Offering Discounts for Pre-Orders: Drive Early Demand

Our new Pre-Orders feature includes an option to offer discounts on pre-order items. This is a powerful way to encourage early purchases, reward your customers for their patience, and drive demand while they wait for fulfillment.

You'll find this setting in your Back In Stock app under Pre-orders > Configuration, labeled "Pre-order discount."

How to Set Up Your Pre-Order Discount:

You have three options for applying discounts to your pre-order items:

"None" (Default Setting):
- What it means: No discount will be applied to pre-order items. Customers will pay the full retail price.
- When to use this: If your product is in high demand and you don't need an incentive for pre-orders, or if you prefer to offer discounts through other promotions.
- To enable: Simply click the radio button next to "None".
"Fixed amount off":
- What it means: You can specify a fixed dollar amount that will be deducted from the price of each pre-ordered item.
- How to set it: Select this option, and a field will appear where you can enter the specific dollar amount (e.g., "$5 off," "$10 off").
- Example: If an item is $50 and you set a fixed discount of $5, the pre-order price will be $45.
- When to use this: This is great for clear, simple discounts that are easy for customers to understand. It works well for a range of product prices.
- To enable: Click the radio button next to "Fixed amount off" and enter the desired amount
"Percent off":
- What it means: You can specify a percentage that will be deducted from the price of each pre-ordered item.
- How to set it: Select this option, and a field will appear where you can enter the percentage (e.g., "10% off," "20% off").
- Example: If an item is $50 and you set a percent discount of 10%, the pre-order price will be $45.
- When to use this: This is effective for visually appealing discounts, especially for higher-priced items, and can often convey a greater sense of value.
- To enable: Click the radio button next to "Percent off" and enter the desired percentage.

Why Offer a Pre-Order Discount?

Boost Conversion: Discounts incentivize customers to commit to a purchase even before the item is in hand.
Reward Loyalty/Patience: It acknowledges that customers are willing to wait, making them feel valued.
Generate Cash Flow: Secure revenue upfront for items that haven't even arrived yet.
Gauge Interest: A discount can help confirm strong demand for a product, even if it's out of stock.

By strategically using the pre-order discount options, you can effectively drive early sales and manage customer expectations for your upcoming restocks. If you have any questions about configuring your discounts, our support team is here to help!