How do I set up low stock alert emails?
The low stock alert emails a shopper when a product in their wishlist is running out: stock has dropped below the threshold you set. It converts urgency into orders and doubles as a restock signal for you. This guide sets it up and tunes the threshold.
Available on Silver plans and above.
How it works
- A shopper saves a product that tracks inventory.
- Scheduled checks run three times a day. When a wishlisted variant’s stock falls below your threshold, shoppers with that item in their wishlist get the alert.
- The alert names the product with a Buy Now button, in your store’s email design.
- Each item alerts once per stock level: if stock keeps falling, shoppers are not spammed; if stock rises back above the threshold, the item re-arms for next time.
The same guardrails as all reminders apply: at most one reminder email per shopper per 24 hours, and only shoppers who were logged in when saving receive emails.
Set it up
- Go to Settings > Product on sale & Low stock email reminders.
- Switch on Low stock email reminder.
- Set the threshold under Send when a product stock drops below ___ available in stock. The default is 10 units.
- Click Save.
Choose the threshold
| Threshold | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 3 to 5 | Sharp urgency: “almost gone”. Best for scarce or handmade stock |
| 10 (default) | Balanced: shoppers can still buy easily, urgency is real |
| 20 and above | Early warning: suits long lead time restocks; the alert acts as demand notice for your buying too |
The threshold applies store wide, per variant stock.
Customize the email
The low stock email has its own subject and body on the same settings page:
- Default subject: “Low stock on items in your wishlist!”
- Body rich text with the
##wishlist_hero_items##placeholder rendering the product grid - Buy Now button colors shared with the price drop email settings
- Send test email to preview, Reset email body to start over
Placeholder details: Email dynamic variables.
What the alert is not
- It is not a back in stock notice: out of stock items do not trigger this alert. Shoppers see out of stock items marked in their wishlist, and the alert re-arms if stock returns above the threshold.
- It is not a merchant inventory report: use Shopify’s own inventory alerts for buying decisions. Your benefit here is indirect: surging low stock alerts on one product, visible in the Email reports reminder log, is demand evidence for a bigger reorder.