Stability of online store & quantity available

[JDAggie]

What is your experience with a Square Online Store?  I already use them for point of sale but Especially curious about....1) the stability of the store if a large number of people are buying at once.... 2) ability to monitor quantity available correctly and show 'SOLD OUT' or something similar if qty is gone..... 3) will it "hold" items in a cart (like ticket sales do) and give you 10 minutes to check out or can someone else purchase it "out from under you" before you pay?

[JK_Fiber_Art]

Hi JDAGGie,

Good Question !

Thought I would try the scenario on my site to see if a "hold" is placed on an item - two different computers and browsers (Firefox & Chrome).   Since my items are one of a kind and there's only 1 each, seems like a good test.  There does not appear to be a "hold" on the item if different computers have the same item in the Cart and you are on the Checkout Page.  So I'm assuming there's no "hold", it's who ever completes the transaction first - after that the item is "Sold Out".  Maybe another Community member has some thoughts.

[BernadetteA]

Thanks for posting @JDAggie 👋

1) Square Online sites are hosted on multiple, shared servers and can handle numerous visitors to the site at once.

2) Yes, the Sold Out banner can be turned on, but I believe it requires Pro or higher hosting. More information can be found here.

3) There is no way to "hold" a cart. The customer must complete checkout in order to guarantee purchase of items.

[JDAggie]

Thank you for the info.... 

I often have 200 people trying to purchase items all at once -- its very similar to selling tickets to a high demand item. I've had other platforms crash when this happens so I want to make sure Square won't do that.  It seems like a very popular online store option but has anyone had issues if several are trying to purchase all at once?

I know a few online platforms have add-ons you can buy that will "save" an item in the cart for a customer. Any idea if that is an option with Square?

[JJ_]

Hello there @JDAggie

There is a feature on Square Online called Abandoned Carts that helps you and your customers keep their carts available. However, this feature doesn't subtract from inventory. At this time, items are only reduced from inventory upon checking out. 

I hope this information is helpful!

[JDAggie]

I have seen multiple (aka tons) of threads on this topic dating back to 2020. All answers say they are referring it to a developer, but it's now 2024 and nothing. This is critically important to my business. What does it take to get something like this done? I would even PAY for the feature to be created! I need it!