Back In Stock

Send email & SMS notifications for restocked items.

Back in Stock helps you recover lost sales by automatically notifying customers when out-of-stock products become available again. When a product variant sells out, a "Notify when available" button appears in the product form, letting customers subscribe with their email address or phone number. The moment you restock, Vitals sends a personalized email or SMS that links the customer back to the exact product and variant.

Is this for me?

If you ever run out of stock on products people actively want, yes. Customers who hit an out-of-stock page usually leave and rarely come back on their own — Back in Stock turns that lost moment into a captured lead and a notification the customer is actually waiting for. It's especially valuable if you sell limited-run items, run regular restocks, or have hero products that sell through faster than you'd like.

You don't need to do anything manually. Vitals watches your inventory and sends the notifications for you the moment a product comes back.

What's Included

Email Notifications

The bread and butter. When a product is restocked and meets your minimum inventory threshold, Vitals automatically emails every subscriber for that variant. The email template is fully customizable — you can edit the subject line, sender name, reply-to address, preview text, and the full body using a visual editor. Every email includes an unsubscribe link and uses your shop's product URLs so customers land on the right variant.

SMS Notifications

When to enable this: Reach for SMS when speed matters — limited drops, high-demand restocks, or anything where customers will likely buy in the first few minutes of getting notified. Text messages have far higher open rates than email, but they also consume credits from your plan and are charged per segment, so it's a stronger fit for high-value or fast-moving products than for everyday items.

When you turn SMS on (via the "Status" setting under the SMS section), the subscription modal shows both Email and SMS tabs, and customers pick whichever they prefer. SMS messages support three template variables — product name, shop name, and a shortened product URL — and go out from region-appropriate phone numbers (US/CA, UK, or international).

The storefront widget is just a button and a modal — but every word of it is yours to set. The button text, modal headline, body text, privacy notice, submit button text, and all the success/error messages are translatable. Vitals ships with translations for 15+ languages out of the box, and you can override any string. The widget appears on product pages automatically when a variant is out of stock.

Product & Collection Exclusions

You can exclude specific products or entire collections so the Back in Stock button never shows on them. Useful for products you've permanently discontinued, or collections you don't plan to restock.

Inventory Policy Control

Not every "out of stock" product should show a notify button. Two settings give you control:

"Show on products with inventory policy" decides which kinds of out-of-stock products show the button. You can pick "Stop selling when out of stock" (the default), "Continue selling when out of stock" (pre-orders), or both.
"Never send notifications for products with 'Continue selling when out of stock' policy" is a safety toggle — turn it on if you want to keep the button visible on pre-order products but suppress the notification emails for that group.

Notification Limits

When to use this: If your typical restock is small (say, you're restocking 5 of an item that has 200 subscribers), notifying everyone is a recipe for an inbox full of "sold out again" complaints. The limit setting keeps the math honest.

Turn on "Limit the number of notifications sent per every restocked unit" and the system caps subscriber notifications based on how much you restocked. The math is simple: Notification limit × restocked units . For example, if 5 units come back in and your limit is 10, up to 50 subscribers are notified — the rest stay queued for the next restock.

Minimum Inventory Trigger

The "Minimum inventory trigger" setting lets you specify how many units must be in stock before any notifications go out. Set it to 5, for example, and notifications only fire once the count hits at least 5 — handy if you don't want premature alerts on small partial restocks.

How It Works

What Customers See

When a customer visits a product page and the selected variant is out of stock (and the product has inventory tracking on), a "Notify when available" button appears in the product form area. Clicking it opens a modal where the customer enters their email address — or, if you've enabled SMS, switches to the SMS tab and enters their phone number. A confirmation message appears after they submit.

The widget reacts to variant changes in real time. If a customer flips through variants, the button shows or hides based on each variant's stock.

When the notification goes out, the email or SMS includes a link back to the exact product and variant. Vitals tracks whether the customer actually visits the product page via that link and whether they add it to their cart — giving you visibility into how effective your notifications are.

What You Do in the Dashboard

Everything is managed from the Back in Stock app in your Vitals dashboard. The widget appears in the product form area by default (after the form). From the dashboard, you can:

Toggle the app on or off with "Enable Back In Stock"
Customize all widget text and translations (button text, modal content, success/error messages)
Enable or disable SMS notifications
Customize the SMS message template
Control which inventory policies trigger the button and notifications
Set the minimum inventory threshold for sending notifications
Limit notification volume per restock event
Exclude specific products or collections
Customize the notification email template (subject, sender, body, preview text)
View subscribers grouped by product

Setup, Step by Step

Open the Vitals dashboard and go to the Back in Stock app.
Toggle "Enable Back In Stock" to activate it.
Customize the button and modal text to match your store's branding and language.
If you want to offer SMS, enable the "Status" toggle in the SMS section and customize the SMS message template.
Under inventory policy, choose whether the button should appear on regular out-of-stock products, pre-orders, or both.
(Optional) Set a "Minimum inventory trigger" if you only want notifications to go out once stock hits a certain level.
If you have limited inventory, enable "Limit the number of notifications sent per every restocked unit" and set a notification limit.
Exclude any products or collections you don't want the button on.
Customize the email template — subject line, sender name, reply-to address, and email body to match your brand.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of It

Match your tone. The default text works, but a short rewrite that sounds like your brand ("We'll text you the second it's back!") tends to lift sign-up rates.
Pick the right channel. Email is the safe default. Add SMS for products where customers will act fast — limited drops, hyped restocks, hard-to-find items.
Use the minimum inventory trigger for products that often come back in tiny quantities. It saves you from sending notifications that result in another sold-out page.
Use notification limits when your subscriber list outstrips your usual restock size. It protects the customer experience and your sender reputation.
Review exclusions periodically. A discontinued product still showing the button only annoys customers. Add it to the exclusion list.

Settings Reference

Setting	Type	Description
Enable Back In Stock	On/Off toggle	Turns the app on or off for the entire store. Default: off.
Button text	Text field	The text on the notification button on the storefront. Default: "Notify when available." Translatable.
Modal headline	Text field	The heading at the top of the subscription modal. Default: "Notify me when back-in-stock." Translatable.
Body text	Text field	The instructional text in the modal below the headline. Default: "Enter your contact information below to receive a notification as soon as the desired product is back in stock." Translatable.
Privacy information	Text field	Optional privacy notice text displayed in the modal. Default: empty. Translatable.
Modal button text	Text field	The submit button text inside the modal. Default: "Notify me when available." Translatable.
Show on products with inventory policy	Dropdown	Controls which out-of-stock products show the button. Options: "Stop selling when out of stock" (default), "Continue selling when out of stock," or "Both."
Status (SMS)	On/Off toggle	Enables or disables SMS as a notification channel. Default: off.
SMS message	Text field	The SMS template sent to subscribers. Supports variables: `{{ product_name }}` , `{{ shop_name }}` , `{{ short_product_url }}` . Default: "{{ product_name }} is back in stock at {{ shop_name }}. Buy now: {{ short_product_url }}. Reply STOP to opt out."
Email	Text field	Label for the "Email" tab/field in the modal. Default: "Email." Translatable.
Invalid email address	Text field	Validation message shown when an invalid email is entered. Default: "Invalid email address." Translatable.
Thank you for subscribing	Text field	Success title shown after a successful subscription. Default: "Thank you for subscribing!" Translatable.
Thank you description	Text field	Success description shown after subscribing. Default: "You are all set to receive a notification as soon as the product becomes available again." Translatable.
SMS	Text field	Label for the "SMS" tab in the modal. Default: "SMS." Translatable.
Something went wrong	Text field	Error title shown when subscription fails. Default: "Something went wrong." Translatable.
Please try to subscribe again	Text field	Error description shown when subscription fails. Default: "Please try to subscribe again." Translatable.
Invalid phone number	Text field	Validation message for invalid phone numbers. Default: "Invalid phone number." Translatable.
Phone number	Text field	Label for the phone number input field. Default: "Phone number." Translatable.
Phone number should contain only digits	Text field	Validation message when non-numeric characters are entered. Default: "Phone number should contain only digits." Translatable.
Minimum inventory trigger	Number field	The minimum units required in stock before notifications are sent. Default: 1.
Limit the number of notifications sent per every restocked unit	On/Off toggle	When enabled, caps the number of subscribers notified based on restocked quantity. Default: off.
Notification limit	Number field	Number of subscribers notified per restocked unit (only applies when the limit setting above is enabled). Default: 10.
Never send notifications for products with "Continue selling when out of stock" policy	On/Off toggle	Prevents notification emails from being sent for pre-order products, even when the inventory policy is set to "Continue selling" or "Both." Default: off.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the Back in Stock button appear?

The button appears on product pages, within the product form area. By default, it's injected after the product form. You can also use your Shopify Theme Editor to place the Back in Stock app on your product page yourself.

When does the button show up?

The button only appears when a product variant is out of stock and the product has inventory tracking enabled. If the selected variant has stock, the button is hidden. When a customer switches between variants, the button automatically shows or hides based on each variant's stock.

Can I show the button on pre-order products?

Yes. Change the "Show on products with inventory policy" setting to "Continue selling when out of stock" or "Both" to display the button on pre-order products. Note that if you select "Continue selling when out of stock" on its own, the button only appears on products with that specific inventory policy — not on regular out-of-stock products.

How are notifications triggered?

Notifications are triggered automatically when a product's inventory changes from zero (or below the minimum threshold) to a positive quantity. Vitals monitors inventory changes and queues notification emails or SMS for all subscribers of the affected variant. No manual action is required from you.

Can I limit how many notifications go out per restock?

Yes. Enable "Limit the number of notifications sent per every restocked unit" and set a "Notification limit" value. The total notifications are calculated as: notification limit × restocked units. Subscribers are notified in the order they subscribed (first come, first served). Anyone past that cap stays queued and gets notified if more stock comes in.

What happens if I run out of notification credits?

If your shop runs out of Back in Stock notification credits, any notifications that would have been sent after a restock are marked as "Limit reached." Those won't be resent automatically when credits are replenished — for example, by upgrading your plan or starting a new billing cycle. If you'd like them resent, reach out to Vitals support and the team can send them manually.

Can customers unsubscribe from notifications?

Yes. Every notification email includes an unsubscribe link. Customers who unsubscribe won't receive future Back in Stock notifications for your store. For SMS, customers can reply STOP to opt out.

Can I exclude certain products from showing the button?

Yes. You can exclude specific products or entire collections from the Back in Stock widget. Excluded products won't show the notification button even when their variants are out of stock. This is configured in the dashboard under the exclusions section.

Yes. All customer-facing text — the button label, modal content, validation messages, and success/error messages — is translatable. Vitals ships with built-in translations for 15+ languages and you can override any string in the dashboard.

What information is included in the notification email?

The notification email is fully customizable via a visual template editor. It can include the product name, price (formatted in your shop's currency), a product image, and a direct link to the product page with the correct variant pre-selected. The email also supports subject line variables, a sender name, reply-to address, and preview text.

What variables can I use in the SMS template?

The SMS template supports three variables: {{ product_name }} (the product title, truncated to 45 characters), {{ shop_name }} (the store name, truncated to 30 characters), and {{ short_product_url }} (a shortened link to the product page). Product names are truncated at word boundaries to keep messages readable.