How to Set Reorder Points in Shopify (With and Without an App)

A reorder point is the inventory level that tells you "order more now, or you'll stock out." It's the single most useful number in inventory planning — and with Stocky retiring on August 31, 2026, setting it correctly in Shopify matters more than ever.

This guide explains the math in plain language, shows how to do it manually, and demonstrates how Replinish automates the whole thing from your live Shopify sales. No spreadsheets. No guessing.

What is a reorder point?

Your reorder point is the quantity on hand at which you should place a new purchase order so the replenishment arrives just before you run out.

If you reorder too late, you sell out and lose sales. If you reorder too early, you tie up cash in excess inventory. The reorder point splits that difference using two real inputs: how fast you sell and how long restocking takes.

The reorder point formula

Here's the honest, complete formula:

Reorder Point = (Average Daily Sales × Lead Time in Days) + Safety Stock

Let's break each piece down.

1. Average Daily Sales (ADS)

How many units you sell per day, on average.

ADS = Total units sold over a period ÷ Number of days in that period

Example: 300 units sold in 30 days → ADS = 10 units/day.

2. Lead Time

How many days between placing a supplier order and having stock on your shelf, ready to sell. If your supplier takes 14 days, your lead time is 14.

During those 14 days, you'll sell 10 × 14 = 140 units. So you must reorder when you still have at least 140 units left — or you'll hit zero before the new stock arrives.

3. Safety Stock

A buffer for variability — a supplier running late, a surprise sales spike, a holiday surge. A common starting rule:

Safety Stock = (Max Daily Sales − Average Daily Sales) × Lead Time

Or, more simply, one to two weeks of average sales as a cushion. The more volatile your demand or supply, the bigger the buffer.

Worked example

• ADS = 10 units/day
• Lead time = 14 days
• Safety stock = 70 units (about 1 week of sales)

Reorder Point = (10 × 14) + 70 = 210 units

When your on-hand count hits 210, place the order. The 140 units you'll sell during the 14-day wait are covered, and the 70 safety units absorb surprises.

For every term used here, see our inventory planning glossary.

How to set reorder points in Shopify WITHOUT an app (manual)

Shopify's core admin does not have a native "reorder point" field that auto-alerts you. But you can approximate it manually:

1. Calculate the number using the formula above, per product.
2. Use Shopify's "low stock" alert — set a notification threshold near your reorder point (Settings → Products → Inventory per variant, or via the product editor). This warns you, but doesn't compute the number for you.
3. Track it in a spreadsheet — many merchants keep a sheet of SKU, ADS, lead time, and reorder point, updating it as sales change.
4. Manually create purchase orders when thresholds are crossed.

The catch: the math is static the moment you calculate it. As your sales rate shifts (a new ad campaign, a seasonal spike), yesterday's reorder point drifts out of date — and you're the one who has to notice and recompute. With Stocky gone after Aug 31, 2026, this manual approach is what many merchants fall back to, and it's where stockouts creep in.

How to set reorder points in Shopify WITH an app (automated)

An inventory planning app reads your live Shopify sales and keeps the math current. Replinish does exactly this:

1. Connects to Shopify and pulls sales history, inventory, and locations.
2. Computes ADS per product from your real velocity — no spreadsheet.
3. Factors in supplier lead time (set per supplier, importable via CSV from Stocky).
4. Adds safety stock based on demand variance.
5. Sets the reorder point automatically and updates it as sales change.
6. Triggers a purchase order suggestion the moment a product crosses its point.

The same example above? Replinish derives "210 units" for you — and recalculates next month when your ads double sales. That's the difference between a number you maintain and a number that maintains itself.

See the full workflow on our Shopify inventory forecasting page and our purchase orders guide.

Manual vs automated: a side-by-side

Why this matters more after Stocky retires

Stocky was the tool many merchants used to hold this math. After August 31, 2026, that layer is gone unless you replace it. Shopify's native low-stock alert can warn you, but it won't compute the right threshold or generate the PO. Replinish closes that exact gap — it's the planning brain Stocky provided, rebuilt to run on your live store.

For the broader context, read our Shopify inventory management guide and, if you're migrating off Stocky specifically, our migration guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does Shopify have a built-in reorder point?
Not as an auto-computed, auto-alerting feature. Shopify offers low-stock notifications you can set manually, but you must calculate the threshold yourself. Apps like Replinish compute and act on it.

What's a good safety stock level?
A common start is one to two weeks of average sales, scaled up for volatile demand or unreliable suppliers. Replinish sets it from your actual variance.

How do I find my lead time?
It's the days from placing a supplier order to receiving sellable stock — including production, shipping, and handling. Set it per supplier in Replinish.

Can reorder points differ by location?
Yes. Replinish reads Shopify's multi-location inventory, so each location can reorder on its own signal.

What if my sales are seasonal?
Use a tool that accounts for seasonality. Replinish's forecasts factor in trend and seasonality, so reorder points rise before your peak and fall after — unlike a flat manual average.

Stop guessing your reorder points

The formula is simple; keeping it current is the hard part. Replinish computes your reorder points from live Shopify sales, layers in lead time and safety stock, and turns every crossing into a ready purchase order — no spreadsheets, no guessing. With Stocky retiring Aug 31, 2026, now's the time to put your reorder logic on autopilot.

Calculate your reorder points the easy way — explore Replinish and never manually rebuild a spreadsheet again.