Send back in stock alerts manually
Use this guide if you want to notify waitlisted customers about a restock yourself, without waiting for STOQ's automatic trigger to fire. By the end, customers will get their back in stock alert (email, SMS, or both) as soon as you choose to send it.
Bundle products always need manual sending. STOQ can't send automatic alerts for bundle products, because a bundle's own inventory doesn't get a restock signal from Shopify the way a normal product does. When you restock a bundle, send its waitlist manually using the steps below, most easily from the Products tab or the bundle product's own page.
Before you begin
A customer whose GDPR confirmation is still Pending won't receive an alert no matter how you send it, since they haven't confirmed their signup yet. Their row's Send button stays greyed out until they confirm.
Choose your setup
STOQ gives you four ways to send manually:
- Current waitlist tab: send to everyone matching your current filters, or to one customer at a time.
- Products tab: select up to 10 variants and send to their entire waitlists at once.
- A product's or variant's own page: send to every signup, or to a specific number of them.
- Notifications sent tab: re-send to everyone matching your filters, or re-send to one customer.
What customers will see
A manual send looks identical to an automatic one: the customer gets the same back in stock email or SMS, on whichever channel(s) you choose.
Send manually
From the Current waitlist tab
- In the left menu of the STOQ app, click Reports.
- Click the Back in stock tab at the top.
- Click the Current waitlist sub-tab.
To notify everyone matching your current filters, click Send notifications, or click the small arrow next to it and choose Send email or Send SMS to restrict the channel. A prompt asks "Are you sure you want to send?"; confirm it to proceed.
To notify just one customer, click Send on their row.
From the Products tab, in bulk
- In the left menu of the STOQ app, click Reports.
- Click the Back in stock tab at the top.
- Click the Products sub-tab, on its Demand view. If the list is grouped by product, click the Group by icon in the top right and choose Group by variant.
Select up to 10 variants using the row checkboxes, then click Send notifications in the bulk action bar. A confirmation modal names how many variants you selected, and its Send notifications button stays disabled for a short forced-read delay so you don't confirm by accident. Selecting more than 10 variants shows an error instead of opening the modal.
From a product's or variant's own page
Click a product or variant name from the Products, Current waitlist, or Notifications sent tab to open its detail page.
On its unsent view, click Send notifications, or the arrow next to it for Send email or Send SMS only. On its sent view, click Re-send all, or the arrow next to it for Re-send email or Re-send SMS. Either opens a modal where you choose:
- Send all: notify every available signup.
- Send a specific set of notifications: enter a number in Enter the number of notifications to send, and STOQ sends to only that many.
If the product or variant is out of stock, a prompt asks "Are you sure you want to notify customers? This product is out of stock." before it sends.
Re-send from Notifications sent
- In the left menu of the STOQ app, click Reports.
- Click the Back in stock tab at the top.
- Click the Notifications sent sub-tab.
Click Re-send notifications to re-send to everyone matching your filters, or click the small arrow next to it for Re-send email or Re-send SMS only. To re-send to one customer, click Re-send on their row.
Check your setup
A bulk send from Current waitlist or Notifications sent shows a Notifications queued banner with a Track progress link, which opens the sending progress page. A bulk send from the Products tab shows its own Notifications queued banner naming how many variants were queued, with a Dismiss action instead. A single row send shows a brief "Notification sent" confirmation.
Once sent, open the Notifications sent tab, find the customer, click the arrow next to their Re-send button, then Why was this sent? to confirm the source, for example Manual send, Bulk send, or Bulk re-send, along with the delivery status for each channel.
Troubleshooting
A customer's Send button is greyed out
Their GDPR confirmation is Pending, or the product or variant has been deleted.
The Products tab bulk action won't open a confirmation modal
You've selected more than 10 variants. Reduce your selection and try again.
A bulk send doesn't arrive right away
Bulk sends are processed in the background. Click Track progress, or check the Notifications sent tab after a few minutes, rather than assuming it failed.
A Products tab bulk send fails
A Bulk send failed banner lists the reason for each variant that couldn't be sent; fix it and try again.
FAQ
What's the difference between Send notifications and Send email or Send SMS?
Send notifications sends on every channel the customer signed up with. The arrow next to it lets you restrict a send to just email or just SMS.
Why can't I select more than 10 variants on the Products tab?
Bulk sending from the Products tab is capped at 10 variants per action. To notify more at once, use the Current waitlist or Notifications sent tabs instead, which send to everyone matching your filters in a single action.
Can I re-send an alert to someone who already got one?
Yes. Use the Re-send button on their row in Notifications sent, Re-send notifications in bulk from that tab, or Re-send all from the product's or variant's own page.
What does a Follow-up reminder entry mean in Why was this sent?
It means that notification went out automatically as part of a multi-stage reminder sequence, shown with a Stage badge, rather than a manual or bulk send you triggered.
Does a GDPR-Pending customer ever get skipped permanently?
No. Once they confirm their signup, their GDPR status updates and their row's Send button becomes available, whether you send manually or STOQ sends automatically on restock.
Does sending manually change what happens on the next restock?
No. A manual or bulk send just notifies the customer now; it doesn't change whether they're eligible for STOQ's automatic alert the next time the product restocks.
Related guides
View your reports
What each of the five Back in stock report tabs shows.
Track back in stock notifications
Follow a bulk send's progress and confirm delivery.
Manage a product's waitlist
Move, delete, or otherwise manage signups on a product or variant page.
Notify me double opt-in
Why GDPR confirmation is required and how customers confirm it.
