Feature Request: Items in Online Store checkout cart marked as held, on hold, or reserved

[FBCSeattle]

[The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Items in cart not held]

Our business runs product release sales with limited inventory.  These products are in high demand and sell out rapidly.  One issue we've run into is that customers have had the product in their shopping cart, but when they went to check out, the product had sold out.  Is there a way to configure settings so that items in cart are counted as "held" inventory until the sale is completed?  We ended up with a couple of dozen disappointed and angry customers recently and would like to avoid repeating the experience.

[isabelle · Accepted solution]

Hey @FBCSeattle-

Thanks for posting in the Seller Community.

Happy to hear that your customers have been using your site to make purchases! However, I see what you're saying about having items "held" in the cart. Putting items on hold in a brick and mortar store is a great option to provide to customers to prevent being oversold or customer disappointment. 

While we don't have this feature right now, this is a great suggestion. As of right now, inventory isn't reduced until the checkout process and transaction is completed. Prior to that, the inventory/item will still remain/look available to customers, even if a separate customer is saving the item in their cart for future purchase. I'll make sure to pass this along to our Online Store product team. Thanks again for writing in and surfacing this feature request. 

[Mawilli]

This is a feature our business would like to see as well. We are running into the same issue. 

[Appraiser99]

Unless we misunderstand this Thread, Square makes it hazardous to sell a unique item without making other Customers very angry.  Once an Item is in a Cart, it should be unavailable for any other Customer.  We would depend on the Abandoned Cart feature to account for items.  This is little different from a Customer picking up an item and carrying around the store with them and possibly laying it down.  With Square, we would have the virtual equivalent of a wrestling match in an aisle.

Please accept our thanks for clearing this up and for the opportunity to conduct our first Online Sale.  We are now forced to find another service and I trust that Square will happily refund our remaining fees.  We will be in touch.

[SWACIA]

Please help me to set up online link for customers to enter credit card information to hold the seat without taking the payment until specific date for them to decide to take the service. This is for trial online course. Thank you!

[nika]

Hello @SWACIA! A great question. This isn't an option yet. But I did go ahead and merge your question to this feature request board so that you're able to check back in on any progress about this topic.Thanks for asking!

[Jfleeger]

In response to the current crisis, we have switched to curbside ordering and pickup. This has prompted us to evaluate using square for more than the occasional credit card transaction; specifically, to look into using it for inventory management as well. 

I have only entered a handful of items and run a few tests, but I don't know if this will actually work for us.

We typically operate in-store only, first come first serve, and all stock visible. Now we are accepting call-ahead holds from customers without internet access alongside drive up orders during limited hours.  Our normally visible stock is "behind the counter" and not entirely available.  

I understand that the software is designed so that inventory count is only adjusted when a transaction is completed, but if the quantity in stock were displayed on the check out screen it would really help keep us from disappointing our customers!

Also, I've tried using open tickets to store the call-ahead orders thinking that it would deduct them from active inventory so all my employees could keep track. But that didn't seem to be the case either? Am I missing something there?

We have been using a spreadsheet and manually updating it with every order and transaction, this is a very limiting way to do business right now. I had hoped inventory management would help us manage our limited inventory, not create a nightmare where we've promised the same item to multiple people.

We would much rather have a little bit of stock left for tomorrow than have to explain we can't deliver on our promises!

[isabelle]

Hey @Jfleeger-

Thanks for posting in the Seller Community.

I went ahead and moved your post over to this thread as it seemed more applicable to what you're looking for, especially when it comes to the Online Store/orders. 

While I don't currently have an update or ETA for the launch of this feature, I have passed this feature request on to the appropriate team, and I can see how it would be beneficial. I'll make sure to post any updates regarding this feature in this thread. Thanks for your time. 

[Thegrooveshack]

is there a way to get products that are in saved carts to be unavailable online? for example, if someone comes into store and puts something on hold and we ring it up and save cart until they come back that product is still available for someone online to purchase and that is a problem because one of the two people will not end up with the product.

[isabelle]

Hey @Thegrooveshack-

Thanks for posting in the Seller Community.

It sounds like you're referring to the feature request within this thread. Right now the ability to have items within the POS cart or Online Store cart marked as unavailable is a feature request. I'll be posting in this thread when I hear an update about the development of this feature, as I think it's very important to many sellers and their inventory. Thanks again!  

[ensoensoenso]

I've been following this thread as having items that customers place into their cart be saved is a feature we'd very much like to see be made available.  I own a bakery with limited quantities, and things tend to sell out very quickly online every morning.  I have had to deal with countless customers who are angry that when they go to complete checkout, items in their cart have sold out.  When they go back to adjust quantities and return to the checkout process, other items have sold out.  Many have expressed their frustrations and have said that it's not worth the trouble and they'll wait until things go back to normal so they don't have to deal with the online store problems.  I fear I am losing many customers.  Please prioritize this feature - it's been over a month since you last posted on this thread with no resolution.  

[Joe]

Hi there, @esoensoenso - thanks for reaching out to us here on the Seller Community. We appreciate you adding your voice in support of this feature.

While w don't have an accurate or shareable timeline to provide on this feature just yet, we do have a helpful resource which will give you insight into how Feature Requests are developed and implemented by our Engineers. It will be helpful in understanding our process here.

Thanks for your patience!

[CTACTC]

We are selling artworks that are all one-of-a-kind, both online and in our gallery. Is there a way to see if a piece is sitting in someone's online cart, before we sell it to another buyer in-person?

[AshleyK]

Hi @CTACTC and welcome to the Seller Community! There is currently not a way to see if a customer has an item in their cart and I've merged your post with an existing thread so we can keep all these feature requests in one place. What would happen in this scenario is the person in store will purchase the artwork and then the customer online will receive a notice that the item is no longer in stock when they go back to make the purchase online. 

[AJ73]

Adding my vote for this feature.  We have native plant sales twice a year with limited stock of some rare and unique plants.  Our shoppers have lodged many complaints about the Square Online store cart experience - specifically about losing plants from their cart as they sell out.  Please implement this feature soon!!