Building a Waitlist for Specific Products

A waitlist collects email addresses from shoppers who want a product that is not yet available. When the product comes back in stock, Dash sends them a notification automatically.

You do not need a separate app for waitlists. The Back in Stock feature already does this. You just change the button text from "Notify me" to "Join waitlist" and update the email copy.

How it works

The Back in Stock system is a general notification tool. It watches inventory levels and sends emails when products restock. The words "back in stock" appear only in the default text — you can change every label.

A waitlist and a restock alert use the same system:

The only difference is the words you choose.

What you need

• The Dash Checkout Pro plan for email alerts (signups are collected on every plan, and browser push notifications work on every plan)
• The Back in Stock theme extension enabled in your Shopify theme
• At least one product that is out of stock or set to "Continue selling when out of stock"

Step 1: Create a waitlist campaign

A campaign controls which products show a signup form and what the notification email says.

1. Open the Dash app in your Shopify admin.
2. Go to Back in Stock → Campaigns.
3. Click Create campaign.
4. Enter a name that describes this waitlist (for example, "Limited Edition Waitlist").
5. Set the status to Active.

Target specific products

Under Products, choose how to target the products that should show a waitlist form:

• Products with tags — Add a tag like waitlist to any product that should have a waitlist. Then enter waitlist in the campaign's tag field.
• Specific products — Enter the full product titles or Shopify product IDs.
• Specific variants — Enter variant titles or IDs if only certain sizes or colors should have a waitlist.

Do not leave targeting on "All products" unless you want every out-of-stock product in your store to use this campaign.

Set the restock threshold

The Inventory threshold controls when Dash sends notifications. The default is 1, which means Dash sends emails as soon as the inventory count reaches 1 or higher.

For a waitlist, you may want to wait until you have more stock. If you set the threshold to 10, Dash waits until the product has at least 10 units before it notifies anyone. This prevents a rush on a single unit.

Set the priority

If a product matches more than one campaign, the campaign with the highest priority wins. Set a higher priority number if you want this waitlist campaign to take precedence over your default Back in Stock campaign.

Click Save to create the campaign.

Step 2: Customize the signup form

The signup form appears on product pages when the selected variant is out of stock. You change the text in your Shopify theme editor.

1. Go to Online Store → Themes in your Shopify admin.
2. Click Customize on your active theme.
3. Open a product page.
4. Find the Dash Back in Stock block (or the Back in Stock embed block if you use the floating button).
5. Change these fields:

6. Click Save.

The form will now display your waitlist text instead of the default restock text.

Per-product customization

If you need different text for different products (for example, "Join the launch list" on new products and "Join waitlist" on restocks), you can use Liquid conditions in your theme code. Contact support if you need help with this.

Step 3: Customize the notification email

When the product restocks and reaches your threshold, Dash sends an email to everyone on the waitlist. You control the subject line, heading, body text, and button text.

1. Open the campaign you created.
2. Go to the Email tab.
3. Edit these fields:

The {{ product_title }}  placeholder inserts the product name automatically.

4. Click Save.

Email sender settings

In the same campaign, you can also set:

• From name — The name that appears in the "From" field (for example, "Waitlist Team" or your store name)
• Reply-to address — Where replies go if a customer replies to the email
• Accent color — The color of the email button

Step 4: Add translations (optional)

If your store serves customers in multiple languages, you can create email templates for each language.

1. In your campaign, go to the Email tab.
2. Click Add language.
3. Select a language (for example, French, German, Spanish).
4. Enter the translated subject, heading, body, and button text.
5. Click Save.

Dash detects each shopper's browser language when they sign up and sends them the matching email. If no translation exists for their language, they receive the default (English) version.

Step 5: Test the waitlist

Before you announce your waitlist, make sure everything works:

1. Set one of your waitlist products to zero inventory (or use a test product).
2. Visit the product page on your live storefront.
3. Enter your email address and submit the form.
4. Go to Back in Stock → Subscribers in the Dash app. Your email should appear with status "Waiting".
5. Add inventory to the product (at least enough to reach your threshold).
6. Wait a few minutes. Dash checks inventory periodically and sends notifications in batches.
7. Check your inbox. You should receive your waitlist notification email.

If the email does not arrive within 10 minutes, check the Subscribers list. If the status changed from "Waiting" to "Notified", the email was sent — check your spam folder. If it still shows "Waiting", the inventory may not have reached the threshold yet.

Example: Limited edition product waitlist

You are launching a limited edition product in two weeks. You want to collect signups now and email everyone when the product goes live.

1. Create the product in Shopify with zero inventory. Add the tag limited-edition .
2. Create a campaign called "Limited Edition Launch".
3. Set targeting to Products with tags and enter limited-edition .
4. Set the inventory threshold to 1 (or higher if you want to wait until you have more stock).
5. Customize the email:
   • Subject: {{ product_title }} is now available — limited quantities
   • Heading: It's here
   • Body: {{ product_title }} just dropped. You're on the early access list, so you're seeing this before the general announcement. Stock is limited.
   • Button: Shop now
6. In your theme editor, change the form text to "Join the launch list" and "Get early access".
7. When launch day arrives, add inventory. Dash sends the emails automatically.

How subscribers move through the funnel

Each waitlist signup goes through these statuses:

You can view these statuses in Back in Stock → Subscribers. Filter by campaign to see only your waitlist subscribers.

Notification channels

Dash can send waitlist notifications through:

• Email — Requires the Pro plan
• Push notifications — Browser push alerts, included on every plan (requires shopper opt-in)
• SMS — Text messages (coming soon, Pro plan)
• WhatsApp — WhatsApp messages (coming soon, Pro plan)

You enable or disable each channel in the campaign settings. On the Free plan, signups are still collected and saved, but email alerts do not send until you upgrade. When you upgrade, Dash automatically sends the missed alerts for products that are currently in stock.

Frequently asked questions

Can I show a waitlist for products that are in stock?

The signup form only appears when the selected variant has zero inventory (or when you enable "Continue selling when out of stock" on the product). If a product is in stock, customers can add it to their cart directly — there is no reason to join a waitlist.

If you want to collect interest for a product that does not exist yet, create the product with zero inventory and do not publish it to your sales channels. Customers can still visit the product page directly if you share the link.

Can customers see their position on the waitlist?

No. The system does not show queue positions. All subscribers are notified at the same time when the product restocks. First-come-first-served happens naturally because the email includes a direct link to buy.

Can I notify subscribers manually?

No. Notifications are sent automatically when the inventory reaches the threshold. If you want to control the timing exactly, set the threshold higher than your restock quantity. Then, when you are ready to notify, add more inventory to cross the threshold.

Can I have different waitlists for different products?

Yes. Create multiple campaigns with different product targeting. Each campaign can have its own email template and settings. Use tags to group products — for example, tag products with waitlist-vip for one campaign and waitlist-standard for another.

What happens to subscribers if I delete a campaign?

Subscribers move to the next highest-priority active campaign that matches the product. They are not deleted. If no other campaign matches, they move to the Default Campaign.

Summary

To set up a waitlist:

1. Create a campaign in Back in Stock.
2. Target the products that should have a waitlist (use tags or specific product selection).
3. Change the form text in your theme editor ("Join waitlist" instead of "Notify me").
4. Customize the email template to use waitlist language.
5. Test with a real product and your own email address.

The system handles the rest: collecting signups, watching inventory, sending notifications, and tracking conversions.

Related Back in Stock Articles

• How Back in Stock Campaigns Choose Where Signups Go — Explains campaign priority, targeting rules, and the Default Campaign (help.dashcheckout.io/article/111)
• Why Subscribers Haven't Been Notified Yet — Troubleshoot why waiting subscribers haven't received restock emails (help.dashcheckout.io/article/112)
• Understanding Back in Stock Conversion Tracking — How Dash tracks Waiting → Notified → Clicked → Converted status (help.dashcheckout.io/article/113)