Even well-run stores sometimes have to send a backorder email to customers: the stock count was wrong, a supplier slipped, or two people bought the last unit at once. The worst part is rarely the shortage itself but the silence that ends only when the customer asks about the parcel.
This guide sets out what to do from the moment the warehouse reports the gap: the first message, the options to offer, reply templates, the case record and the fixes that prevent repeats. If the customer is asking about a parcel that is simply taking longer in transit, use our guide to where is my order questions. This guide is for when the store cannot ship what it has already sold.
What to do as soon as you spot the shortage
Start with facts, not with the message. The customer needs information you can keep to, so first confirm exactly what is missing and when it will realistically return. Then write before the customer has time to ask.
- Confirm the gap physically.Ask the warehouse to check the shelf and reservations. Note which item is missing and how many units.
- Get a date from the supplier.Record a confirmed delivery date, or state clearly that there is none. A warehouse guess is not a date.
- Check the rest of the order.This decides whether a split shipment is possible and whether it makes sense for the customer.
- Put fulfilment on hold.Agree with the warehouse that nothing ships until the customer has picked an option.
- Write to the customer with a choice.One message: what happened, what the options are and by when you need a reply.
Do not change the order on your own. Shipping part of it, swapping the model or cancelling without asking takes the decision away from the customer and usually triggers another conversation. If the customer is the one asking to drop an order that has not shipped yet, follow our guide to cancelling an order before dispatch.
Options the customer chooses rather than receives
Offer only the options you can actually deliver. Each option needs a condition the agent checks before sending the message.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Option | When to offer it | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| Wait | You have a supplier date | Delivery date and packing time |
| Split shipment | The rest of the order is ready | Who pays for the second parcel |
| Substitute | You have an item with the same specs | Price, stock and differences to explain |
| Cancel with refund | Always | Who issues the refund and when |
Cancelling the missing item should appear as a full option, not hidden beneath the others. A substitute or split shipment needs explicit consent because it changes the purchase. An "ok" in reply to a long message with three proposals does not tell you which one they chose, so ask again before passing the decision to the warehouse.
Delivery deadlines and refunds under EU rules
For consumer sales in the EU there is a general rule: unless the parties agreed otherwise, goods must be delivered without undue delay and no later than 30 days after the contract is concluded. If the store misses the deadline, the consumer sets an additional period appropriate to the circumstances, and if that also passes, can terminate the contract. The store must then reimburse all sums paid without undue delay.
Article 18 of Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights covers the delivery deadline, the additional period and reimbursement after termination. It does not say how a store should communicate a shortage or which options it must offer: Directive 2011/83/EU on EUR-Lex.
The customer can terminate at once, without an additional period, if the store refused to deliver, if the date was essential given the circumstances of the purchase, or if they said before buying that delivery by a specific date was essential. National laws implement the directive and may add remedies; outside the EU, check your local rules. This text is not legal advice; agree the terms in your policy and how to apply them with whoever handles legal matters for the store. Agents answer by the agreed procedure, not their own reading of the law.
Message templates for each option
The first message names the problem, apologises once and moves on to the choice. Follow-ups confirm the customer's decision and say what happens next. Fill the square brackets with verified data only.
"Item [name] from order [number] turned out to be out of stock. We are sorry: [short reason, e.g. our stock count was wrong]. The supplier has confirmed delivery on [date]. You can wait, receive the rest of the order now, [optional: choose [substitute] instead,] or drop this item and get a refund of [amount]. Reply with the option you prefer. Until then, we are holding the order."
"Thank you, we are holding the whole order [number]. We will ship it after the delivery, planned for [ship date]. If the date moves, we will write by [day] at the latest, and you can tell us again whether you still want to wait."
"Confirmed: today we are shipping [list of items], and [name] will follow in a separate parcel after the delivery [at no extra cost / second shipment: amount]. If you chose a substitute: instead of [name] we will send [substitute], difference [price or spec difference]."
"We have removed [name] from order [number]. We issued a refund of [amount] on [date] to [payment method]. Processing time depends on the payment provider, so we give the date we issued it, not the date it will arrive."
Keep these sentences as reply templates with fields to fill in, never with a hard-coded date. How to explain a refund that is already under way is covered in our guide to refunds in progress.
Internal note and case status
Once the first message is out, the case waits for the customer and the warehouse waits for that decision. In Meetlead customer support, a website chat conversation goes into a ticket with a number, an assignee and a waiting-for-customer status, and the customer's reply reopens it. Messenger and Instagram messages arrive in the same inbox. A macro with variables inserts the draft reply, and an internal note with an @mention pulls in someone from the warehouse. Meetlead does not edit the store order, send emails from the store system or read stock levels.
- Order number and the missing item with quantity.
- Confirmed delivery date, or a note that there is none.
- Options offered to the customer and the date of the message.
- The customer's choice, quoted word for word.
- Who in the warehouse and in payments took the next step.
If the customer goes quiet, do not choose for them. Record in the note when you will send a reminder and what happens after that deadline, following the approach in our guide to waiting for a customer reply. Then the next agent will not ship an incomplete parcel because the ticket looked forgotten.
Product page, help article and shortage tags
If the product is still on sale, every new purchase repeats the problem. Update the stock and availability details on the product page, and if the store deliberately accepts orders at zero stock, say so plainly next to the buy button with an estimated date.
Shopify Help describes the "Continue selling when out of stock" setting, which allows sales when inventory is at zero or below, for example for preorders. The page does not explain how to tell buyers about the delay: selling out-of-stock products in Shopify.
Add a tag such as "backorder" to every shortage conversation, and note the product and cause. After a month you will see whether the problem keeps coming from one supplier or category; naming rules are in our guide to tagging conversations and tickets. A published Help Center article on your shortage policy feeds into Meet AI knowledge (a Scale plan app), and the Automations app on Growth and Scale plans can show a popup on the affected product page.
Questions about backorders
Can I send a substitute without asking if it is better? Do not. A different colour, size or compatibility can ruin the purchase. Offer the substitute with a description of the differences and wait for explicit consent recorded in the ticket.
What should I write when the supplier has not given a date? Say so directly and give a date by which you will update them. "We do not have a date yet, we will be in touch by [day] at the latest" is more honest than guessing. Keep the refund option open, since without a date some customers prefer to buy elsewhere.
