Create a stock countdown

This guide builds a complete stock countdown: a message that reports the remaining stock, a threshold so it only appears when stock is genuinely low, and a slider to make the scarcity visible.

Make sure the app embed is on before you start.

Steps to set it up

1. Create the countdown

   Click Create countdown from the dashboard or the Countdowns page.

2. Pick the Stock countdown layout

   On the Countdown templates page, switch the type tab to Stock countdown and click Select on the default layout.

3. Name it

   Something like “Low stock bar — all products”.

4. Write the message

   On the Settings tab, open Content and edit the Message. A new stock countdown starts with:

   🔥 This product is almost sold out. Hurry up to order! {stock_number} items left in stock.

   {stock_number} is replaced with the real figure when the page loads. The app previews it as 10.

   Keep the variable somewhere in the sentence — a stock message without a number is just a claim.

   

   Use {stock_number} to place the real inventory figure in the message.

5. Choose where the number comes from

   Open the Settings stock section and set Inventory tracking method:

   Method	Uses
   Variant’s Quantity	The stock of the variant the shopper is currently looking at. The default
   Product’s Quantity	The product’s stock across all its variants
   Estimated Quantity (Not using shopify for inventory)	A number generated between a Min and Max you set

   Use Variant’s Quantity if your variants have meaningfully different stock — a size that’s nearly gone shouldn’t be masked by one that isn’t. Use Product’s Quantity when the product is what sells out.

   Full detail in Inventory tracking and the stock slider.

   

   Three ways to source the number the message reports.

6. Set the low-stock threshold

   Still in Settings stock, turn on Only show if stock qty is equal or less than and enter a number. The default is 10.

   Below that number the countdown appears; above it, nothing shows. This is what stops a permanent “almost sold out” banner on products with hundreds in stock.

   Note

   Leave the threshold off and the countdown shows on every matching product regardless of stock level — including one with 400 units, which undercuts the message.

7. Turn on the stock slider

   Turn on Use stock slider and set the total it measures against. The default is 100.

   The slider fills in proportion to the remaining stock against that total, so “7 left” out of a total of 100 renders as a nearly empty bar.

8. Style it

   Open the Design section to set the Alignment, the colors for the message, slider, stock figure and background, and an Animation — None, Flash, or Pulse.

   Flash and Pulse draw the eye, which is the point, but they’re noticeable on a page that already has movement. Try the page as a whole before settling on one.

9. Choose where it shows

   On the Display tab, tick Product page under Show countdown on, or copy the Shortcode for a custom position.

   Use Conditions to limit it to the products where scarcity is real — a collection of limited editions, for example. See Display conditions.

10. Save it as Active

    Set the status to Active and click Save.

11. Check it on your storefront

    Open a product whose stock is below your threshold. The message should appear with the real figure and the slider should be drawn down.

    Then open a product well above the threshold and check that nothing appears — that’s the threshold working, not a fault.

    If you’re using Variant’s Quantity, switch variants on the product page and watch the number follow the selection.

Next steps

• Inventory tracking and the stock slider
• Display conditions
• Design a countdown
• Countdown not showing