This is How to Auto-Restock WooCommerce Canceled Orders for Time-Out Orders
Managing an ecommerce store can be a delicate balancing act, especially when it comes to inventory. One common issue that online retailers face is dealing with canceled orders, which can have a significant impact on stock levels and overall business operations.
In the world of WooCommerce, canceled orders due to time-outs can be particularly troublesome. When a customer adds items to their cart but fails to complete the checkout process within a certain timeframe, WooCommerce will automatically cancel the order, leaving you with the challenge of restocking the products.
Manually restocking these canceled orders can be a time-consuming and error-prone process, which is why we're going to explore a solution to automate this task. By setting up a system to automatically restock canceled WooCommerce orders, you can ensure your inventory stays up-to-date and your business runs more efficiently.
Understanding the Problem
When a customer adds products to their WooCommerce cart but doesn't complete the checkout process, WooCommerce will cancel the order after a pre-defined time period. This is a common occurrence, as customers may get distracted, change their mind, or encounter technical issues during the checkout process.
The problem arises when these canceled orders are not properly restocked. If the products are not returned to your inventory, you may end up overselling or having inaccurate stock levels, which can lead to a range of issues, including:
- Frustrated Customers: If a customer tries to purchase a product that is out of stock, they may become frustrated and take their business elsewhere.
- Lost Revenue: Overselling can result in lost sales opportunities and missed revenue.
- Inventory Management Headaches: Inaccurate stock levels can make it challenging to effectively manage your inventory, leading to stockouts or overstocking.
To address this problem, we need to find a way to automatically restock canceled orders due to time-outs, ensuring your inventory stays accurate and your customers have a positive shopping experience.
Automating the Restock Process
Fortunately, there are several ways to automate the process of restocking canceled WooCommerce orders. In this article, we'll explore two popular solutions: using a custom plugin and leveraging the WooCommerce Action Scheduler.
Option 1: Custom Plugin
One way to automatically restock canceled WooCommerce orders is to create a custom plugin. This approach allows you to have complete control over the process and tailor it to your specific needs.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create a custom plugin for this purpose:
-
Create a new plugin: Start by creating a new plugin in your WordPress directory. You can do this by creating a new folder in the wp-content/plugins
directory and adding a PHP file (e.g., auto-restock-canceled-orders.php
) with the following header:
<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Auto Restock Canceled Orders
Plugin URI: https://flowpoint.ai
Description: Automatically restock canceled WooCommerce orders due to time-outs.
Version: 1.0
Author: Flowpoint.ai
Author URI: https://flowpoint.ai
*/
-
Hook into the Relevant WooCommerce Actions: Next, you'll need to hook into the relevant WooCommerce actions to detect canceled orders and restock the products. You can do this by adding the following code to your plugin file:
add_action('woocommerce_order_status_cancelled', 'auto_restock_canceled_orders', 10, 1);
function auto_restock_canceled_orders($order_id) {
$order = wc_get_order($order_id);
// Check if the order was canceled due to a time-out
if ($order->get_status() === 'cancelled' && $order->get_version() < '3.0.0') {
if ($order->get_customer_note() == 'Order cancelled by customer.') {
// Restock the products
foreach ($order->get_items() as $item) {
$product_id = $item->get_product_id();
$quantity = $item->get_quantity();
wc_update_product_stock($product_id, $quantity, 'increase');
}
}
}
}
This code hooks into the woocommerce_order_status_cancelled
action, which is triggered whenever an order is canceled. It then checks if the order was canceled due to a time-out (by checking the customer note) and, if so, restocks the products by calling the wc_update_product_stock()
function.
-
Activate the Plugin: Finally, activate the plugin in your WordPress admin panel, and it will start automatically restocking canceled orders due to time-outs.
Option 2: WooCommerce Action Scheduler
Another approach to automatically restock canceled WooCommerce orders is to use the WooCommerce Action Scheduler. This is a powerful plugin that allows you to schedule various actions to be executed at a later time, making it well-suited for the task of restocking canceled orders.
Here's how you can use the WooCommerce Action Scheduler to achieve this:
-
Install the WooCommerce Action Scheduler: First, you'll need to install the WooCommerce Action Scheduler plugin. You can do this by searching for "WooCommerce Action Scheduler" in the WordPress plugin repository and installing it.
-
Create a Scheduled Action: Next, you'll need to create a scheduled action that will be triggered whenever an order is canceled. You can do this by adding the following code to your theme's functions.php
file or in a custom plugin:
add_action('woocommerce_order_status_changed', 'schedule_restock_canceled_orders', 10, 4);
function schedule_restock_canceled_orders($order_id, $old_status, $new_status, $order) {
if ($new_status === 'cancelled') {
as_schedule_single_action(time() + 300, 'woocommerce_restock_canceled_order', array($order_id), 'woocommerce');
}
}
This code hooks into the woocommerce_order_status_changed
action, which is triggered whenever an order's status changes. If the new status is "cancelled", it schedules a single action to be executed in 5 minutes (300 seconds) using the as_schedule_single_action()
function provided by the WooCommerce Action Scheduler.
-
Implement the Restock Action: Now, you'll need to create the actual action that will restock the canceled order. You can do this by adding the following code to your theme's functions.php
file or in a custom plugin:
add_action('woocommerce_restock_canceled_order', 'restock_canceled_order', 10, 1);
function restock_canceled_order($order_id) {
$order = wc_get_order($order_id);
// Restock the products
foreach ($order->get_items() as $item) {
$product_id = $item->get_product_id();
$quantity = $item->get_quantity();
wc_update_product_stock($product_id, $quantity, 'increase');
}
}
This code defines the woocommerce_restock_canceled_order
action, which is executed by the scheduled action from the previous step. It retrieves the canceled order, then loops through the order items and restocks the products using the wc_update_product_stock()
function.
With these two options, you can easily implement a solution to automatically restock canceled WooCommerce orders due to time-outs, ensuring your inventory remains accurate and your business runs smoothly.
Real-World Example and Statistics
To illustrate the importance of this problem and the benefits of automating the restock process, let's look at a real-world example and some relevant statistics.
According to a study by the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate for ecommerce stores is around 69.57%. This means that for every 100 customers who add items to their cart, around 70 of them will end up not completing the purchase.
While not all of these abandoned carts will result in canceled orders (some customers may return and complete the purchase later), a significant portion will. In fact, a survey by WooCommerce found that the average cart abandonment rate for time-outs (orders canceled due to inactivity) is around 20-30%.
Let's consider a hypothetical ecommerce store that sells various products. Suppose the store has an average of 1,000 orders per day, with a 25% time-out cancellation rate. This means that the store is dealing with around 250 canceled orders per day due to time-outs.
If these canceled orders are not properly restocked, the store could be facing the following challenges:
- Lost Revenue: Assuming an average order value of $50, the store could be losing up to $12,500 in potential revenue per day due to overselling.
- Inventory Inaccuracy: With 250 canceled orders per day, the store's inventory levels could become significantly skewed, leading to stockouts, overstocking, and other inventory management issues.
- Frustrated Customers: Customers who are unable to purchase their desired products due to stockouts may become frustrated and take their business elsewhere, negatively impacting the store's reputation and future sales.
By implementing an automated solution to restock canceled WooCommerce orders due to time-outs, the store could avoid these challenges and maintain a more accurate inventory, leading to higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.
Flowpoint.ai can help you identify all the technical errors that are impacting conversion rates on your website and directly generate recommendations to fix them, including automating the process of restocking canceled WooCommerce orders.
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