---
title: Set up back in stock notifications on Shopify
date: "2026-11-06"
author: RocketCart
url: "https://getrocketcart.com/docs/back-in-stock/set-up-back-in-stock/"
type: docs
---

Back in stock lets shoppers leave their WhatsApp number on a sold-out product. When the item returns, you press **Notify** and everyone waiting gets a WhatsApp message with a link to the product. Setup takes three parts: the button on your store, a WhatsApp alert message, and a WhatsApp connection.

![The Back in stock page with the hero, the Widget inactive button and Manage templates](/docs-media/en/back-in-stock/back-in-stock-empty-800.webp)

## What does the shopper see?

On a product page, when the selected variant is sold out, a **Notify me when available** button appears next to the add to cart button. It uses your theme’s button style. When the variant is in stock, the button is hidden.

Tapping it opens a small window: “Notify me when it’s back”. The shopper picks a country code, types their WhatsApp number and taps **Notify me**. They see “You’re on the list! We’ll message you on WhatsApp when it’s back.”

The widget asks for a WhatsApp number only, no email. It shows in the shopper’s store language; 14 languages are included.

## Step 1: Connect WhatsApp

Alerts go out from your own WhatsApp Business number. See [connect WhatsApp](/docs/whatsapp/connect-whatsapp/).

## Step 2: Turn on the button

1. Open **Back in stock**.
2. Click **Widget inactive** at the top. Your theme editor opens on **App embeds**.
3. Switch on **Back in stock button** and click **Save**.
4. Back in RocketCart, the button now reads **Widget active**.

In the theme editor, the button always shows on product pages, so you can see where it sits. Full steps are in [turn on the app embeds](/docs/getting-started/turn-on-app-embeds/).

## Step 3: Write the alert message

1. On **Back in stock**, click **New template** (or **Manage templates**, then **New template**). The editor opens as **New back-in-stock message**.
2. Fill in **Message name**. Customers never see it.
3. Choose the **Message language**.
4. Click **Start from a preset** to pick one of the 12 **Starter messages**, for example Friendly or Last chance, or edit the text that is already there.
5. Click the message on the phone to edit it. Use `{{product}}` for the product name.
6. Set the label of the shop-now button. RocketCart sets its link to the product.
7. When the checklist shows **Message name**, **Message written** and **Shop-now button** ticked, click **Submit for review**.

![The New back-in-stock message editor with the phone preview and the Ready to submit? checklist](/docs-media/en/back-in-stock/message-editor-new-800.webp)

![The Starter messages window with the 12 back in stock presets](/docs-media/en/back-in-stock/starter-messages-800.webp)

The product photo is added to each alert for you. Button labels can be up to 25 characters.

To save without submitting, click **Save draft**.

## Step 4: Activate the message

WhatsApp reviews the message, usually within minutes to a few hours. Then:

1. Open **Back in stock** > **Manage templates**.
2. If the message doesn’t show **LIVE**, click **⋯** on its row and choose **Activate all languages**.

The **Back in stock** page now shows **Live** next to its title. Only one message is live at a time. Activating another one makes that one the live message.

Tip

Shoppers get the alert in the language they subscribed in. If the live message has no version in that language, they get the English version, or else another language you have. To add a language, open **⋯** on the message in **Manage templates** and choose **+ Add language**. Each language is reviewed by WhatsApp on its own.

## Next step

When products come back, send the alert: [waitlist and Notify](/docs/back-in-stock/waitlist-and-notify/).