An out of stock Shopify product isn't just an unavailable item: it's a page that keeps getting visitors who are ready to buy. Hide the product, keep selling, notify customers, or announce a restock date: here are the four options for sold out products on Shopify, what each one costs you, and which to pick for your situation.
What Shopify does by default
When a variant's inventory hits zero, Shopify makes it unavailable for purchase, and most themes show "Sold out" on the Add to cart button. The page stays live, indexed by Google, and keeps getting visits. Without anything else, those visitors leave.
The "Continue selling when out of stock" setting, on each product, changes this behavior: sales continue even at zero. Useful for preorders, risky if you don't know when stock will be back.
Option 1: hide the product
Setting the product back to draft, or removing it from its collections, avoids showing an item nobody can buy.
- Pros: your catalog only shows what's for sale.
- Cons: the page disappears (along with its search rankings), shared links lead to an error, and interested shoppers don't know the product is coming back.
Save this for products that won't be restocked. For everything else, there are better answers to what to do when a product is out of stock.
Option 2: keep selling (preorders)
By turning on selling when out of stock, you take orders against incoming inventory.
- Pros: no lost sales.
- Cons: you have to tell customers clearly when they'll receive their order, or the complaints start rolling in. And if your supplier runs late, those are orders you'll have to refund.
Save this for restocks with a firm date.
Option 3: notify customers when it's back
The product stays visible but not purchasable, with a "notify me" form on the sold-out variant. The day stock returns, every subscriber gets an email with a direct link to the product.
- Pros: the page keeps its traffic and rankings, demand is measured size by size, and on restock day you have a list of customers to notify.
- Cons: you need a tool, since Shopify doesn't offer this form on the online store out of the box.
It's the safest option in most cases. See our guide to back in stock alerts on Shopify.
Option 4: announce the restock with a countdown
When you know the restock date, announce it on the product page with a countdown. Sales stay closed, even if the stock has already arrived, then reopen at the stated time and subscribers are notified at the same moment.
What the shopper sees
The restock becomes an appointment: that's a product drop, ideal for items that sell fast.
What to do when a product is out of stock
| Situation | Option |
|---|---|
| The product won't be back | Hide it, or redirect to a similar product |
| Restock confirmed, reliable date | Preorder, or announced restock with a countdown |
| Restock planned, uncertain date | Back in stock alert |
| High-demand product, limited edition | Drop with a countdown and alerts |
Out of stock mistakes to avoid
- Deleting the page of a product that's coming back: you lose its rankings and its links.
- Promising an uncertain date: a restock that's announced and then pushed back costs more trust than a simple "notify me."
- Notifying too early: the back in stock email should go out when the product is actually purchasable, not when a shipment arrives that hasn't been entered yet.
- Adding customers to your newsletter without asking: the alert covers this restock, nothing else.
Handle sold out products on Shopify without code
The Drop module of Delivery Countdown & Drop covers options 3 and 4: a banner that announces the restock, in instant mode (sales reopen as soon as stock is back) or countdown mode (sales reopen at the time you choose), plus a per-variant "notify me" form with a single email when stock returns. Full details are in the documentation.
