How to calculate a reorder point for your Shopify store

A reorder point tells you the exact stock level at which to place your next order — early enough that new stock arrives before you sell out, but not so early that cash sits in excess inventory. Here’s how to calculate it, with a worked example.

The formula

Reorder point = (average daily sales × lead time) + safety stock

Three inputs:

Average daily sales — units sold per day, averaged over a representative period (say 30–90 days).
Lead time — days from placing the order to stock landing on your shelf.
Safety stock — a buffer for demand spikes and late deliveries.

Worked example

Say you sell a product at a steady rate:

Average daily sales: 8 units.
Supplier lead time: 10 days.
Safety stock: 30 units.

Reorder point = (8 × 10) + 30 = 110 units. When stock on hand drops to 110, you place the order. It arrives around the time you’d otherwise hit your 30-unit buffer.

Setting safety stock

If demand and lead time were perfectly stable you’d need no safety stock. They aren’t — a viral week or a delayed shipment is when stockouts happen. A simple starting point is to cover half your lead time again in demand (here, 8 × 5 = 40). Tune up for volatile items, down for steady ones.

Don't calculate this by hand for every product

Reorda tracks sales velocity and lead times and flags each product as it approaches its reorder point — the Stocky low-stock workflow, for $19/month flat.

Get early access →

Doing this after Stocky

Stocky computed reorder points and low-stock alerts for you; it’s going away on August 31, 2026, and Shopify has no native equivalent. Reorda reproduces this from your sales velocity and supplier lead times, so you get the same “order this now” signal without the spreadsheet. See also low stock forecasting without Stocky.

Frequently asked questions

What is a reorder point?

A reorder point is the stock level at which you should place a new order, set so that the stock you have left lasts exactly through the supplier's lead time plus a safety buffer. Hit it, and it's time to reorder.

What's the reorder point formula?

Reorder point = (average daily sales × lead time in days) + safety stock. The first part covers demand while you wait for delivery; safety stock absorbs demand spikes and late shipments.

How much safety stock should I hold?

A common rule of thumb is enough to cover demand for half your lead time again, but it depends on how variable your sales and supplier are. Fast-moving or unpredictable items need more; steady, reliable ones need less.

Does Shopify calculate reorder points automatically?

Shopify itself doesn't — it has no native reorder point feature. Stocky did, and it's shutting down August 31, 2026. Reorda reproduces reorder-point alerts from your sales velocity and supplier lead times.