Out of stock product pages: what to show instead of a dead end

Someone who lands on a product page has usually done the hard part already. They searched for a part number, followed a link from an old order or clicked a bookmark. They know what they want. If the page only says “Out of stock” and greys out the button, the shop has given them one option: leave.

A buyer in that position has three questions, and the page can answer all of them:

• When can I have it? A date or a realistic range, not “soon”.
• What else would do the job? One or two items that really fit, with the difference stated.
• How do I keep this moving? A restock notice, a backorder, or a short enquiry that goes to a person.

Keep everything else on the page as it was. The description, technical data, drawings and downloads are still useful: a buyer may be comparing, preparing a purchase request or checking a specification for a machine that is already installed. Hiding the page, or stripping it down to a sold-out label, throws that away.

Not every unavailable product is the same case, though. A pump that arrives next Tuesday, a model the manufacturer stopped making and a cabinet that is built after the order all need different wording and different handling. The three cases below cover most shops.

When stock is coming back, the page should say when. “Expected in stock in the week of 12 October” is useful. “Currently unavailable” is not. If you cannot name a date, name what you do know: “Next delivery from the manufacturer is confirmed, usual lead time is three to four weeks.”

Then offer a way forward:

• Backorder. If you are confident about the delivery, let the customer order now and state the expected dispatch date in the basket and in the order confirmation.
• Restock notification. A single email field and a button: “Tell me when this is back.” Send one message when stock arrives, and do not add the address to a newsletter unless the person asked for that.
• An alternative. Show an item that can replace this one and say what differs: “Same connection and performance, 20 mm longer housing.” A row of loosely related products is not an alternative.

For business customers, add a line for urgent cases: a phone number or an enquiry form that names the product, so nobody has to type the part number again.

For search engines, a temporarily unavailable product needs very little: leave the page online at the same address and let the product data say that the item is out of stock. Do not remove the page or redirect it somewhere else for a few weeks. It took time to earn its place in the results, and the product is coming back.

A discontinued product is different, because the old page will keep receiving visitors for years. People search for the model number printed on a machine they already own. That is a visitor with a clear need, and usually one of these three:

1. They want a replacement. Name the successor at the top of the page, link to it, and state what changed: dimensions, connections, power supply, accessories that no longer fit.
2. They want to keep the old unit running. List the spare parts, wear parts and service kits that are still available, and say until when if you know.
3. They need documents. Keep the manual, the data sheet and the drawing available for download.

What to do with the address of the page depends on which of these applies.

One mistake is common: redirecting every discontinued product to the home page. The visitor asked for a specific model and arrives somewhere that does not mention it. A redirect only helps when the target is a real answer to the original request.

If the catalogue is large, it is worth handling this as a rule in the shop and not page by page. A well-structured product catalogue can store the successor and the status of each item, so the notice, the link and the redirect follow from the data.

Items that are built, configured or ordered from the manufacturer after the customer buys are not out of stock at all. Many shops still show them with a zero and a red label because the stock field is empty. That turns away buyers for a product you can supply.

Say what is actually true:

• “Made to order. Dispatch within 15 working days of order confirmation.”
• What the lead time depends on, if it varies: options, quantity, season.
• Whether the order can be changed or cancelled once production has started.
• What the customer needs to provide: dimensions, a drawing, a choice of options.

If the price depends on the configuration, replace the basket button with a quote request that already carries the product name and the chosen options. For companies that sell mostly this way, a proper B2B ordering process with quotes and confirmed delivery dates fits better than a standard checkout.

For search engines the same principle applies: the product data should describe the item as made to order or available with a lead time, not as out of stock.

The chart below is an illustrative example, not a measurement. It follows 100 visits to one unavailable product page, first with a bare “Out of stock” label and then with a delivery date, one fitting alternative and a restock notice. In this example the number of visitors who leave the site falls from 82 to 55, because 24 look at the alternative and 12 ask to be told when stock returns.

Your own figures will differ. What matters is that you measure them: count views of unavailable products, clicks on alternatives and notice sign-ups in your analytics, and you will see which products are worth restocking first.