How To Change Sold Out To Coming Soon On Shopify

In the world of ecommerce, changing the message “Sold out” into “Coming soon” on Shopify is the top psychological move that every successful shop owner understands well. Not simply changing a few lines of text, this is truly the art of “hypnotizing” customers to stay, turning disappointment into excitement to wait. 

But how to adjust this and take good advantage of other tactics to optimize more? Let’s explore how to change sold out to coming soon on Shopify together with eComStart in this article!

1. Why change sold out to coming soon Shopify

Did you know? This small change from sold out to coming soon can keep up to 45% of customers who would have left. And at the same time, it increases 30% notification sign-ups (Robert) – a golden data source for every future marketing campaign. Let’s find out why the change sold out to coming soon Shopify is so important for Shopify store!

1.1. When & Where does Shopify display “Out of Stock”?

Before going deep into the reason, we need to identify when and where Shopify will display “sold out”!

• Shopify automatically displays label “Out of stock” when:

✅ Product out of inventory status (inventory = 0)
✅ Out of stock by variant (specific color/size is not available)

• Where it appear: 

The “Out of Stock” status shows in key areas. On product pages, the “Add to Cart” button turns grey and says “Out of Stock.” On collection pages, a red badge appears on the product photo. The same badge shows on featured products in collections and on the homepage. In search results, click-through rates often drop for out-of-stock items.

1.2. Reasons for using “coming soon” instead of “sold out” on Shopify

So we already know the answers to the two words “Where and When”! Next will be ‘why’ – Shopify change sold out to coming soon! You might be surprised by the impact this simple change can have!

Retaining customers with positive psychology

When customers see the phrase “Out of stock”, their brain immediately records this as a stopping point. On the contrary, “Coming soon” activates the mechanism of anticipation, making them ready to come back or register for notification. That simple change can mean the difference between losing interest and keeping someone engaged.

Turn weakness into strength

Instead of letting customers think that you are not capable of meeting the demand, “Coming soon” cleverly conveys the message: your product is popular  enough to be sold out, and valuable enough for customers to be willing to wait. This not only retains customers but also increases brand value.

Golden opportunity to collect customer data

When using “Coming soon” combined with the feature of registering for notification, you are building a list of quality potential customers – those who truly care about your product. That’s gold for future marketing.

Increase the value of potential orders

Statistics show that customers who register for “Coming soon” notifications have a conversion rate 30–40% (Source: ConvertCart) higher than regular customers. They have spent time waiting, which proves they truly want to own your product.

2. How to change sold out to coming soon on Shopify

Only 2 words “coming soon”, but it can change the entire situation of your shop. However, the most important thing is that you will carry it out there! Of course, it will not be too difficult and take as much time as you think, it’s really easy to do. So let’s follow the instructions on how to change sold out to coming soon Shopify from eComStart!

Step 1: Access Theme Editor

1. Log in to Shopify Admin

2. Select section Online Store > Themes

3. Find theme currently active, click on button 3 dots (⋮) next to it

4. Select Edit default theme content from dropdown menu

Step 2: Search for Section “Sold Out”

1. In code editor, find Search bar (Ctrl+F/Cmd+F)

2. Enter keyword:

• “Sold out” (for main label)
• “Variant sold out” (for product variant)

Step 3: Change Content

1. When finding the following items in the section:

• “Checkout stock”: “Sold out”
• “Checkout throttle merchandise”: “Sold out”
• “Product”: “Sold out”
• “Variant sold out or unavailable”:  Variant sold out or unavailable

2. Change to:

• “Sold out” =>  “Coming Soon”,

• ” Variant sold out or unavailable” => “Variant coming soon”

Step 4: Save Changes

1. Click the Save button at the top right corner

2. Wait for the system to update (usually takes 1–2 minutes)

Step 5: Check Result

1. Open the store in incognito tab (Ctrl+Shift+N)

2. Check out-of-stock products, you will see:

• Instead of “Sold out” → “Coming Soon”
• Instead of “Variant sold out” → “Variant coming soon”

3. How to handle out of stock products labeling cleverly

Do you think successfully changing ‘Sold Out’ status to ‘Coming Soon’ status will make your shop more attractive to customers?It will be effective, but you should remember that it’s just a ‘small’ action! Besides ‘coming soon,’ you can also consider some smart strategies to increase the purchase rate from customers!

3.1. Restock date notification

Instead of  a general “Coming soon” notice,smart sellers usually provide detailed information about the restock date. One restock date line like “Pre-order now – Product Will Back in Stock on 21/11” will help customers catch information clearly.

According to research from the experts, products that include a specific restock date increase customer willingness to wait by up to 65% compared with notice general. This number is not small, that proves the power of transparent information with customers.

3.2. Accept pre-order 

Some stores have already  collected pre-orders for out-of-stock products. Instead of letting customers leave empty handed, they add a button “Pre-order no need to pay now” go with those attractive promotions like keep discount price or give gift when product returns.

This one not only keeps customers stay but also helps shop owners predict exact quantity products need to be imported back. Some shops even show progress bar “Already have 15 customers pre-order” to create a psychological effect crowd, stimulate more people to join.

3.3. Arrange Out of Stock Products to the Bottom of the Page

Nothing more annoying than when customers must scroll through many products out of stock to find items still selling. The professional shops usually automatically filter products out of stock down the end page, or create a separate tab “Product coming soon” to not interrupt the shopping experience.

Sometimes, one small tooltip “You want to see a product temporarily out of stock?” putting at the end page will help customers have more choice but not feel forced. This delicate method both respects the user experience and doesn’t miss any selling opportunity.

💡To build an optimized online store and arrange sold out products properly , you can save up to 10 hours of manual work by using the theme package from Prebuilt Shopify Stores by eComStart.

3.4. Collect customer emails

The part “Sold out” is a gold section to collect information about potential customers. One eye-catching design popup “Get notified when available” goes with promotion “10% off when back in stock for early registrants” can turn someone about to leave into a valuable lead.

Some shops even show a counter “127 people have registered” to create a sense of social proof and urgency. This is one of the best strategies to build a list of potential customers completely natural that no need to spend advertisement cost.

3.5. Suggest alternatives for upselling cleverly

When a product is out of stock, it’s the golden opportunity for sellers to introduce similar or higher-end products. 

 For example, you can add a “You might also like…” section right below the out-of-stock notice, along with a comparison description like “Similar, but 15% cheaper”. This not only keeps the customer’s interest but also increases the chances of converting for another product

4. Top 5 shopify apps for stock alerts in 2025

Besides the above strategies, you also can combine with some Shopify Apps For Stock Alerts to manage the shop better! First, eComStart will give you an overview more about the best back in stock alerts apps 2025 in the table below!

Easy:Stock ‑ Product Labels

When the simple “Sold Out” labels are no longer attractive enough, Easy:Stock brings a solution of professional sticker design that helps you turn weakness into competitive advantage.

⭐ Rating: 4.9/5 (77 reviews)

Easy:Stock allows you to fully customize the way out-of-stock products are displayed. You can replace the “Sold Out” label with more positive messages like “Coming Soon”, “Pre-order Now”, or “Only 3 Items Left”.

The app provides many beautiful design templates, allowing changes in color, position, and adding emotion icons to create FOMO effect. Especially, the visual stock progress bar will help customers grasp the product status easily.

💰 Extremely attractive cost:

With only $4.99/month, you can own all premium features of Easy:Stock. The app also allows 7-day free trial to experience before deciding (of course, you can try it on Shopify 3 months $1 too!) . A small investment but brings outstanding sales results.

AMP ‑ Back in Stock

While many applications only stop at notification, AMP goes further by turning each out-of-stock moment into an opportunity to collect high-quality customer information.

⭐ Rating: 4.8/5 (876 reviews)

AMP stands out with the ability to create a notification subscription popup designed like a small landing page. The application integrates a counter “XX people already subscribed” to create a strong crowd effect. 

You can send stock notifications through various channels, including email and SMS (only $0.015/time). AMP also supports deep integration with popular marketing automation platforms such as Klaviyo and Mailchimp, helping you easily take care of customers after they subscribe.

💵 Flexible cost suitable for all scales:

You can start with a free plan of 50 notifications/month. When the demand increases, the Pro plan only $19/month will help you unlock all premium features and send unlimited notifications. A small investment but brings excellent lead collection efficiency.

Bee Low Stock Alert & Forecast

Not only simply an alert application, Bee is also a powerful assistant helping you predict exactly the demand of goods.

⭐ Rating: 4.9/5 (136 reviews)

Bee Low Stock Alert provides a comprehensive solution to manage inventory. The application analyzes sales history to predict exactly when you need to restock. The alert feature via Slack helps your team always stay proactive. Bee also automatically calculates the optimal order quantity and provides seasonal and regional trend reports that are extremely useful.

💲 Reasonable price:

The application is completely free for small stores. Only with $5.99/month, you can unlock all professional forecasting features – a very reasonable price for the benefits it brings.

Notify! PreOrder | Back in Stock

Going beyond the concept of normal notification, Notify! brings a breakthrough solution that helps you have revenue even when there is no stock in warehouse yet.

⭐ Rating: 4.9/5 (2,341 reviews)

Notify! allows customers to deposit in advance to reserve upcoming products. The app supports multiple languages, helping you easily access many different markets. The “Only X items left” widget, beautifully designed, will display on homepage, creating a scarcity effect and pushing purchase decisions. Especially, Notify! also supports partial payment for B2B orders, helping you expand business more easily.

📈 Smart investment:

With the price only $19.90/month, Notify! is the perfect solution for stores selling limited edition or special products. The app helps you “lock” hundreds of orders before stocking, turning the risk of out-of-stock into business opportunity.

Appikon ‑ Back In Stock

Ending the list is the application that not only solves the out-of-stock problem but also helps you build a professional automation system – Appikon!

⭐ Rating: 4.8/5 (1,955 reviews)

Appikon stands out with strong integration ability, connecting with more than 5,000 different applications through Zapier. You can set up automatic processes such as: send notification when stock returns → update Google Sheets → send customer care email. 

The application provides detailed demand analysis reports by each SKU, helping you make more accurate restocking decisions. Unlimited customization ability of notification emails is also a big plus point of Appikon.

💳 Reasonable cost for businesses:

With the price of $19.99/month, Appikon is an ideal choice for large-scale stores wanting to build a professional automation system. The application helps you save hours of manual work every week.

Conclusion

By applying the method of how to change sold out to coming soon on Shopify by eComStart, you are cleverly transforming the emotion of customers from disappointment to anticipation!

And remember, in the eyes of customers, a product “coming soon” is always many times more valuable than product tags that are “sold out”. This is significantly the difference between an ordinary shop and a brand that knows how to “guide the emotions” of customers skillfully!

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