Stock Checks and Back in Stock Alerts in Chat for Shopify
Yes. AeroChat checks stock and signs shoppers up for back in stock alerts, in the chat. It answers “is it in stock?” from your synced Shopify inventory for the exact size and color. When a variant is sold out, it offers the closest one in stock, and if the shopper wants to wait, it signs them up for a back in stock alert in the app you use, such as Klaviyo, Notify Me or STOQ.
This recipe turns “is this available?” into either a sale now or a shopper on your restock list. Part of connecting Shopify to WhatsApp and AI chat.
What happens today
Stock questions are some of the most common in chat: “do you have it in M?”, “when is the black one back?”. The product page often shows the answer, but shoppers ask anyway, on WhatsApp or Instagram where there is no product page. When the answer is “sold out”, most conversations end there, and the shopper is gone even though you restock next week.
Back in stock apps collect sign-ups on the product page. A shopper asking in chat rarely gets added.
The flow that works
- The shopper asks whether a product is in stock.
- AeroChat checks the exact variant in your synced Shopify catalog.
- If it is in stock, it says so and sends the link.
- If it is sold out, it offers the closest variant that is in stock.
- If the shopper wants to wait, it asks for their email or uses their phone number and creates a back in stock sign-up for that variant in your alerts app.
- Your alerts app tells them when it is back, in the way you set it up.
What it looks like on WhatsApp
Customer: Do you have the Nova sneakers in white, size 9? (example)
AeroChat: The Nova sneakers in white are sold out in size 9 right now. Size 9 in grey is in stock. Or I can let you know when white is back.
Customer: Let me know please, my email is ben@example.com
AeroChat: Done. You’re on the list for the Nova sneakers in white, size 9. You’ll get an email when they’re back.
In Klaviyo: a back in stock subscription for the Nova sneakers, white, size 9, is created for ben@example.com (example), and your back in stock flow sends the alert when the variant is restocked.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a shopper asks whether a product is in stock, follow these steps.
- Find the product and the exact variant in our Shopify catalog. If the size or color is not clear, ask.
- If it is in stock, say so and send the product link.
- If it is sold out, offer the closest variant that is in stock, such as another color in the same size.
- If they want to wait, ask for their email. Create a back in stock subscription for that exact variant in Klaviyo (example).
- Confirm what they signed up for and how they will be told.
- If our knowledge base has a restock date for that product, share it. If not, don’t guess one.
Never promise a restock date we have not given. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the alerts app and the sign-up details to match the app you use before you paste it.
What to connect
- Your Shopify store. Built in. Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store and connect your store in the dashboard. Stock comes from your synced catalog, so the answer matches what shoppers can buy.
- Your back in stock app. Klaviyo, Notify Me and STOQ connect through their APIs. See back in stock sign-ups with Klaviyo and restock alerts with STOQ.
- Your knowledge base. Add restock dates you are confident about, so AeroChat answers from your own rules.
After you paste the recipe, AeroChat builds the workflow as a draft and shows a checklist of what is left: connect your back in stock app, then switch it on.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What you still decide
- Which alternative AeroChat offers when a variant is sold out.
- Whether restock alerts go by email, SMS or WhatsApp. A WhatsApp alert has to be an approved template. See the WhatsApp back in stock templates.
- Whether AeroChat shares restock dates at all.
The result to expect
Stock questions get an exact answer for the size and color asked. Shoppers who hit a sold-out variant either buy the alternative or join your restock list, instead of leaving.
Measure it with your own numbers: stock questions answered in chat, back in stock sign-ups from chat, and orders from those alerts, for a month before and after.
Next: see the stock and back in stock workflow across every channel and what to do when customers ask for sold-out products.
Works on every chat channel
This workflow runs the same way on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, the chat on your Shopify store and email, with the same Shopify connection behind it. See what each channel does on the Shopify integration page.
Channel versions: WhatsApp stock questions.
Answer your first stock question in chat
Install AeroChat, paste the recipe, and ask your own chat for a size that is sold out.
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