Do you know that in business, it is not necessary to have products available to be able to sell? We know you are thinking of the dropshipping model, but the sales method we want to mention here is pre-orders on Shopify.

For some online stores, out-of-stock will cause interruption and stagnant in business operations, leaving you without capital to mobilize business activities. However, a great business solution has been born that not only help you sell products, and generate revenue even when there are no products available but also attracts many customers – pre-orders on Shopify.

So, what is a pre-order? Why is it so significantly effective? Please read this article to find out the answer!

What are Pre-orders? Why Should Use It?

Pre-order is a form of purchase in which the customer may pay in advance for an item that is not yet available for shipping. When the seller receives the buyer’s deposit, it means that the seller is obligated to deliver the goods to the buyer as soon as the product is released. Pre-order is commonly applied to items that are in high demand or have limited quantities such as books, movie tickets, and video games,…

So, why should sellers use a pre-order sales strategy?

Pre-orders can be a “game changer” for your Shopify store because they bring countless benefits, not only to sellers but also to satisfy the shopping needs of buyers:

  • The first and biggest benefit of pre-orders on Shopify is that it creates excitement, and stimulates customers’ expectations and desire to own.
  • Second, it provides you with the basis to evaluate purchasing needs to come up with an inventory management strategy and even expand capital to serve the production of new items.
  • Another benefit of pre-ordering is that it helps you expand your cash flow by collecting upfront payments for products that have not yet been officially released. Thanks to that, this early cash flow can support production and business operations, reducing financial burden.
  • Besides, pre-orders also help with search engine optimization (SEO). Your search engine optimization (SEO) will suffer unnecessarily if you wait until a product is in stock to place it on your e-commerce site. Instead, placing a pre-order button on your Shopify page will allow search engines to pick up your site. As a result, you can maintain your current ranking while adding more products.
  • Finally, pre-orders provide an opportunity to gather customer feedback. Based on the reviews and experiences of pre-order customers, you can make improvements to suit the needs and preferences of the majority of customers, enhancing the overall customer experience and thereby having the opportunity to increase sales for the next sale.

In short, pre-orders on Shopify are a powerful and smart sales strategy that businesses can use to create buzz, increase customer engagement, gain a competitive advantage in the market, and obtain the ultimate goal is to boosting sales. Therefore, let’s join BSS Commerce Shopify to learn more deeply about how it works and pre-order strategies to promote your Shopify business!

How To Increase Sales On Shopify Without A Discount Strategy

Pre-order Methods on Shopify

Similar to standard sales, pre-orders also provide customers with the two most popular methods: Pay now and Pay later.

Pay now

Pre-orders on Shopify come with a Pay Now option which is one of the most popular purchasing methods today, in the modern era of internet buying. Product images, information, and prices will still be published right on the product page like regular products. The difference is that pre-orders will often have a better price before being on the official sales, which can be considered a market penetration price, and the shipping time for pre-orders will often be longer than standard orders.

When placing a pre-order on Shopify, customers will also be informed of the expected delivery time. Therefore, this method is ideal if you have already built trust with customers and have a tested product in the market.

Pay Now for advance orders will be a great option for businesses that want to:

Businesses want to be paid in advance. This plays an important role in cash flow management and it also contributes to strengthening the solid financial foundation of the business.

Automatically update the out-of-stock products. In trading, customers will inevitably change their minds about not buying or buying a competitor’s product, especially when the product has low inventory or is out of stock. In this case, the pre-orders feature automatically accepts customers’ pre-orders and the instant payment method also prevents customers from switching to another seller if they change their mind about buying, of course. They will lose their previously deposited money.

Update the newest product information for customers. An important thing about the Pay Now method for pre-orders is that it will provide detailed information about the expected delivery date. This will help customers feel more secure while waiting.

Pay later

Pay later in pre-orders on Shopify is a payment method in which the buyer receives an invoice from the seller but is not required to pay in full upfront; instead, payment is done after the item(s) is available or has been delivered to customers. Simply put, this method allows customers to make a deposit or “reserve” a product for free, the invoice will be set by the seller for the entire selling price of the product or the selling price when the product is shipped. This also means that orders can be canceled at any time without either the buyer or seller having to pay any penalty.

Paying later for pre-orders may be suitable for businesses that want to:

  • Test new products in the market and collect insightful data on customer feedback and reviews.
  • Drive sales for products that are upcoming but have a high chance of being delayed,
  • Charge additional fees to customers at the actual time. Pay later gives you the flexibility to invoice customers before or after paying the supplier. Therefore, you can customize your cash flow.

🎁 View more: Shopify Payment Gateways Review

How to Set up Pre-orders on Shopify

Setting up a pre-order system on your Shopify store is effortless. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: You’re in Shopify Admin, select Products.

Step 2: Select Add Product, then enter the name of the product you want to make pre-orders for\

Step 3: In the Inventory section, click to uncheck “Track quantity”. This helps hide product inventory and you can earn more pre-orders than the actual quantity.

Step 4: Select Save and Continue

Step 5: To add details about product variations such as price, SKU,… select “Add variant” and then enter the variation details.

Step 6: Select “Save Variation”. If you make more variations, you will need to save each variation.

Step 7: Select “Publish product” to complete. So your product can be pre-ordered. When the product is released, Shopify automatically charges the customer’s credit card and begins fulfilling the order.

Pre-order Strategy

When it comes to setting up a pre-order system on Shopify, the most important thing is that you need to come up with specific and detailed strategies. By following this step-by-step guide, you can provide a seamless and successful pre-order experience for your customers.

Choose the right products

The first and most crucial step in setting up a pre-order system on Shopify is to determine which products in your store are suitable for this strategy. Think about and make a list of the items that your target market is most likely to desire and have high expectations for.

Normally, businesses will choose completely new products or improved products based on products that have sold well before. Customers are naturally curious and like to try new things, therefore products that are “better” than the previous “best” will undoubtedly encourage discovering new things, pique clients’ interest, and inspire enthusiasm.

Get your timing right

Reality shows that delivery time greatly affects customers’ purchasing decisions and attitudes. Letting customers wait too long to receive goods is a bad thing, not only does it make customers leave you, but it also makes new customers afraid to buy from you. Therefore, you need to set realistic and reasonable timelines, especially for pre-orders. If you don’t meet that, your entire purpose of setting up pre-orders on Shopify will be completely defeated.

So how do you arrange the time appropriately, ensuring that customers are not on the waiting list for too long and that you also do not have to rush in delivering the goods? The key element is that you accurately assess your supply, production, and order fulfillment capabilities. How many pre-orders can you fulfill and in what period? Determining that will help you communicate these timelines transparently to your customers to manage their expectations effectively and beyond that, it will also help prevent unfulfilled order crises in case the quantity requested is too large.

Communicate

Besides product selection and proper timing, it is equally important to keep customers updated and informed about the progress of their pre-orders, especially for customers who make pre-orders and pay now. No matter how big a business is, and how strong its promises guarantees and commitments are, deep in the minds of customers there will still be doubts and worries about the amount of money they have spent on your products. This is an unavoidable mentality.

Therefore, it is extremely necessary to always maintain connections and build trust with customers. It will contribute to allaying doubts and helping them feel secure because they know that they are not being scammed.

So, how can you communicate effectively with customers? There are many ways for good communication. You can email, text, or call, or if you have an order tracking app, let them know. This will go a long way in strengthening customer trust while also showing them that you have excellent customer service.

Create attractive product descriptions and high resolution images

The success of your Shopify pre-order strategy depends significantly on how well you optimize your product descriptions and images. To do that, you need to carefully prepare the content on the product page. Accordingly, you need:

  • Conduct keyword research to determine what your target customers are interested in related to your product. Integrate these keywords naturally throughout your product descriptions, titles, and meta tags to improve visibility in search results.
  • Write detailed and engaging product descriptions that highlight the benefits, features, and uniqueness of pre-order items. Clearly communicating that a product is available for pre-order and specifying an expected shipping or delivery date helps set customer expectations and avoid confusion during the purchasing decision process.
  • Add high-quality, well-lit visual images and show products from many different angles so customers have the clearest visualization of your actual product. You also need to pay attention to file size. Avoid uploading image files that are too large because it not only affects image quality but also slows down page loading speed. In this case, remember to resize the image.
  • Finally, don’t forget to place a prominent and attention-grabbing call-to-action button at the end of each description and image to lead customers through the pre-order process. Use action words, such as “Pre-order now” to prompt customers to take action.

After all, with a product that has not yet been released to the market and has pre-orders on Shopify, investing in content is extremely important. It not only helps customers understand deeply about your products but also promotes your product visibility in the search process to increase reach and attract customers.

Use urgency, scarcity tactics and create buzz

Nothing works better than utilizing scarcity and urgency to entice buyers to place a purchase; this is also the secret to Shopify pre-sale product success. Compared to just asking customers to buy products that aren’t ready for immediate delivery, creating excitement and curiosity in an emergency situation works wonders. You can get greater engagement and conversion rates as a result of it. Please have a look at the following methods to arouse clients’ interests:

  • An easy way to create a sense of urgency and get shoppers excited about pre-ordering your product is to offer exclusive deals, limited edition bonuses or freebies with free shipping,…
  • Applying limited quantity and time-limited strategies is also an effective way to stimulate customers’ Fear of Missing Out psychology, causing them to quickly place orders because they don’t want to miss out. You can also use a pre-order countdown timer on the product page so anyone who clicks on it can see it and be motivated.

For example, you can offer a 50% discount and give it to the 10 fastest shoppers.

  • Run promotional campaigns through social media, blog posts or email marketing to give customers a glimpse of upcoming products. Remember to use attractive images and videos and strike the right interest of customers to create curiosity and excitement.
  • You can also engage your audience by collaborating with industry influencers or organizing product-related events and giveaways. This not only increases trust in your product but also helps expand your reach to potential customers.

Choose the right pre-order method

Choosing the right pre-order method is key to the success of your pre-order marketing. As mentioned above, there are 2 methods of pre-orders on Shopify: Pay now and Pay later.

Choosing the pre-order form depends on your needs and goals.

If you want to collect money to prepare for production and product launch, Pay Now is the optimal choice.

If you want to increase the number of pre-orders and test new products, choose Pay Later.

Remember, each method has disadvantages for both you and your customers. Thus, consider carefully the financial capacity of your business, the level of desire and experience of customers and come up with the most suitable plan.

Manage inventory effectively

Effective inventory management plays an important role in setting up product pre-orders on Shopify. Here are some of the reasons why:

  • Inventory management helps you determine product availability for pre-orders. By checking your current inventory and assessing your ability to produce or source additional supplies, you can determine whether you have enough stock to meet pre-order demand.
  • It helps you ensure that the pre-order quantity does not exceed the amount of inventory you have on hand. This protects you from overcrowding or creating frustration for customers when their orders cannot be fulfilled.
  • Based on inventory availability, you can adjust the estimated delivery time for pre-orders. If inventory is available, you can offer shorter delivery times. On the contrary, if you need to produce more or import goods from another source, delivery time may be extended. This helps you manage customer expectations and ensure that you can deliver on time.
  • Combining pre-order management and inventory management helps you optimize product supply. You can use pre-order quantities to predict supply needs and decide on production or inventory accordingly. As a result, it prevents shortages or unnecessary inventory.

To put it briefly, successful inventory management is crucial to the establishment of successful product pre-orders on Shopify. It enables you to satisfy client requirements, establish credibility, and guarantee a seamless pre-order procedure.

Explore the 3 Best Pre-order Apps for Shopify

#1 Pre-Order Helper by Wholesale Helper

pre orders on shopify - helper

Pre-Order Helper is a great pre-order app on Shopify for those who want to offer pre-ordering services on their Shopify store.

Key features:

  • Allow your customers to pre-order products that are currently out of stock or their upcoming new designs.
  • Manage pre-orders easily without using complicated emails
  • Allow wholesale customers to pre-order
  • Ability to view and check all Pre-Orders from your dashboard. A centralized analytics dashboard also provides you with information on ROI and revenue generated from bookings.
  • Integrates with Wholesale Coupons and Wholesale Order Forms
  • Simple, customizable design widget that lets you design your pre-order button, text, and styling according to your brand identity and style
  • Import/Export products and set product variations such as price, SKU,…

Price:

  • Free – $0/month
  • Basic – $4.99/month
  • Professional – $9.99/month

Try App: Pre‑Order Helper

#2 PreOrder Wolf – Pre-order Now by Boss Apps

pre orders on shopify - wolf

PreOrder Wolf – Pre-order Now designed by Boss Apps is one of Shopify’s most popular pre-order apps thanks to its flexibility and ease of use.

Key features:

  • Design pre-orders for specific products/variants, Collections, or All products.
  • Conditionally enable/disable pre-ordering based on inventory levels.
  • Set start date and end date
  • Continue selling products even when they are in an out-of-stock situation.
  • No coding required
  • 24/7 support.

Price:

  • Beginner – $4.99/month: Revenue $500/month for pre-orders on Shopify
  • Growth – $19.00/month: Up to 2000 USD of Pre-Order Revenue included in the base price + 19 USD for each additional 1000 USD of Pre-Order Revenue.
  • Unlimited – $119.00/month: Unlimited Preorder Revenue.

Try App: Preorder Wolf | Pre order now

#3 Next-gen pre-orders by PreProduct

pre orders on shopify - next gen

The next-generation PreProduct pre-order app for Shopify offers sellers a variety of flexible pricing plans to choose from, depending on their needs.

Key features:

  • Payment link and late fee options
  • Pay later, pay now, and pre-order based on deposit.
  • Shopify’s Order tracking system and customer portal
  • Order fulfillment holds, preventing delivery apps from fulfilling orders early
  • Automatically refund any canceled orders, eliminating the need for manual refunds.
  • Multi-currency, multi-language

Price:

  • Growth – $19.99/month: +0.5% of paid pre-order revenue
  • Plus – $59.99/month: 0% commission on up to 5k of monthly paid pre-order revenue, then 0.5% afterward
  • Platinum Plus – $159.99/month.

Try App: PreProduct next‑gen pre‑order

Final Thoughts on Pre-orders on Shopify

Although setting up pre-orders on your Shopify store is a smart and effective sales promotion strategy, in addition to the benefits it brings, you need to make carefully considered decisions about the price, the product, and the way it is promoted.

Remember, the key to a successful pre-order system lies in the ability to understand market needs and trends, effective communication with customers, clear product descriptions, and attractive offers. Hopefully, the above article has provided you with useful information on how to set up pre-orders on Shopify to maximize the revenue potential of this top-notch sales strategy.

We know you are also looking for a way to do online business effectively on Shopify. Then visit BSS Commerce Shopify, and we will tell you the secret to success.