Future Cart — "Shop Anytime"¶

For: Business Owners & Administrators

Overview¶

The Future Cart feature (also called "Shop Anytime") lets your customers add items to a persistent cart even when they don't have an active order for the week. When the next weekly order cycle runs, those items are automatically added to their order.

This means customers can browse and shop on their own schedule — no need to wait for an order window to open. It also supports guest shopping: visitors without an account can add items, and their cart transfers automatically when they sign up.

How It Works¶

Customer browses the shop outside of an active order window
Items are saved to their Future Cart instead of a regular order
When the next order cycle runs, the system automatically adds those items to the customer's order
Customer is notified of what was added, any price changes, or if something was unavailable

Guest Shopping Flow¶

A visitor (no account) browses the shop and adds items
Items are stored using a browser cookie — the guest can optionally save their email for cart recovery
When the guest signs up for an account, their saved items automatically transfer to their new customer profile
Items are then included in their first order cycle

Enabling the Feature¶

Future Cart is off by default. To enable it:

Go to the Future Cart Report page in admin (Reports > Future Cart Report)
Toggle the Enable Future Cart setting on
Configure optional settings:
Max items per cart — limits how many items a customer can save (default: 50)
Guest cart expiration — how many days before unused guest carts are cleaned up (default: 90 days)

What Your Customers See¶

Shopping Experience¶

When a customer visits the shop without an active order, they see the regular product catalog
The "Add to Cart" button works normally — items go into their Future Cart
Customers can view their Future Cart, adjust quantities, remove items, and set items to recur
A message explains that items will be added to their next order automatically

Notifications¶

After the order cycle processes their Future Cart items, customers receive updates about: - Items successfully added to their order - Price changes — if a product's price changed since they added it - Unavailable items — if something was out of stock or not offered that week

Managing Future Carts (Admin)¶

Customer Info Page¶

On any customer's detail page, you'll see a shopping cart icon with a badge showing how many pending Future Cart items they have. Click it to open a modal where you can: - View all pending and previously added items - Delete items from a customer's Future Cart - Reset items back to "pending" so they're picked up in the next order cycle

Future Cart Report¶

The Future Cart Report page gives you a dashboard with: - Stats overview — pending items, successfully added items, unavailable items, guest leads - Top products — most commonly saved items across all customers - Filtered report — search by customer, status, or date range - Future demand data — see what products customers are requesting for upcoming weeks

Inventory Page¶

The inventory grid includes a "F.Dmd" (Future Demand) column showing how many units of each product are sitting in customer Future Carts, waiting to be fulfilled.

Key Behaviors¶

Duplicate handling: If a customer adds the same product twice, the quantities are combined rather than creating separate entries
Price tracking: The system records the price when an item is added. If the price changes before fulfillment, the customer is notified
Stock is not reserved early: Future Cart items do not reserve inventory — stock is only reserved when items are added to an actual order during the order cycle
Recurring items: Customers can mark Future Cart items as recurring, and the subscription will be set up when the item is added to their order
Guest rate limiting: To prevent abuse, guests are limited to 20 cart additions per minute

FAQ¶

When are Future Cart items added to orders?¶

During the regular weekly order-building cycle. When orders are created for the next delivery period, the system checks each customer's Future Cart and adds any pending items.

What happens if a product is out of stock?¶

The item is marked as "unavailable" with a note explaining why (out of stock, not offered this week, etc.). The customer is notified. The item stays in their cart and can be manually reset to try again in a future week.

Can I see what guests have in their carts?¶

Yes, the Future Cart Report includes guest cart data. Guests who save their email address can be identified, making this a useful lead generation tool.

Does this work with all product types?¶

Yes. Any product in your shop catalog can be added to a Future Cart, including items with variants/attributes.

What if a customer already has an active order?¶

If a customer has an active order for the current week, the regular cart experience is shown instead. Future Cart only activates when there's no current order to add to.

How long do guest carts last?¶

By default, 90 days. You can adjust this in the Future Cart settings. Expired guest carts are automatically cleaned up.

Troubleshooting¶

Customer says their Future Cart items didn't appear in their order¶

Check the customer's Future Cart in admin — look at item statuses
If items show as "unavailable," check the status note for the reason
If items are still "pending," the order cycle may not have run yet
You can reset items to "pending" and they'll be picked up in the next cycle

Guest's cart disappeared after signing up¶

Cart transfer requires the same browser/device used for shopping and signup
If the guest cleared cookies or used a different device, the cart link is lost
If the guest saved their email, you can look up their items in the Future Cart Report

Future Cart option not appearing for customers¶

Verify the feature is enabled in Future Cart Report settings
The customer must not have an active order — Future Cart only shows when there's no current order