Overview
Selling out of a popular product is expensive — you lose sales, disappoint customers, and potentially lose them to a competitor. Shopify has a native low stock alert feature, and with Zapier you can route those alerts to Slack, email your supplier, or even automatically draft a purchase order. This guide covers the full setup from basic alert to automated reorder.
Before you start
- Shopify store with inventory tracking enabled
- Zapier account (optional, for Slack routing)
- Supplier contact information
Step-by-step guide (4 steps)
Enable Shopify low stock alerts
In Shopify Admin, go to Settings > Notifications. Enable 'Low inventory' notifications and set your email address. Shopify will email you when a variant hits 10 units (default threshold).
Customize your thresholds per product
For each product, go to the Inventory tab and check 'Track inventory.' Set a per-product reorder point by using tags: 'reorder-at-20' for fast movers, 'reorder-at-5' for slow movers.
Route alerts to Slack via Zapier
In Zapier, trigger off Shopify's 'Product updated' event with a filter: 'inventory_quantity less than [threshold].' Send a Slack message: '⚠️ Low stock: [Product] is at [Qty] units. Reorder now?'
Add a direct link to your supplier's website in the Slack message to make reordering one click.
Auto-draft purchase order (advanced)
Add a Google Docs action to auto-generate a purchase order draft from your supplier template, pre-filled with the product name and recommended reorder quantity. Email it to yourself for one-click send.
What you'll get
Zero unexpected stockouts
Reorder at the right time, not too early or too late
Supplier communication becomes systematic
Sleep better knowing your inventory is monitored
Common mistakes to avoid
Setting threshold too low (not enough lead time to restock)
Not accounting for supplier lead times in your threshold
Ignoring the alerts (build a review into your weekly routine)
Frequently asked questions
Do I need coding experience to set up this Shopify automation?
No coding is required. This guide walks you through everything using Shopify's built-in features and Zapier's visual interface. If you can follow a recipe, you can follow this guide.
How long does this automation take to set up?
Most users complete this setup in 30–60 minutes on their first try. Once set up, it runs completely automatically with zero ongoing effort.
What happens if the automation fails?
Zapier and Make both have error notifications and task history, so you'll know immediately if something goes wrong. We cover troubleshooting steps in the guide above.
Can I customize this automation for my specific business?
Absolutely. The guide includes notes on common customizations. Most automations have multiple variation points — timing, conditions, notification recipients, and more.