Shopify backorder messages: notification examples and templates for every stage

Shopify can let a product keep selling after inventory hits zero — that part really is one checkbox. What the checkbox doesn't do is say a single word to your customer. The messaging layer is separate and entirely yours: theme copy, edited notification templates, automation logic, or an app. It's also the layer that decides whether a backorder ends in a patient customer or an open ticket.

A backorder generates five customer-facing messages, from the product-page label to the day-it-ships email. Below are copy-paste templates for all five stages — including the fragile cases like partial quantities and mixed carts — plus SMS versions, written for Shopify stores with the merge fields marked. (New to backorders entirely? Start with the full guide, then come back for the wording.)

The five moments a backorder needs a message

Miss the first three and the last two get much harder. A customer who saw the date before paying reads a delay email as an update; a customer who didn't reads it as a confession.

Shopify backorder message templates (copy-paste)

Seventeen templates, organized by the five stages above — take what fits, swap the [bracketed] fields, and adjust the register to your brand.

1. Product page backorder messages

Shopify does not automatically add a backorder label by default. With "Continue selling when out of stock" enabled, the page looks like a normal in-stock listing. So this message is on you, via your theme or a backorder app. Five formats, in increasing order of effort:

Short label:

Available on backorder — ships in [2–3 weeks]

Dated (better):

Backordered — orders placed today ship by [March 25]

With context:

This item is on backorder. Our next shipment arrives [March 22], and orders ship in the sequence received — order now to be first in line.

Variant-level:

Size M is backordered and ships by [March 25]. All other sizes ship within 24 hours.

Limited batch:

Backordered — [40] units available in this batch. Once they're claimed, backorders close until the next restock.

A date beats a duration: "ships by March 25" reads as a commitment, "2–3 weeks" reads as a shrug. Placement matters as much as wording — put the label directly under the product title or beside the Add to Cart button, not buried in the description where nobody scrolls.

One note on the last template. Capping how many backorders you’ll accept is smart when supply is tight, and honest scarcity can help customers decide. But only display a remaining count if your setup keeps it current. That number depends on your theme or app wiring, and a stale “40 left” is worse than no number.

And one caveat before you trust any of these labels: they live on your online store's product page. Customers buying through the Shop app or other sales channels may never see them — test the purchase path your customers actually use, not just the one you designed.

2. Cart, checkout, and partial-stock messages

Three one-liners, next to the affected item:

Cart note:

[Product name] is on backorder — estimated ship date [March 25]. In-stock items in your order may ship separately.

‍Partial quantity:

Only [3] of the [5] you've selected are in stock today. The remaining [2] are on backorder and ship separately by [March 25].

Checkout note:

Your order contains a backordered item. See estimated ship dates in your confirmation email.

The partial-quantity case is the one merchants most often miss, and we've watched the confusion play out in real support tickets: a customer orders five units, three are in stock, and nothing anywhere tells them the other two will ship later. Shopify won't surface the quantity split on its own — it has to come from your theme, an app, or at minimum the confirmation email.

What you can show at checkout varies by store setup — plan, theme, apps, and sales channel all change what's possible — so treat the cart note as the non-negotiable one. Its job is simple: no one should learn about the wait after paying.

3. Order confirmation email for backordered items

A common Shopify backorder question is: how do I tell customers in the confirmation email that their item is backordered?

First, what Shopify does and doesn't give you here: there is no standalone backorder notification in Shopify. What exists is a set of editable notification templates (Settings → Notifications → Order confirmation in your admin), and the default order confirmation doesn't distinguish backordered items. You add that context yourself — by customizing the Liquid template, using automation logic, or letting an app inject the backorder status and ship date.

Two templates — one for all-backorder orders, one for mixed:

Subject: Order [#1234] confirmed — ships by [March 25]

Hi [First name],Thanks for your order! 

A quick heads-up on timing: [Product name] is currently on backorder. Our next shipment arrives [March 22], and your order is queued to ship by [March 25].You don't need to do anything — we'll email you tracking the moment it ships. If anything about that date changes, you'll hear from us first.
Questions in the meantime? Just reply to this email.

[Your name] at [Store name]

Subject (mixed order): Order [#1234] confirmed — part ships today, part by [March 25]

Hi [First name],

Your order is confirmed, and here's how it will arrive:

Shipping now: [In-stock items] — tracking to follow within 24 hours. 
On backorder: [Backordered item] — ships separately by [March 25], at no extra shipping cost.

We split shipments so you're not waiting on everything because of one item. Tracking for each shipment lands in your inbox as it goes out.

[Your name] at [Store name]

One internal note for your ops team — not for customers: if your stack places fulfillment holds on backordered lines and releases them when stock arrives, downstream fulfillment tools like ShipHero or ShipStation can read that release as a brand-new shipment. Before your emails promise "ships separately" or "one package," check what your fulfillment pipeline actually does with held and released line items — the copy should describe your pipeline, not contradict it.

4. Backorder delay email templates

The hardest email in ecommerce, and the one that decides whether a backorder ends in a shipment or a chargeback. Two situations, two templates.

Subject (short slip): Update on your order [#1234] — new ship date [April 2]

Hi [First name],

An update on [Product name]: our shipment has been delayed in transit, and your new estimated ship date is [April 2] — about a week later than we promised.

We know that's not the news you wanted. If the new date doesn't work for you, reply to this email and we'll cancel and refund you in full, no questions asked. Otherwise, nothing to do — we'll ship the moment it arrives.

[Your name] at [Store name]

Subject (long or uncertain delay): Your order [#1234] — options for the delay on [Product name]

Hi [First name],

We owe you an honest update. The restock of [Product name] has been pushed back by our supplier, and we don't yet have a date we're confident in.

You have three options — reply with the one you'd like:

Keep waiting — you stay first in the queue, and we'll email you a firm date as soon as we have one.
Swap — choose [alternative product] instead and we'll ship it within 24 hours (we'll refund any price difference).
Refund — full refund to your original payment method, processed same day.

Whatever you pick, thank you for your patience with a small business dealing with a stubborn supply chain.

[Your name] at [Store name]

Two rules make these emails rare. Send them before the promised date passes, not after the customer asks. And pad the date you're given in the first place — if your supplier says stock lands November 10, promise customers November 15–20. The buffer absorbs the routine slippage that would otherwise cost you an apology email.

5. Ready-to-ship and back-in-stock messages

The happy endings. First, the shipping confirmation for a backordered order — worth customizing because this customer waited:

Subject: It's on the way — [Product name] has shipped

Hi [First name],

The wait is over: [Product name] shipped today. Track it here: [tracking link].

Thanks for bearing with us on the backorder — orders like yours are how we knew to stock more of this one.

[Your name] at [Store name]

The second message belongs to the adjacent path: products you marked out of stock instead of backordering — the right call when there's no confirmed restock date (here's how to decide). Those customers get a back-in-stock alert:

Subject: Back in stock: [Product name]

Hi [First name],

Good news — [Product name] is back. You asked us to tell you, so you're hearing it before anyone else: [link to product].

Fair warning: [X] people are on this list, and last time it sold out in [Y days].

[Store name]

One caution on this message: it only works if it's true. With Jéan, a fashion brand shipping from warehouses in three regions, learned this the hard way — their previous alerts setup ignored Shopify Markets, so customers got restock emails for items that weren't available in their region. "Customers thought items were back when they weren't," their developer told us, and the complaints piled up until they fixed the trigger, not the template. The lesson generalizes to every template on this page: accuracy is the load-bearing half of notification copy. The words only work when the trigger behind them tells the truth.

Bonus: SMS backorder notification examples

SMS earns its keep on the delay and the ship confirmation — the two messages customers need to see now. Keep them under 160 characters:

[Store name]: Update — your [Product name] order now ships by Apr 2. Reply HELP for options or STOP to opt out.

[Store name]: Back in stock — [Product name] is live again. Grab yours: [short link]

[Store name]: Your backorder shipped! Track: [short link]

What makes a backorder message work

Seventeen templates, four rules doing all the work:

1. A date beats a duration. "Ships by March 25" is a promise; a weeks-long range is something customers round up and resent.
2. Before the payment, not after. The label, the cart note, and the confirmation exist so no customer discovers the wait — or the quantity split — from a delay email.
3. Proactive beats reactive. Every message a customer has to ask for costs more trust than ten you send unprompted.
4. Pad the date you're given. Suppliers slip. Build the buffer in upfront so your delay emails stay rare.

Frequently asked questions

What is a backorder notice?

A backorder notice is any message telling a customer that a product they're buying (or bought) is temporarily out of inventory and will ship on a later date. It appears as a product-page label before purchase and as email or SMS updates after.

How do I explain a backorder to a customer?

Lead with the ship date, not the problem: "Your item is on backorder and ships by [date]." Then say what happens next (tracking email on shipment) and what their options are if the date doesn't work. Customers accept waits; they don't accept vagueness.

How do I tell a customer their order is delayed?

Before they ask, with a specific new date, and with an exit: use the delay templates above. The three ingredients are the apology (brief), the new date (concrete), and the option to cancel or swap (genuine). Skipping the third is what turns delays into chargebacks.

Where should the backorder message appear on my product page?

Directly under the product title or next to the Add to Cart button — the two places every buyer looks before purchasing. A note in the product description doesn't count; on mobile especially, most buyers never scroll to it. And remember the label only appears on your online store — other sales channels may skip it.

The takeaway

The templates are copy-paste, but the pattern underneath them is the point: show the date before payment, repeat it after, update it before it slips, and close the loop when it ships. Do that — including in the messy cases, the partial quantities and split shipments — and a backorder reads as competence, not chaos.

The copy is the easy half. The hard half is making the right message appear in the right place at the right moment, which is the layer STOQ handles for backorders and preorders: product-page messaging and disclaimers, quantity limits, shipping-timeline display, mixed-cart and split-fulfillment handling, and preorder confirmation emails and SMS — with Klaviyo events and variables if that's your stack.

Ship the wording with the wiring. Install STOQ and show the right preorder/backorder message at the product page, confirmation, and fulfillment stages.

Already using STOQ? Here's how to customize your notification templates.