[intro]When you have completed this Guide, you will have configured how your EKM online shop deals with Products that are out of stock and installed the Back In Stock Statistics feature which will help you monitor which of your sold-out Products are the most popular. [/intro]

[summary]

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The Back In Stock Statistics feature allows you to see at a glance which of your out-of-stock products are the most popular. You can then restock your Products according to demand, reducing the periods when popular items are temporarily unavailable to your customers. 

Installing the Feature

1. From the Dashboard, click Features on the left-hand menu:

2. Click the Feature Library tab:

3. Scroll down to the Conversions features and click the View More button on the right-hand side:

4. Click the Back In Stock Statistics icon:

5. Click the green Install Feature button:

6. Click the Launch button:

7. You’ll now see this screen:

There will not be any data yet as the feature only begins recording requests from the moment that it has been installed on your EKM online shop. The next step is to amend the settings for Products that go out of stock.

Stock Control Settings

5. Click Settings in the bottom left-hand corner:

6. Click Stock Control on the left-hand side:

7. You will now see this checkbox if you have not already turned on Stock Control:

[caution] By turning on the Stock Control functionality, you will need to add values for each of your Products so that the system knows how many units you have in Stock. This can be added in the Inventory Manager feature or by using spreadsheets and the Import/Export System. Whichever method you use, be sure to complete this task as otherwise, the system will presume you have no Products in stock by default. [/caution]

8. Click the checkbox to reveal the settings:

Out-of-Stock Products

  • You need to select your option from the drop-down menu so your EKM online shop knows what to do when a customer tries to purchase a Product that is out of stock.

Out of Stock Message

  • You can reword the text within this field to something more suited to your Products and company ethos, but try and keep it as brief as possible, as the message length could negatively impact your Theme. Don’t forget to double-check it for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

Default Variant Action

  • If you sell any Products with Variants, such as different colours and sizes, you need to select the most applicable option from the drop-down menu so your EKM online shop knows which variant to display when the default is sold out.

Stock Warning Level

  • The settings on this drop-down menu depend on what kind of products you are selling on your EKM online shop. If it can take a few weeks for your Products to arrive from your supplier and your Products are very popular, you may want to set this drop-down menu to a high number, which means you’ll receive a low stock email notification with enough time to spare to order more Products and replenish your stock.

[remember] If you have a lot of out-of-stock Products on your EKM online shop, this can be a bad experience for your customers, especially if more than one Product that they want is out of stock. Take into account how often you can resupply your EKM online shop with Products as you are editing these settings. [/remember]

Enable Back In Stock Alerts

Tick the checkbox:

This will display a field on the Product page of any out-of-stock Products where customers can enter their email address to receive a notification when that particular item is back in stock. On the Product page, it looks like this:

When the customer has added their email address and clicked the Submit button, they will see a short message:

When the email arrives with the customer, the default version looks like this:

9. When you have finished amending the Stock Control Settings, click the green Save button:

[remember]You can customise the Back In Stock Email that is sent to your customers by following the steps in this Guide. [/remember]

Back In Stock Statistics Data

When you have had a number of popular Products sell out, return to the Back In Stock Statistics feature. You'll then see the data that has been collected:

From my results, the Coloured Pencil Set was the most popular out-of-stock product, with three people requesting email notifications when it's back in stock again. You can click the name of the Product to be taken directly to that Product Page, and see the number of requests made for email notifications when the product is restocked and when these requests were made. You can also click the drop-down menu to see the requests according to the customers' email address:

This is useful for identifying regular customers and can be used to help you formulate promotions and discounts in the future. You can also click the link to download a spreadsheet version of the data, which will let you know which product was the most popular, who requested it and when it was requested:

[remember]When you restock products on your EKM online shop, there is a short delay before the Back In Stock Statistics feature updates and emails are sent out to customers who have requested them. [/remember]

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]