Back in stock notifications on BigCommerce: the setup that actually converts

Why a sold-out page needs a job

A product page that says "Out of stock" still gets traffic. Google keeps ranking it, your ads keep sending people to it, and shoppers who bought before come back for more. What it no longer has is a button. Most of those visitors leave, and a good share of them buy the same thing from another store the same day.

Back in stock notifications give that page a second job: collect the shopper's email, keep a list per product, and email everyone on the list the moment stock is back. On BigCommerce this takes an app, because the platform does not do it natively, and it takes about ten minutes to set up.

How it works on BigCommerce

Every back in stock app for BigCommerce follows the same loop:

1. A widget on the product page. A script is installed through the BigCommerce Script Manager, so nothing is edited in your theme. It detects an out-of-stock product, or an out-of-stock variant once the shopper has picked a size or colour, and shows a short form.
2. A waiting list per product. Each sign-up is stored with the product, the variant and the email. You can see how many people are waiting for each product.
3. Stock checks. The app reads your inventory through the BigCommerce API on a schedule, hourly or every few hours depending on the plan.
4. Restock emails. When a product is back, everyone on its list gets an email, usually capped to the quantity received so you do not email 200 people for 10 units.

The differences between apps sit in the details: how often stock is checked, whether emails leave from your domain, and whether you can tell which emails turned into orders.

Setting it up, step by step

1. Install from the marketplace

In your BigCommerce control panel, open Apps, then Marketplace, search for the app and click Install. The app appears in your left menu and syncs your catalogue on its own.

2. Decide who the emails come from

Use an address on a domain you own, not Gmail or Yahoo. Public providers cannot be authenticated for sending, so an app has to send from its own shared address with replies going to you. That works, but the From line then shows the app's domain rather than yours.

3. Authenticate your domain

The app gives you a few DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to add at your DNS provider. Once they are live, restock emails go out from your own address and land in the inbox more reliably. This is the single step most merchants skip and the one with the largest effect on results.

4. Make the widget look like your theme

Colour, wording, and where the form sits: above or below the add-to-cart button. Ask only for the email unless you really need a name or phone. Every extra field costs sign-ups.

5. Set the stock rule

Two settings matter: the minimum quantity that counts as "back in stock" (one unit is fine for most stores), and whether emails are limited to the quantity received. Limiting them avoids emailing shoppers about a product that sold out again before they opened the message.

6. Test with a real sold-out product

Open one on your storefront, sign up with your own address, then check the sign-up appears in the app. When you next restock, watch the emails go out and the orders that follow.

What to expect

Rates vary a lot with the product. Limited runs, sizes and colours that sell out fast, and anything with a fan base see the highest sign-up rates on sold-out pages. Restock emails are opened far more than ordinary marketing email because the shopper asked for them: on stores using Smart Stock Alerts, around two thirds of restock emails are opened and about four in ten are clicked.

The revenue calculator lets you put your own traffic and order value in and see what a waiting list would be worth per month.

Four mistakes to avoid

• Sending from a personal email provider. It cannot be authenticated and it hurts deliverability.
• Emailing everyone for a small restock. Cap emails to the quantity received.
• Hiding the form. Put it where the buy button was, in the theme's colours.
• Never looking at the list. The products with the longest lists are the ones to reorder first.