What is an E-commerce Pre order?
An e-commerce preorder is an order placed for a product or service that is currently on planning stage, prototype, production or simply not yet available. The customer pays for the item in advance either partial or full, and the order is fulfilled once the product or service becomes available.
Preorders can be placed for physical goods, such as action figures, collectibles, books, video games, e-books and the digital content. Customers who preorder physical goods usually receive them through their preferred courier service or mail on or around the release date, while those who pre order digital content can usually download it instantly on the said release date.
E-commerce preorders can be used to gauge customer interest in a new product, secure funding and help businesses manage inventory levels.
Why do you need a WooCommerce Pre order Plugin?
If you’re running an online store powered by WooCommerce, there are a few key reasons why you might want to consider using a WooCommerce preorder plugin.
Less Manual Work and Sell 24/7 Online
A WooCommerce website can be a powerful tool for reducing the amount of manual work required in many businesses. By implementing such pre-order feature online can help reduce the need for employees to perform repetitive, time-consuming tasks of inputting customer orders, writing preorder deadline, release date, etc.
WooCommerce website can also be used to streamline communication between customer and supplier by sending automated reminders, order notifications and reports, weekly, monthly sales, etc.
The best part of having a website is it can serve your customers 24/7. By investing in a website, businesses can save time and money, and improve efficiency and customer service.
Project Sales and Manage Inventory
Preorders can be a great way to generate interest and excitement for a new product. With this you can analyze and create a market forecast of the items that are selling during preorder period. Pre-ordering products with limited quantity can also create a sense of urgency and will encourage customers to buy now instead of waiting for its release date.
By monitoring how many preorders you receive after your initial launch, you can get a good idea of how popular your new product is likely to be and from there you can decide how much inventory you will need to secure a good profit.
Secure Funding and Mitigate Risk
Preorders can give you a financial boost as long as you have projected your sales correctly. You will be able to determine this during the first few days of your preorder offer. Just be sure to collect partial or full payment in advance to prevent bogus buyers ordering and not paying for the remaining balance when their order is ready. By collecting payment upfront, you can reduce your overall risk and ensure that you have the capital you need.
Get a Head Start on Sales
If you’re looking to get a head start on sales for your business, consider offering preorder on your website. This can be a great way to help you avoid stock issues as you can only order a specific quantity to your supplier based on the order you received from your customers, assuming there is no minimum order quantity of the product that you are selling.
If you are starting a business, be sure to create a list of the products, brands that you want to sell and research and compare best prices from different suppliers.
What are the best WooCommerce Pre-order plugins?
1. WooCommerce Pre-Orders
- Set an optional estimate date and specific time when the product will be available.
- Automatically charge customers who ordered the product when the product has already arrived/released.
- Set or change the release date for a pre-ordered product
- Send email notifications to all customers who pre-ordered a product.
- Set limited quantity pre orders and automatically cancel if the product is no longer available.
- Filter your pre-orders with a custom “pre-order” order status in your account section.
- Works with simple & variable products
- Optionally charge a fee for a pre-order.
- Customize the Add to Cart button and Place Order for pre-orders
- Not compatible with Woo Subscriptions
- $129 / year; 1 year support and 1 year plugin updates included
- 30 days money back guarantee
- Plugin link
2. YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce
YITH Pre-Order for WooCommerce is a powerful plugin that allows you to add pre-order functionality to your WooCommerce store. With this plugin, you can easily add pre-order products to your store.
This is great for products that are not yet available, or for products that are in high demand. When a customer pre-orders a product, they are charged the full price up front. The product is then shipped to them as soon as it becomes available. This is a great way to ensure that your customers get the products they want, and that you don’t miss out on sales.
- Enable the pre-order automatically on out-of-stock products
- Enable pre-order on specific products or categories
- Set the pre-order price as discounted and improve sales
- Set product order availability with different rules
- Add an extra fee to each pre-order
- Offer free shipping to customers that pre-order a product
- Charge the product price upfront
- Enable the “Pay Later” option to ask users to pay manually when the product is available
- Automatically charge the product price on the customer’s credit card when the product is available
- Manage pre-orders and pre-order products through the apposite tables available in the plugin
- Custom email notifications for the admin and the customers
- Customize text, buttons, and prices with the advanced style options
- Free version available
- Paid Plan – € 129,99/ year with 1 year updates and support, 30-day money back guarantee
3. WooCommerce Deposits – Partial Payments Plugin
- Accept / Force deposit on products on your store
- Partial, Full Payment, Custom Payments available
- Automatic Email Reminders / Notifications
- Deposit Type: Fixed, Percentage or Payment Plan
- Custom Checkout Mode:
- Disable / Enable based on Payment options
- Support All WooCommerce Payment methods
- Display Custom Messages
- Support Variation Products
- Global deposit Settings for all products
- 7523 sales on CodeCanyon
- 4.45 stars rating (190+ reviews)
- Plugin receives regular updates
- Regular license $54/website – One Time Payment
- View Sales Page
4. Bayna – Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce
- Pay in Partial or Full
- Customers can order products and pay in different options – Full or Partial
- Custom Email Templates for New Deposit, Deposit Order
- Support Variation Products
- Custom Deposit Settings: Fixed, Percentage
- Support All WooCommerce Payment methods
- Global deposit Settings for all products
- Last update: few months ago
- 2000+ active installations
- 29 five stars ratings
- WordPress Plugin link
