Timed Carts- Refusing to add this feature back is costing me time & money. May leave the platform

Store Design
1

I know Shopify used to have a timed cart feature, and decided it was a detriment for traditional stores so they removed it. They didn’t just make it a feature you could turn off and on, they REMOVED it.

What this fails to consider is that some businesses have one of a kind pieces for which a timed cart is CRUCIAL. I can’t just upload a bunch of one of a kind fabrics and let it be a complete free for all - people wouldn’t be able to check out in time and they’d be constantly getting notifications as they tried that things were sold out. I’ve been on the customer side of a sale like that. It’s a nightmare, and just means I no longer shop with that company.

What I’ve been doing is selling in albums on Facebook and then billing on Shopify. But this is incredibly time consuming (having to make tallies and then create drafts takes me an entire day - when I’m supposed to be paying Shopify for this feature), and since Facebook have had a major album glitch since August that they don’t seem to want to fix, it’s costing me customers there.

I’ve heard from many customers and they all agree - this feature would help immensely for a store like mine, and I’d get more sales. But Shopify made the decision for me, and don’t even give an option to customize the store as I know would suit US. Literally all they have to do is make it a plugin I can choose to install because I know it would work for ME.

I’m looking into other platforms as this is just unsustainable. I’ve liked Shopify, but they refuse to consider stores like mine, and that’s going to lose them my business.

2

Hi, @grbggrl .

Thanks for posting to the community forums! I hope your day is going well.

Countdown timers for your customer’s cart is definitely a great feature! It is not one that Shopify has ever offered natively, but one that is offered via our app store. Each Shopify theme is built differently, and offers different features. Thus, it could be that you were previously using a theme that offered a built in countdown.

If your current theme doesn’t offer a built in timer, there are a number of countdown apps to choose from. One option is Sales Pop Master, which offers a free plan. When choosing an app for your store, make sure to check the reviews to learn about the pros and cons other merchants are reporting!

We always aim to be the best platform for all merchants, however there are moments when some users find we do not offer a feature they would like. That being said, I will absolutely provide this feedback to our developers as a feature request on your behalf!

In the meantime, I would love it if you could provide your store URL so I can take a look and provide additional support!

3

Sorry, I perhaps wasn’t clear enough on what it is I’m asking for. I don’t need a countdown, I need a Timed CART HOLD. Where if someone adds to their cart there’s a limited period of time that the item is reserved for them so they have time to keep shopping other one of a kind pieces before they check out. You did used to have this feature, you removed it. Instead of just giving people the option to turn it on and off as they felt suited their business. And you don’t have any apps that do this either. In fact as I understand you’ve actually killed all the apps people tried to introduce to do this.

Other hosts do offer this feature. I’m looking at switching over, because you’re literally costing me money by not even giving me the option to choose what works best for me as a shop owner who knows my shop better than anyone.

4

Hi, @grbggrl .

My sincerest apologies for misunderstanding your original post. It sounds like you are not wanting timed carts as stated, but reserved carts. I can definitely understand why this would be important to your business, thus, I have provided this feedback to our developers on your behalf.

In the meantime, I took a look at your site and do have some feedback that I think could potentially increase conversions!

To start, it looks as though you uploaded a logo and product, but did not do any customizations. The theme you are using is quite limited, so I recommend downloading some test things such as Dawn, or Craft, and playing around with colours and fonts. This will allow your business to develop a sense of branding, which will add professionalism, and ultimately customer trust.

Moving on, you have not added any of the necessary pages such as, about us, contact, faq, return and shipping policies, etc. While these policies may seem trivial, they are extremely important to build a relationship and trust with your customer. If a customer sees no way to contact you, and knows nothing about your business, they will not feel secure making a purchase. We have a great guide on why this is important, and how to write these pages here.

Lastly, while I am unsure of your current marketing strategy, I recommend utilizing tiktok to create product videos. Crafting, sewing, knitting, etc. are all huge niches on social media, and videos of the items that can be made with your products can definitely go viral!