Stock notifications in Hummerce let a customer sign up for an alert about an out-of-stock item - just an email address is needed, and the system sends an email by itself once the item is back in stock. The store doesn't lose a sale over a temporary stock-out and doesn't need any manual work from staff to make it happen.
Last updated: 2026-09-29. Refreshed functionality (signing up for a notification and the email once an item is back in stock) - version 2.35.
¶ Benefits and use cases
- A customer interested in a temporarily unavailable item leaves just an email address - they don't need to come back to the product page to check availability.
- An automatic email once the item is back in stock brings the customer back at a natural buying moment, with no work from staff.
- A store without the notifications module enabled still has an alternative: the standard Ask about a product form, which sends the customer's question straight to staff.
- Staff can edit the content and subject of the product-availability email themselves in the panel.
On the card of a product that can't currently be bought, the store shows a single "ask about availability" button. What's behind it depends on the store's configuration:
- Stock notifications module enabled - the button opens a short sign-up form: the customer gives an email address (and possibly other fields configured for this form), and the store saves a submission linked to this item.
- Module disabled - the button leads to the general Ask about a product form: the customer gives their name, email, phone and question, and the submission goes by email to store staff as a question, not as an automatic notification sign-up.
- A customer who left an email address for an out-of-stock item gets an automatic email exactly when the item is back in stock - with no staff involved.
- The store guards against duplicates: the same email address won't sign up twice for a notification about the same item - the customer sees a message that a submission already exists.
- The subject of the email sent to the customer is set in the store's configuration; the content and look - in the email template, the same as other store emails.
- The Ask about a product form is a plain contact form attached to an item - it doesn't save an automatic notification, only sends a one-off question from the customer to staff (name, email, phone, question text and a link to the product).
- Staff edit the content of the email with the customer's question in the questionOnItemMail message template (Configuration -> Templates).
- From version 2.34, access to the form is protected against automatic bot submissions - the form only opens from the product page.
- The Ask about a product form - a core platform feature, available for a long time.
- Protecting the form against automatic bot submissions - from version 2.34.
- The refreshed automatic stock notification (signing up and the email once the item is back in stock) - version 2.35.
- The stock notifications module - optional, needs to be enabled; without it, the button on the item card leads to the Ask about a product form.
- Email templates and alerts - the content and subject of the customer email, see Email templates and alerts.
- Item availability information on the product card - see Warehouse.
- Works right after an update - the Ask about a product form is part of the standard and doesn't need to be enabled.
- Requires implementation - enabling the automatic stock notification module (if the store doesn't have it yet), adapting the button and form to the store's visual template, setting the email subject.
- Minimum estimated time:
- changing the content and subject of the Ask about a product email in the panel - 0 h,
- enabling the stock notifications module and testing on a test environment - from 2 h.
- The time for a specific implementation depends on its scope - we quote it individually.
- What the time depends on: whether the notifications module is already enabled in the store, how much the form's look needs to be adapted to the store template, the number of languages.
- The Ask about a product form doesn't save an automatic notification - it's a one-off question to staff that needs a manual reply.
- The stock notifications module is optional - in a store without it enabled, the customer has no way to sign up for an automatic email when the item is back in stock.
- Signing up for a notification only requires a valid email address - there's no extra verification of that address (e.g. a confirmation link).
- We do not verify the task for legal compliance (e.g. licenses of submitted materials, GDPR, store terms of service).
- Confirming the notification sign-up with a link in the email (double opt-in).
- A panel view listing submitted notifications and their status (pending / sent) for store staff.
Can a customer sign up for a notification about an item's availability?
Yes, if the store has the notifications module enabled - just an email address is needed for the out-of-stock item, and the email arrives automatically once it's back in stock.
What happens if the store doesn't have the notifications module enabled?
The button next to the out-of-stock item then leads to the Ask about a product form - the question goes to store staff, with no automatic notification sign-up.
Is the Ask about a product form protected against bots?
Yes, since version 2.34 - the form can only be accessed from the product page.
Can a customer sign up for a notification about the same item more than once?
Not with the same email address - the store recognizes the duplicate and doesn't sign it up again.
How long does enabling the automatic stock notification take?
From 2 h, including a test on a test environment - the exact time depends on how much it needs to be adapted to the store template.
Want to see how stock notifications could work in your store? Contact the Hummerce team (in Polish).
- Configuration -> Templates - the questionOnItemMail template (content of the email with the customer's product question).
- Configuration -> Settings - the subject of the product-availability notification email (description: "Lets you set the subject of the email sent to the customer once the selected product becomes available").
¶ REST API and MCP
"Ask about a product" submissions and stock notification sign-ups aren't available through the REST API or MCP. Resending an email to a customer or for an order (a different mechanism) - see Email templates and alerts.
Field labels for the Ask about a product form (First name, Email, Phone, Question, Link to product) and the page title are changed in the message editor.
| Symbol |
Object |
Label |
_firstName |
"Ask about a product" submission |
First name |
_email |
"Ask about a product" submission |
email |
_phone |
"Ask about a product" submission |
Phone |
_comment |
"Ask about a product" submission |
Question |
| Template |
Recipient |
When |
questionOnItemMail |
store staff |
the "Ask about a product" form is submitted |
subject from configuration (productAvailableComposer.subject) |
customer |
a signed-up item is back in stock (stock notifications module) |