Overview
Smart Cart Inventory Allocation automatically splits your customers' cart into regular items (in stock) and pre-order items (exceeding available stock). Once the feature is activated, you get two settings that control how the cart behaves when customers make changes:
- Auto-rebalance cart on quantity change
- Allow customers to edit payment option in cart
This article explains what each setting does and how they affect the shopping experience.
How Smart Cart Splitting Works
Before diving into the settings, here's a quick recap of the core behavior.
When a customer adds more items than you have in stock, the app automatically creates two separate line items in the cart:
This split happens automatically and keeps your inventory accurate.
Setting 1: Auto-Rebalance Cart on Quantity Change
This setting controls what happens when a customer reduces the quantity of regular items while pre-order items are also in the cart.
When enabled (default) ✅
The app automatically converts pre-order items back to regular when inventory becomes available. The priority is always to sell in-stock items first.
Why use this? This is the best option for most stores. It ensures customers always purchase the maximum number of in-stock items first, which means faster fulfillment and fewer split shipments.
When disabled ❌
The app does not rebalance the cart. If a customer removes regular items, pre-order items stay as pre-order.
Why use this? Some customers intentionally want to keep items as pre-orders — for example, when pre-orders come with a deposit or partial payment and the customer prefers to pay less upfront. Disabling rebalance gives customers full control over their cart composition.
Quick Comparison
Setting 2: Allow Customers to Edit Payment Option in Cart
This setting is relevant when your pre-order rules have multiple payment options configured (e.g., full payment + 50% deposit).
When Smart Cart creates a pre-order line item, it automatically uses your rule's default payment option. This setting controls whether customers can switch to a different payment option directly from the cart.
When enabled (default) ✅
An "Edit payment option" link appears below pre-order items in the cart. Customers can click it and choose a different payment option from a dropdown.
When disabled ❌
No editing link is shown. Pre-order items always use the default payment option from the rule. Customers cannot change the payment terms in the cart.
Why disable this? If you want all pre-orders to follow the same payment terms without exception, keep this off. This is useful when you offer only one payment option or want to enforce a specific payment structure.