Set Up Back in Stock & Low Inventory Journeys

What is it?

Inventory journeys automatically notify subscribers when items they’ve shown interest in are back in stock or running low on inventory. This unified framework covers two automated journey types:

• Back in Stock: Triggers restock notifications when inventory for an item moves from “out of stock” to “in stock” and crosses your minimum threshold. Use the additional filters to set a minimum threshold.
• Low Inventory: Triggers urgency/scarcity notifications when remaining inventory for an item drops below your threshold.

Both journey types give you two key configuration options:

1. Unit-Level Triggers: Trigger journeys at either the Product level or Variant level (a specific size, color, or style).
2. Flexible Inclusion Options: Define subscriber eligibility using four target rules: Viewed only, Cart only, Viewed and cart (subscriber completed both actions), or Viewed or cart (subscriber completed at least one action).

How do I use it?

Prerequisites

Before building your journey, verify your catalog settings in Attentive under Settings > Product Catalog:

• Active Integration: Ensure your e-commerce integration (e.g., Shopify) is actively syncing inventory levels to Attentive.
• Inventory Thresholds: Ensure you have configured inventory threshold counts for both restocks and low-stock alerts.
  • In the journey builder, click on the journey trigger (the first step in the journey) to open the trigger settings panel.
  • In the INVENTORY THRESHOLD section of the trigger settings panel, enter the minimum number of units that must be in stock in order for the journey to be triggered. The default minimum is 1. 
  • Click Save.

• Variant Data: If you plan to trigger journeys at the variant level, your catalog feed must include variant IDs mapped to parent product IDs. Brands using single variant IDs per product will default to product-level triggering.

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Step 1: Create the Journey

1. In Attentive, navigate to Journeys and click Create journey.
2. Select Start from scratch or choose a pre-built template for Back in stock or Low inventory.

Step 2: Configure the Trigger Node & Rules

1. Click the Trigger node at the top of the journey builder canvas.
2. In the right-hand settings panel, select minimum number of units.
3. Under Unit level, select how precisely you want to target:
   • On product level: Use this if a restock or low stock warning should trigger a message for shoppers when that overall product crosses your inventory threshold.
   • On variant level: Use this to isolate the exact item (e.g., Size Medium). The journey will trigger only when that specific variant crosses your inventory threshold.
4. Under Include subscribers who, choose how subscribers qualify based on their past site behavior:
   • Viewed a product that is back in stock 
   • Added a product that is back in stock to cart
   • Viewed or added the product that is back in stock to cart
   • Viewed and added the product that is back in stock to cart
5. Set the Lookback window (e.g., in the last 30 days) to establish how recently the subscriber must have engaged with the product to qualify.
6. Under Exclude subscribers who, configure your purchase exclusion rule (e.g., Purchased the item in the last 30 days) to ensure shoppers who recently bought the featured product or variant are automatically filtered out and do not receive redundant alerts.

Step 3: Design Your Messages

1. Drag desired message steps onto the canvas.
2. Personalize your message body using dynamic catalog variables:
   • {{triggerEvent.product.name}} — Displays the name of the featured item.
   • {{triggerEvent.product.image}} — Dynamically renders the product or variant image.
   • {{triggerEvent.product.link}} — Directs the subscriber straight back to the product or variant page to complete their order.

Step 4: Review & Turn On

1. Double-check your trigger logic, quiet hours, and message copy.
2. Click Turn on in the top-right corner.

Important Technical Rules & Edge Cases:

• Personalization Macro Behavior: Personalization variables (such as {{triggerEvent.product.name}}) maintain standard catalog behavior.The product.name macro will use the exact name that is set up in your product catalog. 
• Catalog Sync Timing: Journeys evaluate eligibility as soon as updated catalog inventory feeds ingest into Attentive. Restocks that occur outside standard sync cycles will process upon the next completed sync.
• Custom API Integrations: If your store uses a custom API catalog rather than a pre-built integration like Shopify, verify with your developer that variant payloads are mapped correctly before turning on variant-level triggers.

Recommendation: Target High Intent First (Cart vs. View)

• Cart Only / Viewed & Cart: Use your highest-urgency messaging here. These shoppers added the item to their bag, demonstrating strong purchase intent. Offer a direct checkout link and emphasize immediate availability.
• Viewed Only: Use softer, discovery-focused messaging. Since these shoppers only browsed the product page, focus on reminding them what made the product special or highlight product reviews.

Why should I use it?

• Higher Relevance: Triggering at the variant level prevents irrelevant alerts (e.g., notifying a shopper who wanted Size Small that Size XL is back in stock), driving higher relevance.
• Maximized Reach Without Extra Work: The "Viewed or cart" inclusion rule allows you to target your full audience of interested shoppers in one streamlined journey, eliminating the need to build and maintain separate flows for site views versus cart adds.
• Tailored Messaging Strategy: Distinguishing between Cart only (high intent) and Viewed only (casual browsing) enables you to tailor your tone—using high-urgency CTAs for cart abandoners and softer rediscovery messaging for browsers.
• Hands-Off Automation: Once configured, these journeys run automatically against your synced catalog feed, continuously capturing high-intent sales with zero daily manual effort.