Preorder email sequence: selling stock you don't have yet

What is a preorder email?

A preorder email sells a product that isn't ready to ship yet. Shopify describes preorders as a way to "sell products that are out of stock or not available yet." It can be a brand-new product, a new flavor or color, or something that sold out and is being made again.

It sits between two emails you probably already send. A product launch email sells something you can ship today. A back in stock email goes out once the stock is in the warehouse. A preorder takes the money before either of those moments, which is why it needs more follow-up than both.

How do preorders work on Shopify?

Shopify doesn't take preorders on its own. You need a preorder app from the Shopify App Store, and Shopify says preorders are only available to merchants using Shopify Payments or PayPal Express.

Depending on the app, you can collect full payment, a partial deposit, or nothing at checkout. Shopify stores the customer's payment method so you can collect the rest later, at fulfillment. Customers also have to confirm they understand they're buying a preorder before they can pay.

That payment choice changes your emails:

• Full payment up front. Your emails are about the wait. Keep people informed and excited.
• Deposit now, balance later. You need an extra email before the balance is charged, so the second charge is never a surprise.
• No payment until it ships. Same thing. Warn them before the card is charged.

How do preorder apps connect to Klaviyo?

It depends on the app, so check yours before you build anything. Two examples:

• STOQ sends three metrics into Klaviyo: "Preorder confirmed (STOQ)," "Preorder shipping update (STOQ)" and "Preorder payment failed (STOQ)." Each one can trigger its own flow: a confirmation, a shipping update and a failed payment email.
• Purple Dot can send a "Placed Pre-Order" event into Klaviyo each time someone buys through its checkout. It says it doesn't build or manage those flows for you. It also suggests combining its event with Shopify's "Placed Order" in reporting, and excluding preorders from the Shopify metric so you don't count them twice.

That matters. If preorders land in Klaviyo as regular orders, they can trigger your normal post-purchase flow. "Here's how to use your new product" is strange three weeks before the box shows up. Check which flows a preorder triggers, and filter it out where it doesn't fit.

What emails go in a preorder sequence?

Here's the sequence I'd build, in order.

1. The announcement

This is the sales email. Send it to your waitlist first, if you have one, then to the rest of your engaged list.

Lead with the product and the ship date. "Ships the week of March 9" is clear. "Coming soon" isn't. Then tell them why it's worth ordering now: first in line, a limited first batch, or a preorder-only price.

Give context for the preorder, but don't let the customer in on the business. "We're taking preorders to fund the production run" is your problem, not theirs. Talk about the timing for the brand, the time of year, or why your best customers deserve the first ones.

2. The confirmation

This one is automated, triggered by the preorder. It has more work to do than a normal order confirmation:

• What they bought, and that it's a preorder.
• The expected ship date.
• When and how much they'll be charged, if anything is still owed.
• How to cancel if they change their mind.

It's the email they'll reread while they wait, so make it answer every question up front.

3. The deadline reminder

If the preorder window has an end date or a limited batch, send a reminder before it closes. Low stock urgency works when it's real and you really are running through inventory fast, like a drop-based clothing brand. If the window isn't really closing, don't pretend it is.

If you send texts, this is where they fit. Texts are reminders. Emails are branding and awareness. A short text telling people to check their email does the job.

4. The updates while they wait

Silence is what makes preorder buyers nervous. A short update every couple of weeks keeps them calm and keeps them excited. Show the product being made, the samples arriving, the boxes being packed. End each one with the ship date, even if it hasn't changed.

5. The delay notice (only if you need it)

If the date slips, send this right away. More on the rules below.

6. The heads-up before the charge

If you took a deposit, or no payment at all, warn people a few days before their card is charged. Then set up a flow for failed payments, so a card that expired during the wait doesn't quietly turn into a lost order.

7. It's shipping

The last email is the payoff. Tell them it's on the way, thank them for waiting, and set them up for the product. From here, they go into your normal post-purchase flow.

Should Smart Sending be on for preorder emails?

No. Smart Sending skips people who got an email recently. That's useful for everyday campaigns, but I turn it off for launches, deadlines, restocks and days with more than one send. I also turn it off on automations, so people don't miss critical reminders. A preorder confirmation or a delay notice is exactly that kind of email. More on how it works in Klaviyo Smart Sending.

What happens if a preorder ships late?

This is the part to get right. The FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule covers online orders, and Shopify's preorder setup page points to the same rules.

Per the FTC's business guide:

• You need a reasonable basis for any ship date you give. If you don't state one, you need a reasonable basis for believing you can ship within 30 days.
• The date you state is a promise. Any shipping time you advertise clearly is one you have to meet, or give notice about.
• If you can't ship on time, you have to tell the buyer and give them the choice to accept the delay or cancel for a full, prompt refund. The notice needs a new ship date, or a statement that you can't give one.
• For a new date of 30 days or less, silence counts as consent. For a longer delay, or no date at all, the rules are stricter. The notice has to say the order will be cancelled if they don't respond.
• A second delay needs a yes. For a renewed delay notice, the FTC says the customer's silence "may not be treated as a consent to delay."
• Refunds have a deadline. For credit card orders where a bank is the creditor, the FTC says to refund within seven working days after the order is cancelled.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you're taking preorders at any real volume, check your setup with a lawyer.

For the email itself, keep it plain. Say it's late, give the new date, give a short honest reason, and put the cancel option right in the email. Don't bury it. An easy refund now is a lot better than an angry chargeback later.

Can preorders work for the holidays?

They can, but be honest about the date. If the product won't arrive before the holiday, say so in the first line, and sell it as a gift that's coming, not a gift that's under the tree.

If it will arrive in time, plan backward from the real deadline. Talk to your 3PL about the actual last pick, pack and ship time, and check the USPS, FedEx and UPS holiday timelines. Then make sure the preorder ship date leaves room for both. More on setting those dates in holiday shipping cutoff emails.

How much can a preorder or launch make?

There's no preorder result I can share here, so here are the closest comparisons, clearly labeled.

For a haircare brand, one launch email made $31,059 from 395 orders. Email went from 23% to 47% of the brand's revenue that month.

For a snack brand doing about $650K a month, a restock email called "We're back baby!" made $48,771 from 30,498 people, its top campaign ever. Across the account, back-in-stock emails earn about 1.7x the brand's average per person ($0.26 vs $0.15), and six restock emails each made over $16,000.

Those are a launch and a restock, not preorders. But both show what pent-up demand for one product can do when you tell people clearly.

What do I do when the stock finally lands?

Two things. First, the preorder buyers get their "it's shipping" email. Second, everyone else gets a launch or restock campaign. Exclude the preorder buyers from that campaign. They don't need to be sold something they already own.

If stock runs low again after launch, that's where price drop and low inventory emails come in.

FAQ

WRITTEN BY Jack White

Founder of Bardown Digital, a Chicago-based Klaviyo email and retention agency for Shopify brands. He's worked with brands doing $500K to $100M a year, with $100M+ in email-attributed revenue across them.

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