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How to track stock levels, update quantities, and set up inventory management in Shopify so you never accidentally oversell.

Shopify's inventory tools let you track exactly how many units of each product you have. When a customer orders a tracked product, Shopify automatically adjusts the count. This guide explains how to set it up and how to keep it accurate.

Quick summary

On each product (or variant), turn on inventory tracking and enter how many you have available. Shopify will adjust the count as orders come in. You can view and update stock levels from the Inventory page under Products, without opening each product individually.

What you'll need

Your current stock quantities
Products already added to Shopify (see How to add a product)

Turning on inventory tracking for a product

You need to set up inventory tracking for each product before you can view or adjust its stock levels. Here is how to enable it:

Open the product in your Shopify admin (Products > click the product name).

If the product has variants, click the variant you want to track.

In the Inventory section, turn on inventory tracking. Shopify's help pages call this setting Inventory not tracked or Inventory tracked (in the Shopify mobile app, it's Track quantity).

Enter the number of Available units you have in stock. This is the quantity Shopify will adjust as orders come in.

Decide what happens when stock runs out. By default, customers can't buy an item once it's out of stock. To let them keep buying, click Sell when out of stock and select Continue selling when out of stock. (This setting doesn't apply to Shopify POS, where staff can keep selling and are warned first.)

Click Save.

If your product has variants (sizes, colors, etc.), each variant has its own inventory quantity. You set these individually on each variant's page (click the variant in the Variants section).

Updating stock levels in bulk

If you need to update quantities for many products at once, use the Inventory page instead of opening each product separately.

Go to Products > Inventory in the left menu.

Find the product or variant you want to update. You can use the search bar to filter, and the location picker to choose a location.

Click the quantity number in the Available or On hand column.

Choose how to change it. Use Set to to enter an exact number (for example, after a stock count), or Adjust by to add or subtract units. Then click the check icon. The change is now pending.

Click Save. Shopify applies all your pending changes at once. If you leave the page before saving, your pending changes are thrown away.

You can also filter the Inventory page by product type, vendor, tag, sales channel, or quantity (for example, to find items with low available stock).

Setting a low stock alert

Shopify does not have a built-in low-stock email alert in the standard admin, but you can filter the Inventory page to see products with low quantities and reorder before you run out.

Low-stock apps are available

If you want automatic alerts when stock drops below a threshold, Shopify suggests installing an inventory alert app from the Shopify App Store, or setting up low-stock notifications with Shopify Flow (a free Shopify app). See Shopify apps explained for how to find and install apps.

Inventory for products without physical stock

Some products do not need inventory tracking — for example:

Digital downloads (the file is always available)
Made-to-order items (you make them after the order comes in)
Services

For these products, leave inventory tracking turned off. Shopify only treats an item as out of stock when its inventory is tracked, so customers can keep buying.

Adjusting inventory after receiving new stock

When a new shipment arrives, update your quantities on the Inventory page:

Go to Products > Inventory.

Find the product.

Click the quantity, choose Adjust by, and enter the number of units you received. If the stock came from a supplier rather than one of your Shopify locations, select Inventory addition as the origin. Click the check icon, then click Save. (If you've just counted everything, use Set to and enter the new total instead.)

Common questions

What does it mean when a product shows as unavailable?

On your store, it usually means the item is out of stock: inventory is tracked, the quantity is at zero or below, and Continue selling when out of stock is off. Customers can't buy it until you add stock. How an out-of-stock item is labeled depends on your theme. In your admin, the Unavailable column means something different: units set aside as damaged, in quality control, as safety stock, or reserved by apps.

Can I track inventory across multiple locations?

Yes, if you have more than one location (e.g. a store and a warehouse). Go to Settings > Locations to set up multiple locations, then assign inventory to each one. How many locations you can add depends on your Shopify plan. This is an intermediate setup — contact us if you need help.

Shopify shows a different quantity than what I actually have — how do I fix it?

Start with the product's adjustment history: Shopify records every inventory change, including who made it and why. If the numbers are still off, do a physical count and use Set to on the Inventory page to enter the correct totals.

Can Shopify sync inventory with my point-of-sale system?

Shopify has its own point-of-sale (POS) product. If you use Shopify POS in a physical store, it works from the same inventory as your Shopify admin, so you can track and adjust stock in either. For third-party POS systems, you may need an integration app.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

Learn more

Shopify Help: inventory management

Managing stock & inventory