thread Re: Frustrated customers are adding more items to the cart than is available in stock in Online Store

Frustrated customers are adding more items to the cart than is available in stock

BradleyBradley — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 05:46:59 GMT

I sell thousands of products, many of which have Stock On Hand quantities ranging from 1 to over 100. Previously, when a customer used the “+” button to increase quantity, the system prevented them from adding more items than were available in stock. That functionality appears to have been removed.

Now, customers can add any quantity they like across multiple products. They only discover that the requested quantities are unavailable when they reach the checkout stage. At that point, many customers abandon the checkout rather than adjusting quantities, which results in a frustrated customer experience.

Is it possible to:

- Prevent customers from adding more than the available Stock On Hand,

- or Clearly display available stock quantities before checkout, so customers are informed earlier in the buying process - just like on other selling platforms?

This would significantly improve the customer experience and improve trust in the shopping experience.

Thanks

Bradley

Re: Frustrated customers are adding more items to the cart than is available in stock

Summer2024 — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 21:06:21 GMT

Hi, @BradleyBradley !

At this time, Square Online checks inventory availability at checkout rather than limiting quantities during the item selection stage. While this helps account for items sold across multiple channels, I can see where it isn't ideal for businesses that do their sales strictly online.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but I wanted to provide an answer as to if this is possible or not.

Re: Frustrated customers are adding more items to the cart than is available in stock

BradleyBradley — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 22:00:42 GMT

Thanks for the reply. It never use to be a feature. Disappointed that it was turned off. Is there no work around?

I do not do sales strictly online as I have a square POS in a bricks-and-mortar store - so I am not sure why that is relevant ?

Re: Frustrated customers are adding more items to the cart than is available in stock

Summer2024 — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 15:43:48 GMT

I wasn't sure if you had a brick and mortar...I just was saying I know it isn't ideal to not be able to have this feature.