A shopper finds exactly the trainers they want, in the right colour, and their size is sold out. They email: "Will size 9 be back in stock soon?" You are at a supplier meeting, and by the time you reply two days later with "we're not sure yet," they have bought a similar pair elsewhere.
Back in stock questions are some of the most valuable messages an online store receives. They come from people who have already chosen your product. This playbook shows how to answer them instantly and turn a sold-out page into captured demand.
Step 1: understand what the shopper really wants
A restock question usually hides one of three wants:
- A date. "When will it be back?"
- An alternative. "Is there something similar in stock now?"
- A promise. "Can you tell me when it's back?"
A good answer covers all three where possible: what you know about timing, what is available now, and an offer to notify them.
Step 2: write down what you know, on the product page
Most stores leave sold-out pages bare. Add a short note to each one:
- Whether a restock is planned.
- A rough timeframe if you have one, or "no date yet" if you do not.
- Similar products currently in stock.
Honesty beats optimism here. "Expected mid-October" is useful. "Coming soon" on a product that is never coming back creates frustration and more emails.
Step 3: answer restock questions instantly
With the notes on the page, the answers can be given the moment someone asks. SpideyChat for ecommerce stores reads your product pages, so when a shopper asks "will size 9 be back?", it can pass on the restock note and point to similar products in stock.
It answers from what your site says. It does not check your inventory system live, so keep stock status on the page accurate. If there is no note, it says it will check and captures the question instead of guessing.
This is the same principle as answering presale questions generally, which we cover in shoppers who ask before buying are your best customers.
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Step 4: capture the demand you cannot serve today
The most important step. When a product is out of stock, ask for the shopper's email and the variant they want:
Assistant: That size is sold out at the moment and restock is expected in about three weeks. Would you like me to take your email so the team can let you know when size 9 is back?
Each email captured is a sale that can still happen. Each shopper who leaves without one is probably gone for good.
Step 5: follow up when stock returns
Captured demand only counts if you use it. When a product returns, email everyone who asked, ideally within a day. Mention the specific size or colour they wanted, and link directly to the product.
People who asked about a product are among your warmest leads. A restock email to them often converts far better than a general newsletter.
Step 6: use the questions to plan reorders
Restock questions are free demand data. If thirty people asked for size 9 and three asked for size 12, your next order should reflect that.
Review the questions monthly. Count requests by product and variant. This turns a stream of customer emails into a reorder guide based on what people actually wanted and could not buy.
What it costs to leave restock questions unanswered
A hypothetical to show the scale. Say you get 40 restock questions a month and most of those shoppers leave for good. If half would have bought when stock returned at an average of $65, that is $1,300 a month of demand walking away, or over $15,000 a year. We explored this kind of calculation in what an unanswered product question costs a small store.
The same pattern shows up in property. Buyers asking whether a listing is still available are asking a restock question in a different form, as described in is it still available and other questions to automate. In both cases, the right answer keeps the person in your pipeline even when the item is gone.
Getting set up
Add restock notes to your ten most requested sold-out products this week. Then make sure shoppers can get those answers at any hour. The installation guide shows how to add an assistant to most store platforms, and the training guide explains how to teach it your product pages and policies.