Product page
Pre-order mode
Allow customers to buy a product that’s out of stock, with messaging that sets the right expectation.
How to enable
- In Shopify Admin, on the product variant, set Continue selling when out of stock to true (or set inventory policy = continue).
- In the theme customizer → product section → Pre-order settings.
- Check Treat “continue selling when out” as pre-order.
- Set the Pre-order button label (e.g. “Pre-order now”).
- Set the Pre-order disclaimer text (e.g. “Ships by November 30”).
How it appears to customers
- The Add to cart button label changes to “Pre-order now”.
- A small disclaimer line appears under the button explaining the shipping window.
- The inventory status badge does NOT show “Out of stock” — pre-order overrides it.
- Dynamic checkout (Buy it now) still works and follows the same pre-order behavior.
Best practices
- Tag pre-order line items via Shopify Flow to ship them in a separate batch.
- Capture pre-order payment via Shopify Payments — you can charge immediately or at fulfillment time depending on your store settings.
- Send a confirmation email with the expected ship date.