Stock alerts

A sold-out product doesn’t have to be a lost sale. With back-in-stock alerts, a Shopper who finds an item unavailable leaves their email instead of leaving the store, and hears from you the moment it returns. The Companion plugin keeps the list, watches stock and sends the emails.

Where it shows

Product page (in place of the purchase controls on a sold-out item), /account/stock-alerts, and two email landing pages

Configure in

StoreFront › Settings › Stock alerts; sign-ups under StoreFront › Stock Notifications

Requires

WooCommerce mode, the Companion plugin, a Storefront URL and working WooCommerce email

Try it in Demo Mode

Open Stoneware serving bowls (pair), which the demo seeds as sold out

What shoppers get

• Notify me when available. On a sold-out simple product, or once a sold-out variation is chosen, the purchase controls make way for a Notify me when available button. It opens a short dialog that promises one email as soon as the item is back.
• One click when signed in. A signed-in Shopper’s alert goes to their account email straight away, confirmed with “You’re on the list! We’ll email you the moment it’s back.”
• Double opt-in for guests. A guest enters an email address and is asked to confirm it from their inbox. The alert goes live only once they click the link.
• A clear email trail. Guests get confirm your alert, then you’re on the list; everyone gets back in stock when the item returns. Every email carries an unsubscribe link.
• A place to manage alerts. Account › Stock alerts lists every open alert with its status (Awaiting confirmation or Active), a link to the product, and Cancel.

How it works

1. A Shopper signs up on the product page. The storefront sends the request through the Port to the Companion plugin, which records it as pending (guests) or active (signed-in Shoppers).
2. A guest’s confirmation link opens /stock-notifications/verify on the storefront. It confirms the alert and lands them on the product with a short confirmation toast. If no account exists for that email, one is created, and they can set a password later with Forgot password.
3. When WooCommerce records a restock, the Companion waits for the send delay, checks the product is still in stock, then emails everyone waiting, in batches. A mistaken stock change that is undone inside the delay sends nothing.
4. Each alert is one-shot. After the back in stock email it is finished; a Shopper who wants another alert signs up again.

The unsubscribe link in each email opens /stock-notifications/unsubscribe, which cancels that alert without asking the Shopper to sign in.

Set it up

Back-in-stock alerts are on by default once the Companion plugin is active. Review the settings under StoreFront›Settings›Stock alerts:

Setting	What it does	Default
Back-in-stock notifications	Master switch. Off hides the button and the account page, and sends nothing.	On
Send delay (minutes)	How long to wait after a restock before emailing.	1
Minimum stock to notify	Only email when at least this many units are in stock (products that manage stock).	1
Delete unverified sign-ups after (days)	Removes guest sign-ups that were never confirmed. 0 keeps them.	30
Require Cloudflare Turnstile	Guests pass a Turnstile check before signing up. Signed-in Shoppers are never asked.	On

Sign-ups are listed under StoreFront›Stock Notifications, with search by email, filters by status and product, a per-row Cancel, and Export CSV. The three emails are standard WooCommerce emails: edit their wording under WooCommerce › Settings › Emails.

The click-by-click guide is in Customers and engagement.

Use one back-in-stock feature

Do not define WOOCOMMERCE_BIS_ALPHA_ENABLED in wp-config.php. WooCommerce’s own experimental back-in-stock feature would email the same Shoppers a second time. The Companion plugin shows a warning in wp-admin if both are on.

Good to know

• Variations, not parents. On a variable product the Shopper picks the variation they want first; alerts are kept per variation.
• Fixed rules. Guest double opt-in is always on, the confirmation link lasts 24 hours, and emails go out in batches of 50 per run. None of these are admin settings today.
• Failed sends retry. An alert is marked sent only once the mailer accepts the email, so a failed send stays active for the next restock.
• Export scope. Export CSV on the Stock Notifications screen always exports every sign-up, whatever filters are on screen.
• Storefront URL. The emails link to your storefront only once StoreFront › Settings › General › Storefront URL is set.
• Arabic copy. The Arabic wording for stock alerts is awaiting a native-speaker review.

Related

Product pageWhere the Notify me button lives.

Accounts and sign-inThe customer dashboard, including Stock alerts.

Customers and engagementManage sign-ups, subscribers and contact entries.

Emails and background jobsThe alert emails and the send queue.