How to control back in stock alerts for individual product variants
STOQ lets you enable or disable back in stock alerts for individual product variants. This gives you control over which variants trigger automatic notifications when they come back in stock — without turning off alerts for your entire store.
Find the Variant Detail Page
The enable/disable alerts option is available on the variant detail page. Here is how to get there.
- From your Shopify admin, open the STOQ app.
- Click Reports in the left sidebar.
- Click the Products tab.
- Click on the product variant you want to manage.
This opens the variant detail page, which shows all waitlist signups and notification history for that variant.
Disable Alerts for a Variant
When you disable alerts for a variant, STOQ stops sending automatic back in stock notifications for that variant — even when inventory is restocked. Existing waitlist signups are preserved.
- On the variant detail page, click the More button in the top-right corner.
- Select Disable alerts from the dropdown menu.
- STOQ confirms the change with a "Settings updated" message.
The variant no longer triggers automatic alerts when it comes back in stock. Customers who signed up for the waitlist remain on the list, but they will not receive a notification until you re-enable alerts.
Enable Alerts for a Variant
If you previously disabled alerts for a variant, you can turn them back on at any time using the same menu.
- On the variant detail page, click the More button in the top-right corner.
- Select Enable alerts from the dropdown menu.
- STOQ confirms the change with a "Settings updated" message.
The variant will now trigger automatic back in stock notifications again when inventory is restocked.
How It Works
STOQ maintains a list of variant IDs that have alerts disabled. When a variant is added to this list, it is excluded from automatic alert processing.
- Global alerts must be on — The per-variant toggle only works when your store's global back in stock alerts are enabled. If global alerts are turned off, no variants receive automatic notifications regardless of their individual setting.
- Per-variant control — Each variant can be individually enabled or disabled. This does not affect other variants of the same product.
- Waitlist signups are preserved — Disabling alerts does not delete existing waitlist signups. When you re-enable alerts, those customers can still be notified.
- Manual sends still work — Even when automatic alerts are disabled for a variant, you can still send notifications manually from the variant detail page.
Check Alert Status from the Products List
On the Reports > Products tab, each variant row shows its current alert status. Variants with alerts disabled may display differently from those with alerts enabled, helping you quickly identify which variants are not sending automatic notifications.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
"More" button does not appear | The More button only appears on the variant detail page when the variant has at least one waitlist signup. If the variant has no signups, the button is hidden. |
No "Disable alerts" or "Enable alerts" option | This option is only available on the variant detail page, not the product detail page. Make sure you clicked into a specific variant, not a product. |
Alerts still sending after disabling | Make sure you clicked Disable alerts on the correct variant. Each variant must be disabled individually. Also check that the "Settings updated" confirmation message appeared. |
Alerts not sending after enabling | Verify that your store's global back in stock alerts are turned on. Per-variant settings only work when global alerts are enabled. |
FAQs
Q: Can I disable alerts for an entire product at once?
A: No. The enable/disable toggle works at the variant level. If a product has multiple variants, you need to disable alerts for each variant individually from its variant detail page.
Q: What happens to waitlist signups when I disable alerts?
A: Waitlist signups are preserved. Disabling alerts only stops automatic notifications from being sent. The signups remain on the waitlist, and customers will be notified if you re-enable alerts and the product comes back in stock.
Q: Can I still send notifications manually when alerts are disabled?
A: Yes. Disabling alerts only stops automatic notifications triggered by inventory restocks. You can still send notifications manually from the variant detail page using the Send button.
Q: Does disabling alerts affect other variants of the same product?
A: No. Each variant is controlled independently. Disabling alerts for one variant does not affect other variants of the same product.
Q: Where can I see which variants have alerts disabled?
A: You can check the alert status for each variant on the Reports > Products tab. You can also open the variant detail page and click More — if you see "Enable alerts," alerts are currently disabled for that variant. If you see "Disable alerts," alerts are currently active.
Updated on: 25/04/2026
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