Force customer to pick location before adding something to cart

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A merchant operates an 8-location shop mirroring physical stores, offering curbside pickup and delivery (no shipping). Inventory varies by location, and customers currently encounter error messages after shopping when their selected items aren’t available at their chosen location or fall outside delivery radius.

Core Issue:
The merchant wants to force customers to select a location before browsing/adding items to cart (without requiring login), similar to how most multi-location retailers operate.

Community Response:

  • Two other users confirmed experiencing the identical challenge
  • One user questioned why Shopify doesn’t address this natively, noting it creates poor customer experience when shoppers discover items are out of stock only after reaching checkout

Proposed Solution:
A developer suggested using Liquid to display stock across all locations upfront, combined with JavaScript to restrict customers to selecting one location. They also recommended their app “Multi Location Stock Info” which shows inventory and can filter locations based on delivery availability.

Status: Discussion remains open with no confirmed resolution implemented by the original poster.

Summarized with AI on November 3. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi there!

I have an 8 location shop that mimics our bricks and mortar stores.

Inventory is always slightly different in different locations.

We offer curbside pickup, delivery, and do not ship.

Currently, our customers shop, then they pick a location, and they may get error messages based on inventory levels and radius clauses.

Most multi-location websites make you pick a store before you can shop, without logging on.

How do I force my customers to pick a location BEFORE they start shopping, without logging in? Thanks for reading!

3 Likes
2

Hi, I have the same need as you.

Best Regards,

Guillaume BERTRAND

3

Hi, were you able to solve this? I have the same problem and our concern is the best logical in using the multi-locations store. I wonder why Shopify didn’t able to think of this… In terms of customer journey, it’s a waste of time allowing them to add to cart and then when they select the location in the cart, that product is out of stock!

4

You can achieve this by using Liquid on the front end to display stock from all 8 locations to your customers. This way, they can choose a location based on available stock. Additionally, you can implement a restriction using JavaScript that allows customers to select only one location, simplifying the fulfillment process.

I also recommend checking out my recent app, Multi Location Stock Info, which is designed to show inventory. It supports filtering out locations which doesnt deliver to customers location. It might be just what you need!