How to send reminder notifications to recover sales with STOQ

STOQ can send follow-up reminder notifications to customers who received a back-in-stock alert but have not yet purchased the product. The notification sequence in the Notifications tab lets you add up to two reminder stages after the primary restock alert. Each reminder is sent automatically after a configurable number of days, but only if the product is still in stock and the customer has not purchased it. Reminders support both email and SMS channels and have their own customizable templates, separate from the primary notification.

Why Enable Reminder Notifications

Reminder notifications give customers a second (and third) chance to buy a product they expressed interest in.

Recover missed sales. Many customers open the first alert but do not buy immediately. A well-timed reminder brings them back while the product is still available.
Increase conversion rates. A multi-touch notification sequence converts more signups into orders than a single alert. Each additional touchpoint reinforces purchase intent.
Automate follow-ups. Once enabled, reminders run on autopilot. STOQ checks inventory and purchase status before sending, so you do not need to manage anything manually.
Target only interested customers. Reminders are sent only to customers who have not purchased the product and only while it remains in stock. This prevents irrelevant messages and keeps your communication relevant.
Customizable timing. You control how many days STOQ waits between each notification stage. Set a 1-day follow-up for time-sensitive restocks or a longer interval for evergreen products.
Independent templates. Each reminder has its own email and SMS template. You can write a different subject line, message body, and call to action for each stage to keep the messaging fresh.

Why Disable Reminder Notifications

There are situations where you may want to turn off reminders.

Low inventory restocks. If you restock in small quantities, sending multiple alerts increases the chance of customers arriving after the product has sold out again.
High-frequency restocks. If products are restocked often, customers may receive too many messages. A single alert per restock may be sufficient.
Using an external email platform. If you send follow-up sequences through Klaviyo or another marketing tool, enabling STOQ reminders could result in duplicate messages.
Seasonal or limited drops. For products that sell out within minutes, a reminder days later is unnecessary because the product will already be unavailable.
Customer experience. If you receive feedback that customers feel over-notified, disabling reminders reduces the number of messages per restock event.

Prerequisites

Before enabling reminder notifications, make sure the following are in place.

The STOQ app is installed and active on your Shopify store.
The primary back-in-stock notification (Send Automatic Notification) is enabled in the Notifications tab. Reminders only fire after the primary alert has been sent.
You have at least one product with customer signups for back-in-stock notifications.
Email alerts, SMS alerts, or both must be enabled for the reminder to reach customers through those channels.

Note: Reminder notifications are available on all STOQ plans. New stores created after April 2023 have the first reminder enabled by default.

How to Enable Reminder Notifications

Follow these steps to turn on reminder notifications.

Open the STOQ app from your Shopify admin.
Click Back in stock alerts in the left menu.
Click the Settings tab.
Scroll to the Notifications section. You will see the Notification sequence panel listing:

Send automatic notification (primary alert, position 0) -- always enabled when automatic alerts are on.
Send reminder notification (Reminder 1, position 1) -- shown below with a "Wait X days" label.

Click on Send reminder notification (Reminder 1) in the sequence panel.
In the right panel, toggle the reminder on.
Set the Days to wait field to the number of days STOQ should wait after the primary notification before sending this reminder. The minimum is 1 day.
The toggle description confirms: "This notification will be sent X day(s) after a customer receives their first restock alert. Customers will receive it only if they still haven't purchased the product and if it's in stock."

How to Disable Reminder Notifications

Click Back in stock alerts > Settings > Notifications.
Click on the reminder notification in the sequence panel.
Toggle the reminder off.
The reminder will no longer be sent. Previously queued reminders that have not yet been dispatched will not be sent.

Note: You cannot disable the primary notification (position 0) while keeping reminders active. The primary alert must be enabled for reminders to work.

How to Set the Reminder Interval

The Days to wait setting controls how long STOQ waits after the previous notification before sending the reminder.

Select the reminder notification in the sequence panel.
In the Days to wait field, enter the number of days (minimum 1).
Click Save.

For Reminder 1, the wait is counted from when the primary notification was sent. If you have a second reminder, its wait is counted from when Reminder 1 was sent.

Example timeline:

Event	Day
Product restocked, primary alert sent	Day 0
Reminder 1 sent (Days to wait: 2)	Day 2
Reminder 2 sent (Days to wait: 3)	Day 5

Tip: A 1-2 day interval works well for fast-moving products. For slower-selling items, try 3-5 days to give customers more time before the follow-up.

How to Customize Reminder Email and SMS Templates

Each reminder notification has its own email and SMS template that you can customize independently.

Select the reminder notification in the sequence panel.
Click Customize email to open the email template editor for that reminder.
Edit the subject line, header, description, button text, footer, and styles just like the primary notification template.
Click Save changes.

To customize the SMS template for a reminder:

Select the reminder notification in the sequence panel.
Click Customize SMS to open the SMS template editor.
Edit the SMS body, link destination, and purchase link settings.
Click Save changes.

Tip: Use different messaging for each stage. For example, the primary alert can say "Back in stock!" while Reminder 1 can say "Still available -- don't miss out" to create a sense of urgency.

How Reminder Notifications Work Behind the Scenes

STOQ processes reminders automatically using the following logic.

Primary alert is sent. When a product is restocked and the primary notification is enabled, STOQ sends the initial alert to all signed-up customers.
Wait period begins. STOQ starts counting the days configured in the Days to wait field for Reminder 1.
Eligibility check. After the wait period, STOQ checks each customer who received the primary alert:

Has the customer purchased the product? If yes, skip. No reminder is sent.
Is the product still in stock (above the minimum restock quantity)? If no, skip.
Has the customer already received this reminder stage? If yes, skip.

Reminder sent. If all checks pass, the reminder is sent via email, SMS, or both (depending on the customer's signup channel and your enabled channels).
Repeat for Reminder 2. If a second reminder is enabled, the same process repeats after its configured wait period, counting from when Reminder 1 was sent.

Note: Reminders respect market-based inventory. STOQ checks inventory levels for the specific market locations associated with each customer's signup, not just global inventory.

What Happens When a Customer Purchases

If a customer purchases the product at any point after receiving the primary alert, STOQ marks that signup as converted. No further reminders are sent for that product and customer combination. This applies whether the customer purchased through the alert link or through any other path on your store.

Notification Sequence Visual

The Notifications section displays the full sequence as a vertical timeline:

Send automatic notification -- The primary back-in-stock alert (position 0). Shows "When you restock" with an On/Off badge.
Send reminder notification (Reminder 1) -- Shows "Wait X days" with an On/Off badge. Appears below the primary notification.
Send reminder notification (Reminder 2, if added) -- Shows "Wait X days" with an On/Off badge. Appears below Reminder 1.

Clicking any stage in the sequence panel opens its settings and template options in the right panel.

Known Limitations

Keep these points in mind when using reminder notifications.

Reminders are only sent if the primary notification was sent first. If the primary alert is disabled, no reminders go out even if they are individually enabled.
The minimum wait between stages is 1 day. You cannot send reminders on the same day as the primary alert or the previous reminder.
Reminders check inventory at the time of sending. If the product sells out between the primary alert and the reminder, the reminder is skipped.
Each reminder is sent only once per customer per signup. If a customer signs up again for the same product, the sequence restarts.
When using Klaviyo as the email provider, reminder email templates are managed in Klaviyo, not in STOQ. The STOQ reminder toggle still controls whether the reminder is triggered.
Reminder notifications count toward your plan's notification limits.
You cannot reorder the notification stages. The sequence is always: primary alert, then Reminder 1, then Reminder 2.

Troubleshooting

If reminder notifications are not working as expected, use this table to find a fix.

Problem	Solution
Reminder not being sent	Confirm the reminder toggle is enabled. Check that the primary notification was sent first and that the product is still in stock above the minimum restock quantity.
Reminder sent too early or too late	Verify the Days to wait value. The reminder is sent exactly N days after the previous stage. Ensure you clicked Save after changing the value.
Customer received a reminder after purchasing	The purchase may not have been attributed to the signup. Check the Sales recovered report to confirm attribution. STOQ tracks orders placed within the attribution window.
"Cannot disable first notification stage" error	The primary notification (position 0) cannot be disabled. Turn off automatic alerts using the Send Automatic Notification toggle instead.
Reminder email looks the same as the primary alert	Each reminder has its own template. Click the reminder in the sequence panel and then click Customize email to edit the reminder-specific template.
Only one reminder is available	STOQ supports up to two reminder stages. If you do not see a second reminder, it may not have been created yet for your store. Contact support for assistance.

FAQs

Q: How many reminder notifications can I send?

A: STOQ supports up to two reminder notifications after the primary back-in-stock alert, for a total of three messages in the notification sequence. Each reminder can be enabled or disabled independently.

Q: Do reminders work for both email and SMS?

A: Yes. Each reminder notification supports both email and SMS channels. The reminder is sent through whichever channel the customer signed up with (email, SMS, or both), provided that channel is enabled in your settings.

Q: What is the default wait time for reminders?

A: The default wait time is 1 day. You can change this to any number of days (minimum 1) from the Days to wait field in the reminder settings.

Q: Are reminders sent if the product sells out again?

A: No. STOQ checks inventory before sending each reminder. If the product is out of stock or below the minimum restock quantity at the time the reminder is scheduled to send, it is skipped.

Q: Can I customize the email and SMS templates for each reminder separately?

A: Yes. Each notification stage (primary, Reminder 1, Reminder 2) has its own email and SMS templates. Select the reminder in the sequence panel and click Customize email or Customize SMS to edit it.

Q: Do reminders count toward my notification limits?

A: Yes. Each reminder notification sent counts as a separate notification toward your plan's limits, just like the primary alert.

Q: What happens if I disable a reminder after some customers have already received the primary alert?

A: Customers who have not yet received the reminder will not receive it. Disabling a reminder only affects future sends. Customers who already received the reminder are not affected.

Q: Can I send reminders manually from the Reports page?

A: Manual sends from the Reports page trigger the primary notification template. To send a specific reminder template manually, you would need to enable the reminder and let STOQ's automatic sequence handle it based on the configured wait time.

Updated on: 13/04/2026

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