Automated product availability notifications are a tool that lets customers know when the products they are interested in return to the store's assortment.
Table of contents
- 01 What do automated product availability notifications offer?
- 02 Which tips will boost effectiveness?
- 03 Which industries do automated product availability notifications work well in?
- 04 Summary
01 What do automated product availability notifications offer?
- Promoting the first purchase.
- Reducing customer loss.
- Increasing purchase frequency.
- Driving traffic to the site.
- Encouraging repeat purchases.
- Increasing revenue from active customers.
Automated product availability notifications are aimed at customers who were interested in a specific product that was out of stock at the time.
Our observations show that around 70% of stores do not use this solution, for various reasons. Sometimes a store lacks the right data in its product pages or inventory system, which makes it impossible to implement such a feature.
Sending emails about products being back in stock gives you a second chance to win the customer over. Instead of giving up on the purchase right away, some people will fill out a back-in-stock form and leave their email address. This lets you notify them when the product returns to sale.
Automated product availability notifications also help remind active, loyal customers that their favorite products are back. The very reminder that something previously sold out but is now returning can trigger a "fear" of missing out on the opportunity.
It is also worth noting that back-in-stock emails enable cross-selling and upselling of other products, even if the original sale was not completed.
Emails announcing that products are back in stock have the highest open rate of all automated emails, reaching 65%.
02 Which tips will boost effectiveness?
- Focus on reminding customers about the availability of a single product.
- Let the customer know that the products they are interested in will be back on sale soon.
- Do not overdo the content - stick to the "keep it simple" principle.
- Explain to the customer why the products that are back in stock are also bestsellers in your store.
- Create a pleasant sense of anticipation, for example by telling the customer that the products they have been waiting for so long will arrive in just a week.
- Run A/B tests to optimize the notification content.
03 Which industries do automated product availability notifications work well in?
An automation like this works well in any industry with high product turnover, for example in:
- fashion,
- electronics,
- cosmetics,
- household chemicals,
- DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands.
04 Summary
A back-in-stock notification is a second chance at a sale that as many as 70% of stores fail to use. A customer who left their address for an out-of-stock product has already signaled they are ready to buy, and a sense of limited availability motivates them to act. That is why these emails achieve record open rates. Keep the message simple, focus on a single product and test the content to get the most out of this scenario.
