Back-in-stock email automation helps you capture potential sales by allowing customers to subscribe to omni-channel notifications when out-of-stock products become available again. When a product is restocked, subscribed customers automatically receive an email alert, driving urgency and recovering lost sales opportunities.
This guide will walk you through the complete setup process, which involves three main steps across PushOwl and your Shopify theme.
Prerequisites
Before starting, ensure:
PushOwl is installed to your Shopify store
You have finished Email onboarding in PushOwl
Your PushOwl theme app extension is enabled
Step 1: Activate Back-in-Stock Feature
First, you need to activate the back-in-stock feature in your Email homepage.
Click "Email" in the left navigation menu
Scroll down to the "Notifications" section
Find "Back in stock alerts" - it will show as "Inactive" by default
Click the "Activate" button
Step 2: Embed Opt-in Form in Your Shopify Theme
Now, let's make the subscription form visible to customers on your product pages.
Click on your activated "Back in stock alerts" card. This will open up feature configuration page.
Click "Embed in Shopify theme" button. This will redirect you to theme editor.
In the theme editor, expand the "Product information" section
Find "Back-in-stock form" (with PushOwl icon)
Drag it to your preferred location (recommended: above price/buy buttons)
Click "Save" in the top-right corner of the theme editor.
Step 3: Set Up Email Automation Workflow
Finally, let's configure the automated email that gets sent when products are back in stock.
Go back to Back in stock alerts configuration page.
Click "Automation flow Edit" button.
Click "Create an automation"
Select "All" to view all templates, then select "Back in stock" template
Click "Next" through each step of guided setup (default settings work well for most stores)
Click "Activate automation" to activate workflow
Great! You are all set!
Customers visiting out-of-stock product pages will now see the subscription widget, clicking on which they can enter their email to be notified when items are restocked. Your back-in-stock email automation is now fully configured and ready to help you recover lost sales opportunities.
Troubleshooting
Form not appearing on product pages?
Ensure the theme app extension is enabled
Check that the form block is positioned correctly in the theme editor
Verify the product is actually "out of stock" (0 or negative inventory) in Shopify
Emails not sending?
Confirm the automation is "Active"
Check that products have been properly restocked in Shopify
Review automation logs in the Automations section
Need to customize the email?
Go to Email → Automations → Product is back in stock
Click on the "Send an email" step to edit subject line and content
Use dynamic fields to personalize messages
Important: If you see a "Enable PushOwl in your store's theme" message in your PushOwl dashboard homepage, click "Enable now" first. The theme app extension is required for the opt-in form to function properly.
