Grow your ecommerce store · Shopify · 3 min read
Pre-Order Apps for Shopify: How to Use Pre-Orders Without Hurting Trust
Short answer
Shopify can technically accept orders on out-of-stock items with its 'Continue selling when out of stock' setting, but a dedicated pre-order app adds the parts customers need: a clear pre-order button, expected ship dates, partial or deferred payment and separate order tagging. Use pre-orders for launches and restocks where you are confident about the delivery date.
Pre-orders let you sell a product before you have it on the shelf. Done well, they fund inventory, validate demand and turn a launch into an event. Done badly, they create a support inbox full of "where is my order?" emails and chargebacks. The difference is mostly planning and communication, and a good app helps with both.
Why sell on pre-order at all
- Validate demand before you commit to a big production run. If a new colorway gets 40 pre-orders in a week, you have real data for your purchase order.
- Keep selling through stockouts. A bestseller that goes out of stock during peak season can keep taking orders if the restock date is firm.
- Fund inventory. Cash from pre-orders can cover part of a manufacturing deposit. That is useful, but it is also risky if production slips.
- Create launch momentum. A pre-order window gives you a reason to email your list and post on social more than once.
What Shopify does natively
Shopify lets you mark a tracked product or variant as "Continue selling when out of stock." Once inventory hits zero, customers can still buy it. That is the bare mechanism behind a pre-order. What it does not do:
- Change the button label from "Add to cart" to "Pre-order"
- Show an expected ship date on the product page, cart and confirmation email
- Charge a deposit now and the balance later
- Separate pre-order lines from in-stock lines in the same order
- Cap the number of pre-orders you accept
You can fake some of this with product descriptions and theme edits, but it is easy to miss a spot, and the order confirmation is the place customers check first. Our guide to continuing to sell when out of stock covers the native setting in detail.
What pre-order apps add
Most pre-order apps in the Shopify App Store offer some mix of:
- Custom button and badge text ("Pre-order now, ships in March")
- Ship-date messaging across product page, cart, checkout and emails
- Pre-order limits per variant so you never oversell production
- Partial payments or deposits, often built on Shopify's deferred purchase options
- Order tags so your fulfillment team or 3PL can hold those lines
- Automatic switching back to normal selling when stock arrives
Features and pricing change often, so compare current listings, read recent reviews, and check compatibility with your theme before installing. A free trial and a test order are worth the twenty minutes.
A pre-order strategy that keeps customers happy
Be specific about timing
"Ships in 4 to 6 weeks" or "Ships the week of March 9" beats "Coming soon." If you are not confident in a date, you are not ready to take money for it.
Put the date everywhere
Product page, cart line item, checkout, order confirmation, and the shipping notification. Customers forget. A clear date in the confirmation email prevents most complaints.
Handle mixed carts deliberately
If someone buys a pre-order item and an in-stock item, decide whether you ship everything together or split shipments. Splitting is friendlier but costs more. Whatever you choose, say so before checkout.
Send updates before people ask
A short email at the halfway point ("Production is on track, still shipping the week of March 9") builds trust. If there is a delay, announce it early, give a new date and offer a refund to anyone who wants out.
Reward patience
Early access, a small gift, or free shipping for pre-orderers gives people a reason to wait instead of buying elsewhere.
Payment choices
Full payment up front is simplest and gives you cash. It also means refunds if things go wrong.
Deposit now, balance later reduces the commitment and can increase conversion for expensive items, but it adds a failed-payment risk when you try to collect the balance.
Charge at fulfillment is the most customer-friendly but gives you no cash early, and card authorizations typically expire after a limited number of days, so long waits usually need a different approach. Check how your app and payment provider handle this.
Measuring success
Track pre-order conversion rate against your normal product conversion, the percentage of pre-orders that cancel before shipping, support tickets per pre-order, and how many pre-order buyers come back to purchase again. Those numbers tell you whether pre-orders are building your brand or quietly eroding it.
If you are planning a launch around pre-orders, pair this with an email sequence. Our guide to email marketing for Shopify explains how to build the list first, and how to launch a product online covers the launch timeline.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take pre-orders on Shopify without an app?
Partly. You can enable selling when out of stock and edit your product description, but you will not get a pre-order button, deposit payments or automatic ship-date messaging without an app or custom theme work.
Should I charge the full amount up front for pre-orders?
It depends on how long the wait is and your cash needs. Full payment is simplest. Deposits or deferred charges can lower hesitation for long waits, but they add complexity, and card authorizations expire, so check how your app handles that.
Do pre-orders count as sales for tax and reporting?
They create real orders in Shopify, so they show up in reports. How revenue is recognized for accounting is a question for your accountant.
Sources and further reading
Platform features, prices and policies change. Check the official help pages linked above before you act on a detail that matters to your store.