How reservation works
Shopify decrements 'available for sale' when item enters cart. Not when order created. Prevents concurrent oversell.
Hold time
Configurable per store. Default 10 minutes (standard cart abandonment window). Longer = risk of holding forever for abandoned carts.
Setup
Shopify Plus: native cart reservation via Cart API. Non-Plus: rely on Shopify's standard checkout inventory check (at payment).
High-demand launches
Flash sales, limited drops: shorter hold time (5 min) to release faster to next customer.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify reserve inventory in cart?
Plus: yes native. Non-Plus: inventory check at payment (not add-to-cart).
How long is cart hold?
Configurable per store on Plus. Default ~10 min.
Prevents overselling — how?
'Available for sale' count decrements on add-to-cart. Concurrent customers see updated count.
Cart hold on non-Plus?
No — only inventory check at checkout. Concurrent add-to-cart can oversell.
Shorter hold for flash sales?
Yes — configure per event. 5 min tighter release than 30 min.
Cart hold vs checkout hold?
Cart hold on add-to-cart. Checkout hold at payment. Cart is safer.
Do abandoned carts still hold inventory?
Until timeout. Then released back to available pool.
Bug: order placed but out of stock?
Racing condition. Shopify checks at final payment step. Rare but possible.
Related reading
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