Hi. I dont know if this new "idea" or already exist in any other e-commerce system but could be a usefull information for Product Category without products inserted...
for example...
if we create a Category "A" published, but in this "category A" doesnt have any products inserted....
the system could send a "default" message to our template like in a header saying something like: "There is no products inserted in the $Category A. Please call us (or contact us by mail) for further information."