Shopify Pre-Orders & The Shop App: Why They Don't Play Nice (And How to Fix It!)

Hey there, fellow store owners! Let's talk about something that often trips up even the savviest among us: managing pre-orders, especially when you're trying to leverage all the fantastic sales channels Shopify offers, like the Shop app. Recently, a great discussion popped up in the Shopify Community forums that really highlighted this challenge, and it's full of insights worth sharing. Our friend, nycbrand, kicked things off asking for advice because their pre-order app, STOQ, wasn't splitting fulfillments correctly when orders came through the Shop app. It's a common pain point, and the community really dug in to help.

The Core Challenge: Pre-Orders and the Shop App Don't Mix (Directly)

The first big takeaway, and honestly, the most crucial one, came from v.marychenka. They cut straight to the chase: switching pre-order apps won't actually solve the fundamental issue. Why? Because Shopify itself doesn't natively support pre-orders within the Shop app. This isn't an app limitation; it's a platform one. As v.marychenka pointed out, Shopify's own documentation clearly states, "Pre-order products are only supported on the Online Store and Custom Storefront sales channels." STOQ's own help docs confirm this too.

So, if a customer tries to buy a pre-order item directly through the Shop app, any pre-order app you're using, like STOQ, can't properly flag or process it as such. It ends up looking like a regular, in-stock sale, leading to exactly the fulfillment headaches nycbrand was experiencing.

Why the Disconnect? It's All About How Pre-Orders Are Marked

To understand why this happens, lumine offered some fantastic technical context. They explained that pre-order apps typically work in one of two ways to "mark" an item as a pre-order:

• Selling Plan on the Variant: This is Shopify's native approach, where the pre-order status is attached directly to the product variant on the server side.
• Script in the Theme's Cart: Many apps use JavaScript running within your online store's theme to add a "pre-order" line item property or cart attribute.

The crucial part? The Shop app checkout never loads your online store's theme. This means if your pre-order app relies on those theme-based scripts, they simply won't run in the Shop app. The order lands without any pre-order flag, making it impossible for the app to split fulfillment or manage it correctly.

While a "selling plan" based pre-order might technically carry the marker, v.marychenka's point about Shopify's overall channel support still stands. The Shop app's checkout flow just isn't built for it right now.

The Community-Backed Workaround: Redirecting to Your Online Store

So, what's a store owner to do? The consensus from the community is clear: if a customer discovers a pre-order product through the Shop app, you need to gently guide them to your online store to complete the purchase. This way, your pre-order app (like STOQ) can do its job in an environment it's designed for.

Here’s the step-by-step fix, courtesy of v.marychenka, that nycbrand found so helpful:

1. Access Your Sales Channels: From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Shop.
2. Locate Your Catalog: In the "Catalog" section, click on Products selling directly in Shop.
3. Select Pre-Order Products: Tick the checkboxes next to all the products that are currently available for pre-order.
4. Initiate Bulk Edit: Click the Bulk edit button.
5. Deselect Shop Channel: In the bulk editor, find the "Sales channels" column (you might need to scroll or add it if it's not visible). For your pre-order products, deselect "Shop" as a sales channel.
6. Save Your Changes: Click Save.

What this does: Your pre-order products will still appear in the Shop app, but now, if a customer clicks on one, they'll be automatically redirected to that product's page on your main online store. This is where your pre-order app can take over and process the order correctly, including managing separate fulfillments for mixed carts.

Important Considerations for Online Store Pre-Orders

It's worth noting that even on your online store, pre-orders might have some payment limitations. As v.marychenka mentioned, these often can't be paid with accelerated checkout options like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. This is another layer of complexity to be aware of and potentially communicate to your customers.

Once a product is no longer a pre-order and is back in regular stock, you can simply reverse these steps and re-add it to the Shop sales channel. This ensures you're always leveraging the Shop app for its intended purpose – driving immediate sales for in-stock items.

This discussion really underscores the importance of understanding the nuances of each sales channel within your Shopify store. While the Shop app is a powerful tool for discovery and direct sales, pre-orders require a slightly different, more guided approach to ensure a smooth experience for both you and your customers. By implementing this simple redirect, you can continue to offer pre-orders effectively without running into those pesky fulfillment issues. It's all about knowing the limitations and having a smart workaround ready!