Preorder Apps are tools that allow merchants to offer products for preorder on their store. These apps offer features such as customizable preorder pages, real-time inventory updates, and support for various product types. With Preorder Apps, merchants can allow customers to place orders for products that are not yet in stock, helping to generate demand and revenue before the product is available. Some Preorder Apps also offer integrations with popular marketing and email automation tools, making it easier for merchants to promote their preorder products and keep customers informed about their availability. By using Preorder Apps, merchants can offer products for preorder and generate demand and revenue before the product is available.
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Out-of-stock items are a huge inconvenience for customers and result in a loss in sales for merchants. If you don’t have what customers are looking for in stock, they might end up going to a competitor.
Preorder apps are a great way to help you stop losing sales due to out-of-stock items. They allow customers to preorder items before they are restocked and/or released, which can help boost anticipation and drive more sales. In this guide, we will introduce you to some of the best preorder apps available on the market. We'll also provide tips on how to choose the right app for your business. Let's get started!
How to do preorders without an app
You can set up preorders on Shopify by building your own custom preorder solution in payment settings. Shopify has pre-order APIs and tooling for merchants who want to build new preorder features directly on Shopify Checkout. You can do this by accessing purchase options and setting the category field to preorder.
However, setting up preorders natively on Shopify can be time-consuming and may require a background in coding. Additionally, native preorders offer low customizability and don’t have features like preorder emails.
How to add Preorders on Shopify
Adding native preorders on Shopify can be difficult and time-consuming. An easier and more flexible way to add preorders is by installing a dedicated Preorder app.
What are Preorder apps?
Preorder apps allow customers to buy products even when they’re out of stock or yet to be released. Preorder apps replace the ‘Out of Stock’ button with an inviting ‘Preorder Now’ button so shoppers can buy your products even when they’re out of stock.
As a result, you offer a better customer experience and sell more products, and you can keep selling when your products are out of stock. Preorders also give you valuable information about customer demand so you can better plan your inventory.
How can Preorder apps drive more sales?
Letting your customers buy products before they become available allows you to increase your average order value by removing the friction of out-of-stock products. Preorders also create hype around new product launches. Offering preorders allows your customers to buy products before they become available. This can increase your sales by making it easier for your customers to buy products when they want them.
Additionally, back-in-stock email notifications can alert customers who have placed a preorder for an out-of-stock item. This can remind your customers to purchase the product when it becomes available and increase your sales. Preorder apps are a great way to increase sales and create hype around new product launches.
What are Preorder apps used for?
Now that we've looked at how Preorder apps can help to increase sales, let's take a look at some more concrete use cases:
Stop Losing Customers: Preorder apps can help you stop losing customers due to out-of-stock products. By replacing the ‘Out of Stock’ button with a ‘Preorder Now’ button, you can keep selling even when your products are out of stock.
Create Hype: Offering preorders for new products can create hype and build anticipation. This can lead to more sales when the product is finally released.
Get Valuable insights: Preorders can give you valuable information about customer demand. This can help you better plan your inventory and make more informed decisions about what products to stock.
What kind of brands work best with Preorder apps?
While preorders exist in every industry, they can be most effective with high-ticket brands or brands in the creative/art industries.
High-ticket brands, or brands that sell high-cost items that are very valuable to the buyer, are one industry where preorders are popular. One popular example is luxury brands, which are adopting a preorder model to build hype around unreleased launches and eliminate overproduction. Fashion, footwear, jewelry, and electronics are other industries that create hype using preorders; Apple uses preorders to tailor the production of their products to the location (for example, adjusting to a sleek black production of iPhones in one region versus another).
Artistic and creative ventures are another type of brand that benefits from preorders. The video game industry uses preorders to create hype around new releases by well-known companies or producers. Booksellers also use preorders as a marketing tool to promote an established author’s new releases. For example, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows set online preorder records with almost 1.6 million copies sold globally before the release of the book.
Preorder app features
Now that we've looked at some preorder app use cases, let's take a look at some of the features you'll need to consider when choosing a preorder app:
Back-in-stock email notifications: Want to notify customers that a product is back in stock? Alert customers who have provided their email with a back-in-stock email notification.
Preorder emails: Want to notify customers who have preordered an item? Send a post-checkout email to customers who have pre-ordered items.
Preorder discounts: Wondering how to give discounts on preorders? Preorder apps allow you to offer discounts to customers who preorder products.
Preorder badges: Wondering how to mark preorder items on Shopify? Place a preorder now label on the product, cart, and checkout pages and customize it to match your theme.
Mixed cart alerts: Notify shoppers when their cart contains both preorders and in-stock items.
Partial payments: Collect partial payments for preorders and allow customers to pay for products before they ship.
Preorders on autopilot: Want to automatically turn on preorders when an item runs out of stock? Autopilot preorders turn on preorders automatically when stock runs out/at a start date, and turn off preorders automatically when products are restocked/at the end date/when preorder limits are reached.
Preorder limits: Want to limit the number of preorders a customer can place? Preorder apps can let you limit the number of preorders a customer can order in total or on a daily basis.
Coming Soon/Notify Me buttons: Wondering how to label a coming soon product? Show a coming soon button with an exact date that a product will be available and allow customers to sign up to be notified.
Preorder Locations: Wondering how to limit preorders to certain locations? Some preorder apps allow you to specify what countries you want to allow preorders.
Intuitive Dashboard: Easily filter products by preorder and discount status.
How much do Preorder apps generally cost?
Preorder apps range from about $25/month for the standard/basic plans to around $60-$90/month for the advanced plans.
