Stock notification: Notify your customers when items are back in stock

Shoporama has a built-in feature that lets your customers sign up for notifications about out-of-stock products. When the item is back in stock, subscribers automatically receive an email, and on the waiting list, you can see if an item has come back in stock without customers having been notified.

For this to work, you need two things in your theme:

1. A sign-up form on your product page
2. An email template named in_stock_mail.html

Most standard themes (Delaware, DelawareDK, Montana, MontanaB2B, California, Alaska, etc.) include both from the start. Washington has the email template but not the sign-up form, so customers cannot sign up there.

The sign-up form

If you’re building your own theme or want to customize the form, the basic structure looks like this:

<form action="" method="post">
  <input type="hidden" name="out_of_stock_signup" value="1"/>
  <input type="hidden" name="product_id" value="<{$product->getProductId()}>"/>
  <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Your email" required/>

  <label>
    <input type="checkbox" name="mailinglist" value="1"/>
    Sign up for the newsletter too
  </label>

  <input type="submit" value="Notify me"/>
</form>

The important fields are:

• out_of_stock_signup: tells Shoporama that this is a backorder signup
• product_id: the product’s ID
• email: the customer’s email address
• mailinglist (optional): also subscribes the customer to the newsletter. Shoporama accepts both "mailinglist" and "newsletter" as field names. Delaware, DelawareDK, Montana, and MontanaB2B use "mailinglist"

Variants

If you use product variants and want to send notifications for a specific variant, you must include the `attribute_value_id` field with the variant’s ID. In the email template, the variant will be accessible via the `$variant_name` variable.

Email Template

When a product becomes available again, Shoporama automatically sends an email based on the in_stock_mail.html template in your theme. The template has access to the $product object, so you can display the product name, link, and other details.

If you’re using DelawareDK or Delaware, you can change the email’s subject and content without touching the code. Go to Design → Theme Settings and find the fields “In Stock Email: Subject” and “In Stock Email: Content” in the “Emails” section (in the English version of Delaware, they’re called “In Stock Email”). Here, you can use tags like [product_name] and [product_url], which are automatically replaced with the product’s name and link. With Mailtest, you can see what the email looks like before a customer receives it.

View the waiting list of registered customers

Under Products → Waitlist, you’ll see all the items customers are waiting for. The number in parentheses next to the menu item—for example, Waitlist (526)—is the number of sign-ups waiting for an email. This is not the number of items. If no one is waiting, no number will be displayed.

The overview shows one row per product and variant, and by default, the most popular items appear at the top. The columns show:

• Waiting: how many customers are waiting for the item.
• Product: the product name with the item number below it.
• Variant: the variant customers are waiting for. The field is empty when the subscription applies to the entire product.
• Current Stock: how many are in stock right now. If the item is in stock, the quantity appears in a yellow label, e.g., 137 in stock. Read more about this below.
• Last Sign-Up: How long it has been since the last customer signed up. If you hover your mouse over it, you’ll see the date and time.

Above the table, you can narrow down the list:

• Search field: Search by product name or item number, then press Enter.
• Stock status: Select “Sold out” to see items that are still out of stock, or “Back in stock” to see items that are in stock but for which customers haven’t received an email.
• Supplier: Show only items from a single supplier. This field appears only after you’ve created suppliers under Products → Suppliers.
• Reset: Appears when you’ve selected a filter and removes all filters.
• On the far right, you can choose whether to display 25, 50, or 100 rows per page. The default is 50 per page.

The row above the table—for example, 526 orders for 53 products—reflects the filters you’ve selected, and each variant counts as one product. If you want to sort the list differently, click the column header “Pending,” “Product,” or “Latest Registration.” Clicking again reverses the order. The filters remain active when you sort.

In the product overview, an “X” next to the “Waitlist” column appears for products with sign-ups. If you want a shortcut in the product row itself, click the gear icon at the far right of the table’s header row to open “Customize View,” then enable “Waitlist” under “Buttons” in the product row. The icon appears only on products where someone is on the waitlist, and if you hover over it, the number of people on the waitlist is displayed. If you haven’t selected it as an icon, the “Waiting List” option will instead appear in the menu with the three dots—but only when someone is on the waiting list. The “X” link on the waiting list, the icon, and the menu option all open the product’s own list of sign-ups.

Click on “View Waiting List” or on the product name to view each individual sign-up, including email address, variant, and time, with the most recent entry at the top. The list displays the entire product with all variants, even when you click from a row with a specific variant. Here you’ll find three buttons:

• Send “In Stock” Email Manually: Sends the email to everyone on the product’s list immediately, regardless of variant, even if the item is not yet in stock. This is also the button you should use when the item is listed as “In Stock” again.
• Download all recipients: downloads the list as a CSV file containing email addresses, variants, and timestamps. If you have a restricted role, you must have the “Data Export” add-on.
• Delete all recipients: Removes all sign-ups for the product. This action cannot be undone.

Once the email is sent, the subscription is removed from the waiting list.

Items Back in Stock

A yellow mark in the “In Stock Now” column means the item is in stock, but customers on the waiting list haven’t received an email. Normally, the email is sent automatically when the item comes back in stock, but not in all cases. For example, the email won’t be sent when:

• you have updated inventory through Claude without requesting that customers receive an email.
• you’ve received items under Inventory → Batches using the Item Receipt feature, or you’ve edited or deleted a stock entry under Inventory → Stock Movements.
• the email template is missing from your theme. In that case, you’ll also receive a notification under Notifications (the bell icon) in the admin panel.

Here’s how to notify customers:

1. Select “Back in Stock” under “Inventory Status” so you only see the relevant items.
2. Click “View Waitlist ” next to the item.
3. Click “Send Back-in-Stock Email Manually.” This button sends the email to everyone on the product’s list, regardless of variant; so if some customers are waiting for a variant that’s still out of stock, they’ll also receive the email.

If the email template is missing, the button won’t work. In that case, the template must first be added to the theme. Contact the person who created your theme, or email support@shoporama.dk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to remember to send the email myself when the item is back in stock?

Usually not. The email is sent automatically when you restock items using “Add to Stock,” “Quick Stock Update,” or the stock fields on the product page, and when stock is updated via an import or an integration. A returned item from the Return Center will only trigger an email if “Automatically restock returned items ” is enabled under Webstore → General on the Return Center tab. If you create returned items directly on the order using the “Returned Items” button, the email is sent when the items are restocked. The same applies when an order is canceled or deleted—including via “Auto-Cancel Order”—and the item is therefore returned to stock. The few cases where the email is not sent are listed in the “Items Back in Stock” section above. Use the “Send Back-in-Stock Email Manually ” button when you want to notify customers before the item is restocked, or when the item is listed as “Back in Stock.”

I’ve only received 2 items, but there are 10 on the waiting list. Who gets the email?

All 10 will receive the email at the same time. There is no queue or reservation system, so it’s first come, first served. There is also no setting that limits how many people receive a notification at a time.

Does the customer receive a new email every time I restock a few items?

No, only once. Once the email is sent, the subscription is used up and the customer is removed from the waiting list. If you restock more items later, the customer won’t receive another email.

A customer has signed up for size 38, but I’m restocking size 40. Will the customer be notified?

No. When you restock a variant, only customers who have signed up for that specific variant will be notified. However, customers who have signed up for the product without selecting a variant will be notified regardless of which variant becomes available.

Can I see which variants customers are waiting for the most?

Yes. The overview under Products → Waitlist has one row per product and variant and, by default, displays the most in-demand items at the top. This provides a quick overview of what’s worth ordering first. With the “Supplier” filter, you’ll see only items from a single supplier—for example, before placing an order with that supplier.

What does the number next to “Waiting List” in the menu represent?

The number of sign-ups waiting for an email. If a customer signs up for two variants, it counts as two. Items listed as “Back in Stock” also count because customers haven’t received the email yet. The number is updated immediately when a customer signs up, when the email is sent, and when you delete a list. Otherwise, it is updated within a few minutes.

Can I change the text in the form or decide when it’s displayed?

You can change the text in the form—such as the heading and the button—under Design → Texts. In Delaware, DelawareDK, Montana, and MontanaB2B, you can also go to Design → Theme Settings to choose when the form should appear: never, only when the entire product is out of stock, or even when a single variant is out of stock.

Why isn’t the form displayed on one of my sold-out products?

In Delaware, DelawareDK, Montana, and MontanaB2B, the form does not appear on products that can be sold out of stock (negative inventory). After all, the customer can still purchase the item, so there’s nothing to wait for. Also check under Design → Theme Settings to see when the form is set to appear.

Are customers subscribed to my newsletter when they sign up for the waitlist?

Only if the checkbox for the newsletter is selected when they sign up. In that case, they’ll be subscribed to the newsletter immediately, not just when the item comes back in stock. If the checkbox isn’t selected, the email address is used only for the notification about the item.

I accidentally deleted the list. Can I get it back?

No. Deleting all recipients cannot be undone, and you cannot remove a single email address either. Therefore, download the list as a CSV file using “Download All Recipients” before deleting it. Customers can sign up again via the product page as long as the item is out of stock.

How can I tell if the email has been sent?

Once the email has been sent, the subscription will be removed from the waiting list. Under Webshop → Sent Emails, you can view individual emails. If the email template is missing from your theme, nothing will be sent, and you’ll receive a notification about this under Notifications (the clock icon) in the admin panel. In that case, the sign-ups will remain on the list.

Do you have any questions? Contact us at support@shoporama.dk.