year, like Black Friday or Mother’s Day. Demand forecasting and research help you pinpoint existing and new products that will perform well at certain times of year — and within the right sales channels — to sell.

Of course, with benefits come challenges you should be aware of, which we’ll get into next.

Start Notifying Your Customers When Products Are Back in Stock

With Back in Stock, you automatically capture consumer information and send them notifications when your products are in stock again.

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Challenges of Forecasting Ecommerce Demand

There are a couple of key challenges to forecasting the ecommerce demand of your business. For one, it’s entirely possible to apply the wrong methodology. It’s crucial to take your time and consider what you can choose from, like these common options:

  • General collective knowledge. Get input from all of your sales, marketing and procurement team members about what they see when it comes to sales trends, product performance, customer preferences and other related things.
  • Expert insight. Collect thoughts and insights from the market experts of your business’ industry and see what can be applied to your specific circumstances.
  • Historical analysis. Making predictions with historical data can help you make solid business decisions. For example, a product that sold in record numbers at Black Friday last year could mean it will do so again this year.

Another common challenge when it comes to ecommerce demand forecasting is the act of making decisions with incomplete data. This often happens when qualitative methods are used, too. For example, if you don’t have current, actual inventory or sales data, you might come to conclusions — and then decisions — that are outdated or irrelevant for your shop. As well, if you don’t have enough data, such as inventory for just one month, you simply can’t make informed choices. Bottom line: the more extensive your set of data, the more effective conclusions and informed decisions you can make from it.

Now that you’ve seen some benefits and considerations to forecasting your ecommerce demand, let’s dive into how it all works.

How Ecommerce Demand Forecasting Works

forecast demand

There are a couple of ways to estimate and predict your ecommerce shop’s demand.

Quantitative data analysis uses historical metrics and their fluctuations, like your previous sales, website analytics, repeat purchases, and number of customers, to find patterns and projected trends that help to estimate future sales. Data to establish these metrics comes from trends and patterns shown by sources like your order management system. On the other hand, qualitative forecasting focuses on market research-driven results like target market surveys and industry expert opinions, along with the economic circumstances of your local and international markets.

When you implement both quantitative and qualitative data in your forecasting, you’re better able to understand elements responsible for past demand spikes of a product or service and therefore more accurately predict its future market.

​​Coming up are some methods to actually put ecommerce demand forecasting into action for your business, including how to use Back In Stock for just this purpose.

Get Started with Ecommerce Demand Forecasting

With Back in Stock, you automatically capture consumer information and send them notifications when your products are in stock again.

Try Back in Stock for Free

Free 14-Day Trial

How to Estimate and Predict Demand for Your Ecommerce Shop

estimate and predict demand

Quantitative data analysis

Know your goals and time frame, plan ahead, and get buy-in

Before diving into collecting whatever data you can get your hands on, it’s important to think about your goals and objectives for your business along with the time frame in which you’d like to achieve them. This will help you plan out what you need to know and focus on getting that information. Then, get buy-in from your stakeholders, including your sales team, social media marketers, and company leaders. Everyone should be aligned so there are no unpleasant surprises later on.

Collect and record historical data and future projections

Demand forecasts should account for consumer purchase behavior, as well as your customers’ past purchase patterns. You’ll want as much data and information on both of these as you can get, so you can forecast as accurately as possible. For each of your products and services across all sales channels over the past 12 months (or as close as possible), it’s best practice to identify their:

  • Order dates,
  • Rates of returns,
  • Monthly sales averages,
  • Moving sales averages, and
  • Underlying and seasonal market conditions or trends.

You need to know where to seek out this data and utilize it effectively so your procurement strategy and forecasting are sound. As for historical customer data, your order management or CRM platform should tell you a lot. You can get reliable external sources for this information from existing reports and surveys. Or, partner up with a market intelligence or data analytics firm that specializes in consumer behavior research with statistics to back it up.

Measure, organize and analyze your data

measuring data

At this point, you’ll analyze your data to find trends and patterns from which you’ll make conclusions. If you’re a small enough operation, you can do this manually with an Excel spreadsheet or an ERP system. If not, you might need to seek the automated help of an AI-driven data analytics platform. These tools use machine learning to quickly capture insights from your data.

Bottom line: However it is you decide to measure and organize your data, ensure that data is tied to an easily accessible and repeatable process throughout your business. The models should feed into user-friendly, intuitive software, for whoever needs the information. And, this way you can compare your predictions to actual sales figures and make adjustments for the next forecasting period.

Estimate demand and adjust your operations accordingly

Don’t forget about your budgets and anticipated revenue as you work with demand forecasts. These should be adjusted so you know what to expect coming up and can minimize inventory or overhead expenses and plan how much you’re spending on production, marketing and other areas. Look at your forecasts and adjust your business operations to align with them. For example, if you’ve forecasted declining demand for a certain item, you can adjust your purchase order numbers in the future so you keep fewer of these items in stock.

Types of quantitative demand forecasting

types of quantitative forecasting

Here are a few methods of quantitative demand forecasting that you can try once you get the hang of the data you’re seeking and using to make forecasts. Consider what works best for your business.

Trend projection

The trend projection forecasting method follows the assumption that your sales trends from the previous year will repeat themselves this year, or you’ll have the same demand levels. For instance, if you saw a 15% spike in demand over the two-week period after running a Google ad, assume the same thing will occur again and order enough inventory to accommodate this.

Time-series analysis

Time-series analysis uses past sales data to draw conclusions about events and seasonality throughout the year. When you analyze exactly when a product or service sold well (such as a jacket around Black Friday), you can safely assume the pattern will repeat next year. Based on that, you can logically adjust your marketing tactics and stock levels.

Causal forecasting

Causal forecasting uses as much information as possible to predict accurate sales forecasts over the upcoming year. This includes data on sales, competitors, marketing activity, economic conditions, and even weather.

Barometric forecasting

In the barometric forecasting method, you’re using past economic indicators to predict future sales trends. For instance, if new high-rise apartment towers were built locally and you’re selling home decor items, you can expect higher demand in the six months following occupancy since that’s what happened before.

Qualitative forecasting

qualitative forecasting

The second way to predict your ecommerce shop’s demand is by qualitative forecasting. This includes predictions based on factors like market trends, the local and broader economy, impact from advertising, trends and new technology. Your own experience and knowledge can inform this, or things like surveys and industry expert opinions can help, too. Common qualitative techniques include:

  • Market research, using hypotheses to forecast future demand, is a highly systematic way to get a feel for your market.
  • Salesforce read, which is useful for shorter-term forecasts and smaller geographic areas. This technique uses the thoughts and opinions of your own sales team based on their knowledge and experience with your customers and the market conditions.
  • Delphi technique, a common method for demand forecasting, is asking experts in your field questions about specific circumstances or past experiences that help you analyze previous events and inform your forecast.

Get Accurate Predictions with Back In Stock, a Top Tool for Ecommerce Demand Forecasting

back in stock product reporting

It’s easy and convenient to get your ecommerce demand forecasting done with a solid tool like Back In Stock. When you sign up for out-of-stock products, add products to a wish list, or sign up for a pre-launch, you’ll instantly have a better idea of which products are most in-demand. This means you can better manage your inventory, ensuring that items aren’t overstocked or understocked at any time.

Plus, the Back In Stock app provides analytics and reporting on product demand with its conversion tracking, products report, customer notifications report, and admin email updates. These tools let you monitor your conversions, most wanted out-of-stock items, and recent notifications sent to your browsers and shoppers. When you take advantage of this functionality, you get to explore and assess your data further and – most importantly – make accurate demand forecasts for your future.

Back in Stock features

Back in Stock comes with some helpful features when it comes to understanding where your business and its inventory are at, gauging your customers’ interest in certain products, and forecasting future demand.

Analytics dashboard and reports

The comprehensive analytics dashboard and reports let you use data to maximize conversions of items you’ve just restocked.

Customizable email template

You can easily customize Back in Stock emails to your customers by making template changes with the “no code” settings or editing the HTML.

Instant setup

It literally takes seconds to install the Shopify theme integrations, and more can be created on request.

Customizable signup form and button

It’s easy to update and customize the text and style of your “Email when available” button and signup form to complement your Shopify theme.

Quantity required field

Find out an out-of-stock item’s demand with a “Quantity Required” field on signup forms for back-in-stock notifications.

Mailing list integrations

You can grow your store’s email list with an option for customers to subscribe when they sign up for back-in-stock notifications.

Instant and scalable email delivery

When an item is restocked, your customers will be automatically notified within one minute of it, even if you run a high-volume store.

Email delivery settings

There are many email delivery settings to pick from so you have total control over when and how your customers are notified.

 

Now that you know the benefits of implementing ecommerce demand forecasting, follow the steps above to try it for yourself with Back In Stock. When you can anticipate your customers’ needs early on, you’ll get ahead of your competition and meet those needs first. The end result? Satisfied customers who bring repeat and referral business time and again.

How to Grow Your Business Using Shopify Preorders on Back in Stock

How to Grow Your Business Using Shopify Preorders on Back in Stock

Digital Marketing, Shopify Sales 101

Shopify preorders are vital to the success of your online Shopify store. Not only can you generate buzz around your product, but you can create a sense of scarcity surrounding it, keeping customers coming back for more. So, are preorder campaigns necessary? 

The answer is a resounding yes. Let’s examine why by reviewing:

  • What is a Shopify preorder?
  • Features and benefits of setting up Shopify preorders
  • When to use Shopify preorders
  • Things to consider before setting up a Shopify preorder
  • How to use Back in Stock Shopify preorders
  • Tips for setting up a Shopify preorder campaign

Set up Shopify Preorders with Back in Stock

Allow customers to purchase out-of-stock products or upcoming releases with preorders.

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14-day Free Trial.

What is a Shopify preorder?

A preorder is a process by which an individual places an order for an item that hasn’t yet been released or isn’t currently in stock. Once available, the product is shipped to the customer. This guarantees the purchase of an item before it’s been restocked. 

hiut-denim-shopify-preorders

An example of a preorder. Hiut Denim Co. is a Shopify store.

Features and benefits of Shopify preorders

Like any tool that can help with your Shopify store, there are specific features and benefits of Shopify preorders. So, bring out your old Moleskine notebook, and let’s review.  

  • Build hype for your product’s launch date.

build-hype-shopify-preorders

Booksellers and video game companies capitalize on the preorder tactic and just like in our Harry Potter example, preorders build excitement around your new product. They not only create awareness, but also a feeling of scarcity and purchase urgency for your product.

  • Gain valuable customer feedback.

customer-feedback

Preorder customers give valuable feedback as they are the alpha- and beta-testers of the product. If your product preorder launch is successful, they are also the first to provide good reviews and spread the news about your product.

  • Improve inventory management.

    shopify-inventory-management

Have 500 orders been placed but you only have 250 items in stock? Time to order more, and quickly. Preorders require inventory organization, so they keep you disciplined and accountable when it comes to this area of your business. Without inventory management, your store will quickly fall apart, and customers will leave disgruntled and annoyed.

  • Enjoy guaranteed revenue.

    revenue-shopify

During the launch period, you will be flush with cash. Preorders guarantee a set amount of revenue during that initial time. Early on you’ll know how successful your product is and the amount of income generated.

  • Earn more and grow your business by starting the process early.

It’s complicated to run a physical goods shop as there are constantly moving parts. From overseas supplier logistics to packaging wait times, your process is probably time-consuming, at best.

But, when you offer preorders, you can take orders earlier in the procurement process which means more orders, improved cash flow, increased revenues, and, eventually, a higher profit.

  • Validate a new product offering before investing too much.

Though more often done with software, apply the minimum viable product (MVP) concept to products as well. To test and validate a product idea, you create new product image mock-ups without having to commit production and orders until you know if your preorder numbers can justify it. This way you get to see, for instance, which styles, designs, and colors work the best for a particular offering.

  • Limit your financial risk.

You already know that producing products requires mass capital, which you may or may not have at the ready. If you don’t, the nice thing about using Shopify preorders is that your cash builds up as customers place their advance orders, creating a nice little cushion for you. This could mean the difference between needing a high-interest business loan that ties up significant future capital or self-funding the purchase or mock-up of new products.

When to use Shopify preorders

when to use shopify preorders

Now that you understand what preorders are and why they can be so beneficial, you might be wondering about the best use cases for them.

While there are several, don’t make the mistake of launching a preorder campaign for every new product release, especially if it’s a small item or upgrade. The reason for this is preorder campaigns are meant to create excitement and buzz around something new, and you have a lot riding on that anticipation. Plus, they’re time and energy-consuming. The last thing you need is a failed release or a frustrated team, so be sure to reserve preorder efforts for products that are indeed worthy.

Here are a few cases where launching a Shopify preorder campaign could be a great business move.

Immediately monetizing an out-of-stock product

No more waiting around for your product to be back in stock to receive orders. Especially if it takes a while, you’re likely to lose your customers’ attention as they move on to a competitor’s shop for something similar and available.

When you use Shopify preorders, your customer sees an out-of-stock product on your store’s site and can do one of two things: request to be notified when the item is restocked, or place a preorder so they’re guaranteed to get that item later, without having to continuously check back for it themselves. It’s a win-win for both of you since they save time and hassle and you don’t lose a sale.

Releasing a new flagship product

Industries like gaming, electronics, and automotive often spend a lot of time and effort creating preorder campaigns, since first-day preorders account for a significant portion of total campaign sales.

You don’t need to sell cars or iPhones to take advantage of this, though. If you have a flagship product, consider a Shopify preorder campaign to create buzz before the release and make the most of that sales opportunity.

Discounting existing items with a limited-time promotion

Shopify preorders don’t need to be exclusively new items. If you have an excess amount of particular merchandise, have a sale to move your product. By offering a discount on preorders of these items, those who don’t want to miss out will have their chance to get in on the deal early.

Launching a new business or brand

If your eCommerce strategy is taking you to new heights and you’re branching off into a different business or brand, a preorder campaign can serve you well.

Fashion, for instance, used to operate on a seasonal calendar with over-produced products that would lead to massive season-end sales. In more recent years, however, the industry has embraced preordering to promote new merchandise. So, consumers have the chance to shop their favorite brands all year long while, at the same time, the companies understand the interest level in their new lines and brands. They can create scarcity and buzz around items, which increases sales.

Offering limited-edition product versions

Speaking of scarcity, when you offer limited-editions of products, many people develop a case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and are tempted to impulse-buy, something that of course benefits eCommerce shops like yours. Plus, consumers appreciate knowing that they won’t have to stress to be first in line on day one of the product’s launch.

Things to consider before setting up Shopify preorders


Automate preordering

Back in Stock allows customers to purchase out-of-stock products, which may be those that have sold out or are upcoming releases. This automates the preordering process, making it easier for a customer to guarantee the purchase of an item even before it’s back in stock.

Pick your preorder method

Shopify outlines three preorder methods:

    • Pay now preorders. The customer pays now, you ship later. This is the most common method of preorder. Some benefits include guaranteed revenue and easy integration with Back in Stock. Back in Stock automatically takes the preorder when an item is out of stock. This also guarantees customer retention. 
    • Pay later preorders. The customer places an order but doesn’t pay until the product ships. Either the customer or the seller can back out of the preorder at any time. Some benefits include capturing orders, testing a product’s popularity, and flexibility for both customers and sellers to back out at any time.
    • Crowdfunding. Think “Kickstarter.” Kickstarter and other Crowdfunders allow brands to list pre-production products. The customer is only charged if a certain number of preorders are made. Some benefits include setting minimum sales targets, guaranteed revenue, gauging item popularity, and building an early fanbase for your company. 

Be sure to pick your preorder method wisely. Each method has pros and cons and you want to pick your method based on the type of sale you are running.

How to use Back in Stock Shopify preorders  

back-in-stock-inventory-alert

Back in Stock easily integrates with Shopify, taking preorders for customers while an item is out of stock. However, Back in Stock doesn’t preorder a product by default nor will it send customers notification for a preorder product with zero inventory. Not to worry, you can set this up in the Back in Stock app. 

  1. Once you are in your Back in Stock dashboard, choose Customize, then click the Product page button. 
  2. Click the Behavior tab. Then, select Show for preorder items. 
  3. Hit the Save button.

Customers can purchase items when sold out in the Shopify catalog. As mentioned above, by default, Back in Stock only notifies customers if inventory has at least 1 product or more. You can bypass this by following the method below.

  1. In your Back in Stock dashboard, choose Account, then Your details.
  2. Select Send notifications for preorder products.
  3. Click Save account details.

back-in-stock-preorders

Tips for setting up a Shopify preorder campaign

Listing preorder products is easy but, remember, you need to deliver. We have a few tips to help make this process easier.

  • Get your entire team involved. This isn’t a one-person job. You need an entire team of creatives to assist with copywriting, photography, product and brand alignment, etc. As they say, there is no “I” in “team”.
  • Drive awareness by building a marketing campaign.
  • Advertise, advertise, advertise. Use any and all forms of social media: Facebook, GoogleAds, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc., and target each of your posts to fit the personas of the platform.
  • Use your existing clients. Whether you use a CRM or simply have an email list, using your existing database can boost sales and awareness of the product. After all, these are customers who have already shopped at your store before; they’ll be interested in knowing more! Schedule email blasts when preorders are open, and regular follow-up emails to remind them of launch dates. Pro-tip: Give existing customers the first opportunity to purchase an item for preorder. They’ll feel special.
  • Content marketing. Have a new product you’re looking to sell? The best way to create a buzz around it is to dedicate your content to this product in the lead-up to its launch date. Write blog posts about the product, and create social media posts about the product with FAQs.
  • Spread the word online. Facebook groups and Shopify forums are great places to start. This is an opportunity to get personal. One in three customers prefers personalized advertisements. Take the time to answer specific questions without sounding overly promotional or transactional. If you have case studies, this is a perfect opportunity to share them with the community. Get to know Shopify customers and invest in relationships with your community.

Shopify preorders FAQs

  • Is there a preorder option on Shopify?
    Indeed, there is. The way to do it is by using a preorder application like Back in Stock. This includes the features to set up notifications for out-of-stock items when they are restocked as well as easily set up a preorder button. It’s as easy as going into your dashboard and checking a box. 
  • How do I set up a preorder on Shopify?
    The only way to do this is by using an integrated app. Simply log in to your Back in Stock dashboard, choose Customize, click the Product page button, and select Show for preorder items. Once you save, your store is set up for preorders.
  • What does preorder mean?
    Preorders allow customers to purchase a product before it’s been released, or purchase a product that needs to be restocked before it’s been restocked. The order is paid ahead of time and ships once it’s either been officially released or is back in stock.
  • How long should preorders take?
    It’s good practice to offer preorders anywhere from a week up to two months in advance. Some book sales have preorders of 6 months, but these are one-of-a-kind items. Unless your item is rare or one-of-a-kind, cut the wait time down to a couple of months lest you lose customer interest.

Preorders are an easy way to guarantee revenue, build hype, and promote your brand. No matter what stage your business is in, when used properly, this marketing technique is invaluable. 

Set up Shopify Preorders with Back in Stock

Allow customers to purchase out-of-stock products or upcoming releases with preorders.
Try Back in Stock

14-day Free Trial.

A Beginner’s Guide to eCommerce Marketing Automation

A Beginner’s Guide to eCommerce Marketing Automation

Digital Marketing, Shopify Sales 101

You’re reading this blog post because you know that ecommerce marketing automation is the future, but aren’t sure where to start. You want to maximize your ROI on every dollar spent on advertising and get more customers in the door. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about setting up an automated marketing system for your business.

Get Started with Ecommerce Marketing Automation

With Back in Stock, you automatically capture consumer information and send them notifications when your products are in stock again.

Try Back in Stock Free

Free 14-Day Trial

What is ecommerce marketing automation?

Ecommerce marketing automation is a set of tools and strategies designed to help manage the process of growing an online store. It can be as simple as automating some email campaigns or lead nurturing, but often it’s more complicated than that.

Ecommerce marketing automation:

  • Targets customers with automated messages across multiple channels (email, web, social media, text, phone).
  • Allows for the implementation of a digital marketing strategy without manual effort.
  • Saves time and resources
  • Drives revenue and ROI

What is the goal of marketing? To drive sales. In order to drive sales, you must drive traffic. Traffic begets leads, leads beget customers, customers beget money. Marketing automation assists with conversions and customer retention. So, getting the customers and keeping them, pulling them through the sales funnel.

Types of eCommerce Marketing Automation

In marketing automation, software programs execute certain internal and external marketing tasks. There are various types of marketing automation, and each alleviates repetitive activities. 

In Stock Notifications

Providing restock notifications adds a level of trust and improves the customer experience. This way, customers can also automate their response to your automation. Instead of checking back for updates on product availability, customers can sit back, drink a mimosa, and enjoy the in-between time while they wait for your product to restock.

Best tool for automated in stock notifications: Back in Stock

back-in-stock-automation

Back in Stock. How does it work? When someone subscribes to a restock notification, their data is stored and tracked back to their customer profile. The profile is entered into a group of customers subscribed to receive an alert for a specific item. When the item is restocked, they automatically receive an alert when the item is available. 

Back in Stock automation is necessary when you have uncertain inventory. Otherwise, you’re stuck with blasting everyone on your list or no one at all. 

Some considerations? 

  1. Set inventory rules. How many items need to be restocked before you notify subscribers? Supply and demand are important considerations. 
  2. Notification rules. How many customers are notified about each restocked item? Send blasts of notifications to prevent inventory backups.
  3. Wait time. How long are customers waiting in between each email blast?
  4. Realistic timelines. If you’re going to specify a timeline for restocking (for example, “item ships in 6-8 weeks”), set a realistic expectation for the restocked item. 

Best for: All Shopify store users
Pricing: Starting at $19/month

Automatically Notify Customers when Products are Back in Stock

With Back in Stock, you automatically capture consumer information and send them notifications when your products are in stock again.

Try Back in Stock Free

Free 14-Day Trial

Email Marketing Campaigns

Email automation software can trigger an email campaign at any time. It also provides a template to personalize emails to customers without having to type out the same email over, and over, and over again.

Some examples of email automation include welcome emails, reminder emails, birthday emails and reengagement emails. We’ll show you what these look like later in the article.

Best Tool for Email Automation: Mailchimp

Mailchimp Email Automation

Not only is Mailchimp an email service provider, it also offers the ability to automate emails. You can send drip emails, segment your customers, A/B test, monitor campaign activity and more. It’s a staple in the email marketing world and an important service to consider.

Best for: Businesses of all sizes
Pricing: Starting at $0

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Automation

CRM’s aggregate customer information into one space. It’s easily accessible for marketing and sales teams to quickly access customer information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and where the client is in the sales funnel, among other demographics. 

It’s designed to help sales and customer service representatives track and organize their leads and current customers. Marketers can use this information to send out relevant marketing messages to turn leads into conversions.

CRM automation allows marketers to communicate through notes and reminders. This way information is accessed at a moment’s notice. 

CRM automation includes automation for:

  • Data entry
  • Email
  • Logging customer interactions (phone calls, emails, and texts are logged for every engagement)
  • Customer service (chatbot software to answer common questions)

There are dozens of CRMs. Choosing the best one for your business is a monumental task, but here are a few common Shopify CRMs:

Best tool for CRM Automation: Hubspot

hubspot-email-automation

You may know Hubspot from taking sales or marketing lessons from their academy, but did you know they have their own CRM that fully integrates with Shopify? It’s a specialized application for Shopify merchants and is completely free, regardless of how long you’ve used the app.

You can set up specific product workflow pipelines corresponding to your Shopify store orders. It includes email tracking, customer logging, tidy timelines, and deal pipelines for management convenience. 

Best for: Shopify stores with customized products
Pricing: Starting at $45/month

Landing Page Automation

A flawless landing page leads to higher conversion rates. That’s right–fast sites lead to more customer bites! If your site takes a while to load, consider optimizing each page, and specifically focus on your landing pages. Tailor-make your landing pages to fit the buyer personas of your top customers. 

Landing page automation software allows you to build landing pages in a matter of minutes. There’s no need to know HTML or CSS. It’s a simple, point-and-click editor. You can either choose from pre-designed layouts or customize your own with your company’s brand images.

Marketers can track leads through the sales funnel and adjust strategy accordingly.

Tip: Optimize your landing pages for mobile devices. Mobile commerce accounts for 23% of sales, so why not capitalize on this market segment? 

Blog Automation

This doesn’t mean automatically generating content for you, but the process of creating blog posts and managing the blog is made easier. Blogging automation provides the opportunity to customize your blog with images, text, and your company’s CTAs. There are hundreds of blog templates available. Why not set up RSS email syndication to sync blog posts with your email newsletters? Anytime new content is posted, your subscribers receive a notification.

Just like social media marketing, you can schedule your articles whenever you want, and share them automatically to your social media accounts. Not only that, but integrated analytics allows you to see how your articles are performing in search results so you can easily adjust your content strategy. 

Best tool for Landing Page & Blog Automation: Shogun

Shogun is an ecommerce app that will help you automate your marketing efforts with the use of pre-made templates, so you can focus on what matters most. Shogun has templates for all sorts of different purposes from blogs to landing pages and more!

Best for: Customizing your Shopify store’s pages with no coding required

Pricing: Starting at $39/month

Social Media Automation

Another time sink similar to email is social media automation. A VerticalResponse survey found that a little more than 40% of small business owners spend six hours per week on social media marketing. It’s not only required to post to different social media channels, but also to respond to commenters, connect with followers, curate content specific to each platform, staying consistent with your branding. Sounds exhausting? Well, it is and that’s why social media marketing automation is your new bff. 

Social media automation allows you to schedule and publish content automatically without having to manually submit or post. There are programs that publish across multiple platforms scattered throughout the day and/or the week. Program frequently asked questions for your chatbot for general customer questions and track how many website visitors discovered your site through social media. 

Turn your followers into $$$ by using social media automation. 

Best tool for Social Media Automation: Buffer

Buffer Social Media Automation

Buffer was designed to help people balance their social media engagement, so they can spend less time on social networks. It is a free tool that shows users’ feed and posts from social networks in one place, so they don’t have to log into different accounts for Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. This allows individuals to save time by not having to switch between the apps constantly, as well as making it easier for marketers who are trying to update multiple sites at the same time. The app also has tools that allow you to schedule your posts ahead of time and track what content performs best with your audience.

Best for: Scheduling social media posts in advance

Pricing: Starting at $5/month

Examples of successful ecommerce marketing automation

Businesses of all kinds use marketing automation. Here are a few examples of successful email automation campaigns:

Back in Stock Emails

Back in Stock Email Automation

One of the best ways to grow your email list automatically is with Back in Stock forms. When customers find a product that’s no longer in stock on your site, all they have to do is fill out their information and click “Notify Me.” Then, you’re able to stay in touch with potential customers instead of losing them immediately because your products aren’t in stock yet.

Get Started with Ecommerce Marketing Automation

With Back in Stock, you automatically capture consumer information and send them notifications when your products are in stock again.

Try Back in Stock Free

Free 14-Day Trial

Welcome emails

vanity-fair-email-marketing

The moment a new subscriber joins your list, use a welcome email to introduce yourself. Welcome emails have high open and click-through rates because often 1) companies offer a discount upon signup and 2) the customer is excited about what a company offers. 

Vanity Fair is an excellent example. When you sign up for a subscription, they send you daily news emails. Their verbiage makes a customer feel important because they’re “in the club.” 

old-navy-email-marketing

Old Navy is another great example. Not only do they make the customer feel special (“We’re glad you’re here”), but they send a 20% off coupon upon signup. 

Reminder emails 

Reminder emails nudge customers to purchase a product in an abandoned cart, remind customers of sale dates, to update their software, to get their hair trimmed. It’s a way to reenergize the customer in coming back to your store. 

reminder-emails-automation

1-800 Contacts created a cute ad for reminding clients to come back to purchase more contacts. 

Birthday emails

Apparently, birthday emails are highly effective with around a 480% higher transaction rate, and 340% higher revenue per email than typical promotional emails. 

ulta-birthday-emails

Ulta offers a free in-store gift on a customer’s birthday. They also offer bonuses like 2X, 3X, and 5X points. This is one way to win at the birthday email game.

Re-engagement emails

The staple “we miss you” emails. When you’re starting out, you may have an initial inclination to send emails to new customers, but marketing to existing, loyal customers results in higher ROI. Bain and Co. found that retaining 5% of customers led to an increase in overall profitability by 75%.

Send a re-engagement campaign to inactive customers. Be careful though, as sometimes a customer may have an inactive and an active service. Sending an email to an active client accidentally can result in confusion

Also, this is your last chance to make a lasting impression. Go big or go home with the discount. 

BroadwayHD offers great discounts for subscribers who’ve left.

broadway-hd-emails

Conclusion

The focus of marketing automation is fostering relationships not overselling or upselling. It frees you of simple, mundane tasks so that you can carry on with other projects. 

A successful marketing automation campaign results in increased email open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. It easily segments customers making it easier to personalize messages. 

If you find yourself spending more time sending emails than writing them, consider marketing automation. Then, you’ll finally have time to go to the gym (or the more favorable option, sleep).

Try out Back in Stock today.

The 15 Best Shopify SMS Apps

The 15 Best Shopify SMS Apps

Digital Marketing, Shopify Sales 101

SMS has become a very popular marketing channel among Shopify brands.

This is because it’s an inexpensive yet effective way to reach and engage a large number of customers. SMS also has a higher open rate than emails and easily integrates with other marketing channels.

Because of these advantages, more and more Shopify stores are using SMS marketing. In this post, we’ll take a look at the 15 best Shopify SMS apps you can use to market your products effectively and build a loyal customer base.

(more…)

35 of the Best Shopify Apps to Increase Sales in 2021

35 of the Best Shopify Apps to Increase Sales in 2021

Shopify Sales 101

One of the biggest benefits of managing an e-commerce business with Shopify is that there are thousands of apps you can add to the service to enhance it. Whether you want to notify customers who were interested in a product that it’s back in stock, export orders automatically, add customer reviews, or get a deeper insight into your sales with analytics, there’s an app for that. But not all Shopify apps are created equal. If you’re just opening your Shopify store, or looking to take the next step in growing your e-commerce business, this list of the 35 Best Shopify Apps to Increase Sales in 2021 is for you. Bonus: They all have either free plans or free trials, so you don’t have to spend a dime trying them out.

(more…)

Jooble Jobs – A Review of Jooble Career Search Engine

Jooble Jobs – A Review of Jooble Career Search Engine

Uncategorized

Jooble is a job search engine designed to help candidates find their dream job, whether that’s a Shopify developer, an insurance agent, or anything in between. Like other search engines, Jooble aggregates results from thousands of job sites and provides results that are most relevant to your search terms. Jooble operates in over 70 countries worldwide. 

(more…)
Tips & Resources for Shopify Retailers Navigating COVID-19

Tips & Resources for Shopify Retailers Navigating COVID-19

Shopify Sales 101

There’s no question that the novel coronavirus pandemic is impacting retailers with governments around the world shutting down any business deemed “non-essential.” What might be coming as more of a surprise is the impact COVID-19 is having on online Shopify retailers as it ushers in rapid and sweeping shifts in consumer buying patterns.

(more…)
A Beginner’s Guide to Nailing SEO on Your Shopify Store Product Pages with Plug in SEO

A Beginner’s Guide to Nailing SEO on Your Shopify Store Product Pages with Plug in SEO

SEO

Let’s face it. If you want to sustainably grow your Shopify store, you can’t afford to ignore SEO. You might think that SEO takes time before it starts driving results, or that you need to be an expert to implement it. It’s true that it does take time, and there’s a learning curve for sure. But you don’t need to be an expert to handle the SEO basics for your Shopify store’s product pages. 

(more…)
Stop Hiding Out of Stock Products on Shopify. Here’s What the Best Ecommerce Brands Do Instead.

Stop Hiding Out of Stock Products on Shopify. Here’s What the Best Ecommerce Brands Do Instead.

Shopify Sales 101

If you’re still hiding Shopify out of stock products, you’re missing out in so many ways — the potential sale, the data that a customer wanted that specific product, and the customer’s happiness with your brand. Here’s what you should do instead to increase revenue, get insight into what your customers actually want, and make them happy.

If you run a Shopify store, you know your most difficult task is perfecting your marketing and sales funnel to get customers who are ready to buy to your store’s product pages.

The data backs this up. The average eCommerce conversion rate hovers anywhere from 1-4 percent. So even for the most successful online brands, only a small fraction of people who visit their website actually make a purchase.

And if you hide out of stock products on Shopify? You’re lowering that conversion rate even further, because the product you just hid might be the one someone wanted to buy. Especially since your best sellers will tend to go out stock first, and most often.

So what can you do to stop losing those potential sales, without creating a bad experience for customers? Set up Back In Stock alerts for Shopify instead.

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No credit card required.
 

Read on to find out how the best eCommerce brands are using back in stock notifications to increase sales, make better inventory decisions, and delight their customers.

1. Minimize missed sales opportunities by using Back In Stock alerts instead of hiding out of stock Shopify inventory.

Instead of simply choosing whether to display or hide your out of stock products on Shopify, Back In Stock alerts lets you replace the “Buy” button with a customizable message to “Notify me when the product is available.”

Out of stock products Shopify

Back in Stock alerts for Shopify let customers get notified by text or email when a sold out product is available, so there’s no need to hide popular items or push them to the bottom of your store’s page when they sell out.

You can change the wording and the style of the button so it blends seamlessly into your site. Then when you restock your inventory, Back In Stock will send your customer an email or text message letting them know they can complete their purchase.

Customers can choose to be notified by email or text message when the product is back in stock, and all of the forms and messages can be customized so they fit with your brand.

Customers can choose to be notified by email or text message when the product is back in stock, and all of the forms and messages can be customized so they fit with your brand.

So even though you’re not doing any work beyond your normal inventory tracking, you’ve now got an app moving the needle on your sales.

The NASH Collection, a lifestyle brand that embodies love for Nashville, uses Back In Stock alerts across their site and says, “I can’t tell you how excited I am to have installed this app. It’s tripled my online sales… easy!”

For any eCommerce store owner, tripling sales is a big win. So if you have any inventory that tends to sell out, setting up these alerts is a no-brainer.

2. Make better inventory decisions by analyzing product waitlists.

Another reason you’re missing out if you’re hiding out of stock products is that you’re not collecting any data on what people wanted to buy.

Digging into Back In Stock analytics opens up a whole new data category for your analytics that can help you can lower inventory risks and overhead.

If a product has a massive waitlist, you know you can order big. If another product has a short waitlist, you can continue with smaller orders. If a product has no waitlist and isn’t moving? It’s probably time to think about discounting or discontinuing it.

Kim Kardashian West’s popular Skims shape & loungewear brand uses Back In Stock alerts to create product waitlists for sold out colors and sizes.

Kim Kardashian West’s popular Skims shape & loungewear brand uses Back In Stock alerts to create product waitlists for sold out colors and sizes.

Big fashion brands, like Skims, use Back in Stock alerts to create wishlists for out of stock items. Wishlists create a great experience for customers, but they’re also a secret weapon for Shopify store owners.

K Beauty eCommerce store, Go Bloom & Glow, says waitlists are a crucial part of their inventory management strategy. “I know what products to stock up next… It also helps in determining which products to discontinue selling by providing data on which product has the shortest waitlist or none at all.”

So in addition to reducing missed sales, you’re getting valuable insight into the overall demand for your various products.

3. Turn customer disappointment into delight.

Customers aren’t interested in monitoring your site to see when the thing they wanted to buy is restocked. If they can’t buy something from you, they move on fast. But they’ll also probably remember that experience, and you can damage customer loyalty if you tend to sell out a lot.

One reviewer says, “Really easy way to make customers happy, know what they want, and increase revenue.”

By using Back In Stock alerts, you let customers know about all the products you offer, and if they want to purchase something, you’re making it easy for them, even if it’s out of stock. And the brands with the most loyal customers do everything they can to make things easy for them — because shopping should never be work.

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No credit card required.

 

4. The Statistics never lie. Out of stock items account for $634+ billion dollars per year in lost sales.

In a 2015 study conducted by IHL Group and reported by CNBC, retailers in the United States operating both online and in-store were losing an average of $1.75 trillion per year with ‘out of stock’, ‘overstock’, and ‘returns’ as the culprit. Yes, you read that correctly. That’s Trillion. An unfortunate $634.1 billion was due to ‘out of stocks’ alone. If it isn’t evident enough why offering back in stock notifications is an absolute must for inventory management, a 2016 report by Accenture stated that 37% of consumers also want to be able to easily order out of stock items with only 43% of retailers providing this ability.

With the widespread use of smartphones, email and SMS messaging between retailers and employers is on the rise. According to Listrack, 75% of consumers prefer SMS. Boasting a 97% read-rate, SMS has become a seriously competitive marketing channel. In order to offer a seamless experience, establish a direct connection with consumers, and build brand loyalty, SMS messaging with back in stock notifications should definitely be a part of your cross-channel marketing strategy. We cannot forget to mention email marketing. Though experiencing some pullback, email marketing still holds a very respectable position in the marketing funnel with 19.8% of all transactions, trailing only paid search and organic search. Email conversion rates hold a very respectable 14% for back in stock alerts.

Out of stock products stats infographic

 

 
5. Hear from users who no longer hide out of stock Shopify products.

With all of the research pointing to the success in offering back in stock notifications instead of just hiding out of stock products on Shopify, it really is a no-brainer that you should offer some type of follow up notification for consumers interested in your products, whether it be email, SMS, or both. Don’t take it from us though, hear from the users of Back In Stock and see what all the fuss is about.

Case Study #1

We conducted a case study with one of our users, Go Bloom & Glow. They are an online store based in the Philippines offering 100% authentic Korean beauty products as their specialty. Launched in May 2017, they aim to help their customers discover the wonders of Korean beauty.

 

Go Bloom and Glow Case Study

Why choose Back In Stock? 
“In the beginning, when our company was first formed, many of our products were sold out which resulted in customers asking when they would again become available. It was very tedious to keep track of the people who asked and inform them one by one through social media messaging. We searched the Shopify app store for an app capable of managing waitlists, that also had the capability to inform customers when products were restocked. We came across Back In Stock and haven’t looked back."

How do you use Back in Stock?
“Back in Stock has been a savior in regards to inventory management. I know exactly which products to stock up on next which is crucial for our business. It also helps us to determine which products should be discontinued by providing data on the shortest waitlist, or none at all. It’s so convenient that our customers can just click on the ‘Notify me when available’ button on our website. When the product does get restocked, I don’t have to notify any of the customers on the waitlist one by one. Back in Stock just automatically sends the email notifications. All I have to do is update the stock quantities, relax, and just wait for purchases from the waitlist to come in."

Case Study #2

Kigurumi has been selling fun, colorful, onesie pajamas for adults since 2011. Back In Stock spoke to the company to find out how an exciting hobby became a triumphant store, and how she uses Back in Stock to increase revenue.

Kigurumi case study - hide out of stock

How do you use Back in Stock?

“Back in Stock has made our workflow so much easier. This app has become a crucial part of the process of getting styles back in stock. Customers question all the time if we’re out of a product when it will be back in stock. It’s nice to tell them to join the waitlist on the website, and they’ll receive an email notification as soon as it becomes back in stock. I can’t fathom having to manage a list like that manually, sending out an email every time to each individual. I have done a bit of that manual process before I found this app, and it wasn’t easy or fun. Back in Stock is an unsung hero of our website. People get the back in the stock notification and they respond with “Oh, great, I’ve been waiting for this” then hop on the site right away to make the purchase. Just one or two sales pays for the app itself."

After three years, what originally drove you to install Back in Stock on your store?
“When our store first went live, inventory management became a hurdle for our company. We saw more than half of our styles out of stock for far too long so we searched on the Shopify store and came across Back in Stock to manage our inventory. We chose this app because of the excellent reviews. Having a tool like Back in Stock is great. It’s so simple to notify our customers immediately whenever we get new stock and has become crucial to our sales. 

6. Don't miss out on loads of built-in features & integrations.

Built-In Features

Analytics Dashboard and Reports
Our comprehensive admin analytics dashboard and reports enable you to use data to maximize conversions of newly restocked items.

Customizable Email Template
Easily customize Back in Stock emails by making template changes. We have “no-code” settings available as well as the ability to edit the HTML directly. 

Send Emails Directly From Back In Stock
Send back in stock emails, instead of hiding out of stock products, directly from your Back In Stock dashboard. If you want to setup a more advanced pipeline into your email marketing platform, you have options with our email marketing integrations.

Send SMS Directly from Back In Stock
With Back In Stock, you can manage text messages for back in stock notifications directly in the app dashboard. Just log into your SMS Notifications page(Account > SMS Notifications) and follow the instructions. SMS notifications will cost $0.015 per message in addition to your monthly plan and count toward your allotted monthly notification limit. You will even be able to send SMS to any country! If it doesn’t work out for you, just turn it off. Remember that customers must opt-in for this feature to work. Your Back In Stock notification report will include all SMS data along with any other methods you have set up.

Customizable Signup Form and Button
Simply customize the text and styling of the ‘Email when available’ button and signup form to seamlessly match your Shopify theme and branding.

Instant Setup
With a library of Shopify theme integrations already in place, it takes less than 30 seconds to install. We will create more integrations at your request. Just email our support team.

Quantity Required Field
Easily determine the demand for an out of stock item by including a quantity required field on the notification signup form.

Email Delivery Settings
You’ll be able to restrict the number of customers notified with notification rates, send notifications for out of stock products available for preorder, require a minimum quantity of inventory before sending notifications, and temporarily disable all of your store’s email notifications.

Instant and Scalable Email Delivery
Even with a high store volume, Back in Stock will notify your customers within 60 seconds that a sold-out item was restocked.

Experienced Support
Our experienced and highly rated team can help you configure and customize the Back In Stock app on your Shopify store, just reach out to us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. With SMS notifications receiving a staggering 97% open rate, it’s no wonder this new form of marketing is becoming vastly more popular than ever.

Integrations

 

Shoelace Retargeting Integration
Automatically create and manage retargeting campaigns with our Shoelace integration. What are retargeting ads? These ads utilize cookies to remind your website visitors of your products once they have left your site. When utilizing this integration, new retargeting campaigns can be created based on your products and the Back in Stock email notifications you have set up. With the ability to set a minimum campaign size, those using this integration will be in full control. Meaning that if the number of unsent notifications for a restocked variant is equal to or greater than the number entered, only then will campaigns be created in Shoelace.

Back in Stock Shoelace retargeting integration for out of stock Shopify items

Shopify Theme Integrations
Customizing your Shopify theme can be one of the most exciting yet time-consuming steps in the process of opening a Shopify store, but it’s simple with Back in Stock. We are fully integrated with loads of popular Shopify themes which makes integrating with Back In Stock extremely simple. All you have to do is enable Back in Stock straight from the theme settings tab. No CSS required, no Liquid, no mistakes – and easy upgrades with each new release of your theme. Back in Stock offers the ultimate convenience for customers interested in getting in-stock notifications resulting in higher conversions for store owners, without disrupting the flow of the shopping experience in the slightest. We’ve taken precautions to work with developers offering popular Shopify themes to ensure that Back in Stock integrates beautifully. We will even create an integration with your theme if we haven’t already. All you have to do is reach out to our support team, and we’ll get started as soon as possible.

Shopify theme integrations for out of stock products

Email Marketing and Mailing List Integrations
Our email marketing integrations offer a low-cost and minimal maintenance approach to grow your mailing lists in order to communicate to your customers that a sought after item is back in stock, promoting special offers or sales, brand new products, or even just a celebratory birthday message.

In order to streamline the process of growing your mailing list, we have added the ability to include a mailing list opt-in checkbox to the notification request message. If they opt-in, Back In Stock will automatically add those who sign up for notifications to your email lists. These highly interested customers are more likely to evolve into sales in the future as they have already demonstrated interest in your store.

 

Email marketing and mailing list integration for Shopify out of stock products


Here’s how it works:
A potential customer is interested in a product on your store but unfortunately, that product is out of stock. The Back In Stock app will produce a notification request message which states that the product is out of stock, and asks the customer if they would like to receive a follow up notification once the product is back in stock

MailChimp
Mailchimp is a superb email marketing platform with simple, yet effective functionality. Free and pay-as-you-go plans are also of benefit, along with high-quality support documentation, and it’s general ease of use. Importing and Exporting contact lists are extremely easy with Mailchimp. You can even set batches by timezone to increase deliverability. Mailchimp is integrated with such a high volume of other apps and services making this integration a huge plus for Back In Stock users.

Constant Contact
While Constant Contact doesn’t have a free plan, this email marketing service does offer no monthly email caps and excellent customer support. Not restricted to large companies, Constant Contact is a simple way for small companies to get started with email marketing. Special features such as the newsletter archive and embedded “action” blocks elicit the hype of Constant Contact. Regarding the newsletter widget, it can display content that was delivered prior to your recipients sign up on your email list allowing them to catch up on everything. And with action blocks, you can create surveys or RSVPs making it simple to engage with your subscribers.

Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is a superb option for those where the visual impact of messaging is a top priority. The straightforward Campaign Monitor dashboard, creatively appealing templates, intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, and automated email workflow options each make Campaign Monitor a very user-friendly email marketing platform.

Klaviyo
Later on, we will compare our features and pricing with Klaviyo’s back in stock functionality on Shopify, but they also offer many other features that beautifully integrate with Back In Stock. Klaviyo is an ideal choice for email marketing for eCommerce shops due to its emphasis on tracking customer habits in your store. With convenient templates like an abandoned cart or even product suggestions based on your browsing history, Klaviyo is an excellent choice for email marketing. Please note that support is limited to email only.

You may also be considering how Back in Stock holds up as a Klaviyo alternative because both apps can handle back in stock notifications for Shopify store owners. Plain and simple, Back in Stock is more simple to use because it focuses on doing one task and doing it well. The Back in Stock app’s no-code setup offers dozens of theme integrations as well as free customization assistance from our support team.

Back in Stock also offers important features for in-stock notifications that Klaviyo doesn’t offer the ability for customers to include their desired quantity and complete control over your email delivery settings so you can make smarter inventory decisions.
While Klaviyo delivers additional features on top of back in stock notifications, many store owners find it overwhelming to get started with Klaviyo, and a developer is definitely necessary in order to dive deep into its feature set.

As far as pricing is concerned, Back in Stock beats Klaviyo here as well with Starter plans starting at $19/mo and Premium plans at $79/mo which includes 50k notifications! Klaviyos starter plan is $20/mo and its premium pricing plan is not listed.

7. Our competitive pricing pays for itself.

Whether you send 20 or 200,000 back in stock notifications a month, our pricing plans won’t break your budget.

Startup

$19/mo
  • Unlimited New Customer Notifications
  • 100 Notifications/mo
  • Activity Reports
  • Follow Up Notifications
  • Delivery Policy Controls
  • Quantity Required Field
  • Remove Branding
  • Marketing Apps Integration
  • Shoelace Integration
  • Pause Notification Delivery
  • SMS & Email Notifications
Start Free Trial

Small Store

$39/mo
  • Unlimited New Customer Notifications
  • 100 Notifications/mo
  • Activity Reports
  • Follow Up Notifications
  • Delivery Policy Controls
  • Quantity Required Field
  • Remove Branding
  • Marketing Apps Integration
  • Shoelace Integration
  • Pause Notification Delivery
  • SMS & Email Notifications
Start Free Trial

Medium Store

$59/mo
  • Unlimited New Customer Notifications
  • 5,000 Notifications/mo
  • Activity Reports
  • Follow Up Notifications
  • Delivery Policy Controls
  • Quantity Required Field
  • Remove Branding
  • Marketing Apps Integration
  • Shoelace Integration
  • Pause Notification Delivery
  • SMS & Email Notifications
Start Free Trial

Large Store

$79/mo
  • Unlimited New Customer Notifications
  • 50,000 Notifications/mo
  • Activity Reports
  • Follow Up Notifications
  • Delivery Policy Controls
  • Quantity Required Field
  • Remove Branding
  • Marketing Apps Integration
  • Shoelace Integration
  • Pause Notification Delivery
  • SMS & Email Notifications
Start Free Trial

Need more? Contact us for enterprise pricing.

8. Browse some frequently asked questions.

How do I continue selling out of stock products on Shopify?
Sign up for an account with Back In Stock. You will be able to capture customer data for sold out products. Once the products become back in stock, you can send out a notification to those who signed up.

Can I manage my own account and upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time?
Of course! You will have the ability to adjust your account settings at any time. If your business is seasonal, you can ramp up your plan, or downgrade at any time. If you want to cancel, you can do so at any time from the app dashboard or from the Shopify store settings.

How long is the trial period?
Simply put, you can install a free account for 14 days. During your trial period, you will gain access to the Medium Plan and have 500 email notifications at your disposal!
Once the trial period is complete, (or you exceed the 500 email quota), you will be prompted to choose a paid plan which fits your usage. If you do not choose a plan, you will be placed on our free plan, which allows 5 email notifications each month.

Is an annual subscription available?
No, we only offer monthly plans at this time.

Can email templates be customized?
Totally! Back in Stock makes customization simple with settings right in the dashboard. You can also access the email template itself to make more in-depth changes.
We have more information on our email template here.

How and when are back in stock notifications sent out?
Once you update your stock levels, notification emails are typically sent out within one minute, but usually just seconds after!

I have a theme already set up for my store, will Back in Stock work with it?
Back in Stock with most of the popular themes on Shopify, but if we do not have an integration for your installed theme, just send us an email at support@backinstock.org. Our support team will create a new integration to work with your theme!

Can Back in Stock integrate with my mailing list?
Back in Stock has mailing list integrations available with Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, ConstantContact, and Klaviyo. We also have a Shopify Customers integration, this adds customers to your store mailing list and can connect with most Mailing lists.

9. If for some reason you still do not want to hide out of stock Shopify products, try this:

How to hide Shopify out of stock products

How to hide out of stock products on Shopify

  • Do NOT delete sold out product pages from your website
    • Consider a back in stock notification app like Back In Stock to send email or SMS notifications.
  • Enable Inventory Tracking from your Shopify Admin Dashboard
    • In the Admin section, go to Products > All products.
    • Select one of your products and in the Inventory section, choose "Shopify tracks this product's quantity" from the Inventory policy list
    • Click "Save"
  • In each collection, set the automated collection conditions to:
    • Products must match - select "all conditions"
    • For Inventory stock - select "is greater than" and enter "0"

In doing this, you will ensure that your automated collections do not display any products that are out of stock to your customers. Any out of stock products will appear in your collections again once you adjust the inventory.

Let’s recap.

Stop missing out on sales opportunities by hiding out of stock Shopify inventory.

Instead of simply choosing whether to display or hide your out of stock products on Shopify, Back In Stock alerts lets you replace the “Buy” button with a customizable message of “Notify me when the product is available.”
Make better inventory decisions by analyzing product waitlists.

Another reason you’re missing out if you’re hiding out of stock products is that you’re not collecting any data on what people wanted to buy. Digging into Back In Stock analytics opens up a whole new data category for your analytics that can help you can lower inventory risks and overhead.

Turn customer disappointment into delight.

Customers aren’t interested in monitoring your site to see if the item they wanted to buy is restocked. If they can’t buy something from you, they move on fast. But they’ll also probably remember that experience, damaging customer loyalty in the process.

A note of advice: Be clear about the expected return date. Your customers will appreciate the honesty and sincerity in your marketing communications.

Listen to the Stats

Retailers in the United States are losing an average of $1.75 trillion per year with ‘out of stock’, ‘overstock’, and ‘returns’ as the culprit.
An unfortunate $634.1 billion was due to ‘out of stocks’ alone.
37% of consumers also want to be able to easily order out of stock items with only 43% of retailers providing this ability.
75% of consumers prefer SMS, boasting a 97% read-rate.
Email marketing still holds a very respectable position in the digital marketing funnel with 19.8% of all transactions, trailing only paid search and organic search.
Email conversion rates hold a very respectable 14% for back in stock alerts.

Hear from Back In Stock users

Don’t take it from us, here what our customers have had to say:
“We came across Back In Stock and haven’t looked back.”

“Back in Stock has been a savior in regards to inventory management. I know exactly which products to stock up on next, which is crucial for our business. Back In Stock also helps us to determine which products should be discontinued by providing data on the shortest waitlist, or none at all. When the product does get restocked, I don’t have to notify any of the customers on the waitlist one by one. Back in Stock just automatically sends the email notifications. All I have to do is update the stock quantities, relax, and just wait for purchases from the waitlist to come in.”

“Back in Stock has made our workflow so much easier. This app has become a crucial part of the process of getting styles back in stock. Back in Stock is an unsung hero of our website.”

Features of Back In Stock

  • Analytics Dashboard and Reports
  • Customizable Email Template
  • Customizable Signup Form and Button
  • Instant Setup
  • Quantity Required Field
  • Email Delivery Settings
  • Instant and Scalable Email Delivery
  • Experienced Support

Integrations

  • Shopify theme integrations
  • Email Marketing & Mailing List Integrations
  • Shoelace Retargeting Integration
  • Send SMS Inside of Back In Stock

Pricing

Competitive pricing, rave reviews, and reliable software make Back In Stock a must for all Shopify store owners.

  • STARTUP
    $19/month
  • SMALL STORE
    $39/month
  • MEDIUM STORE
    $59/month
  • LARGE STORE
    $79/month

Thanks for reading. Forget the old days when you would hide out of stock Shopify products, therefore leaving money on the table. Why not make it easy for your customers to purchase from you in the future? Use back in stock notifications to increase sales, make better inventory decisions, and delight customers. It’s a no-brainer.

Bring back those lost customers with back-in-stock notifications.
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