How to Configure Magento 2 Shopping Cart

Magento 2 shopping cart configuration is crucial for ensuring that you give your customers the best shopping experience.

There are many customizable facets of an ecommerce store that allow for flexibility in adding products to a cart, applying and handling discounts, and handling shipping and taxes.

Magento 2 provides a wide range of configurations that can be adjusted by store owners to fit the particular needs of their business and provide customers with a seamless experience during the checkout process.

In this tutorial, you will be able to follow the basic steps to customize the shopping cart in Magento 2. Look at the table of contents below and pick the configuration you want to learn!

Magento 2 Shopping Cart: Overview

Magento Shopping Cart is one of the core features of an eCommerce website (when developed with the help of the Magento platform).

It is a component that enables customers to create, read, write, and update products on a shopping cart before the checkout process.

Magento 2 is the latest version of the platform, and it introduces several improvements over the earlier Magento (Magento 1) version. Here’s a breakdown of the differences:

Feature	Magento 1 Cart	Magento 2 Shopping Cart
Platform Version	Magento 1.x	Magento 2.x
Performance & Speed	Slower performance, less optimized	Improved speed, optimized for better performance
User Interface	Outdated, less intuitive	Modern, responsive, and user-friendly UI
Checkout Process	Longer, multi-step process	Simplified, one-page checkout
Cart Features	Basic cart functionality	Advanced features like cart price rules, persistent cart, automatic discounts
Persistent Cart	Requires third-party extensions	Built-in, works out-of-the-box
Mobile Experience	Not fully optimized for mobile	Fully mobile-optimized for responsive design
Customization	Difficult and requires technical knowledge	Easier customization, better extension support
Security	Basic security, no updates after EOL	Enhanced security with regular updates
API & Integrations	Limited API and integration options	Modern API and better third-party integration support
Support & Updates	End of life, no official support (since 2020)	Actively supported with regular updates
Cart Thumbnails	Not available by default	Built-in, displays product images in cart
Coupon/Discounts	Basic discount functionality	Advanced, customizable cart price rules for discounts
Tax & Shipping Calculations	Basic settings available	Advanced tax & shipping settings with real-time calculations
Overall Flexibility & Scalability	Less flexible for growth	Highly scalable and flexible for larger stores
Security Updates	No longer receives security patches	Regular security updates provided by Magento 2

With this shopping cart feature, there are endless possibilities for you as a business. You can configure your cart based on your business choices. For example, you can set the minimum order amount to $50 (or any other amount)

This is where configuration comes into play.

Launch Your Magento 2 Store with Ease on Cloudways!

Store owners are more at peace with quick 1-click solutions, automated server & app management, and seamless traffic handling

Sign Up Free

Why Is Setting Up the Magento Cart Important?

Spending time and money on the proper configuration of the Magento cart means creating a stable eCommerce platform that positively affects the shopping experience and customer conversion.

The cart can be described as a single point where a user checks the items that he or she has chosen, makes changes to the quantities, and then checks out.

A well-designed cart means that there are no loose ends that would cause problems and result in cart abandonment.

With features like dynamic taxes, multiple currencies, and shipment estimations, you give convenience that customers with different requirements will appreciate.

A well-designed cart also supports trust by providing product information, cost, and payment method, which are critical to customer confidence in order to effect a purchase.

Another reason why setting up the Magento cart is crucial for businesses is the opportunity to analyze customer behavior.

Data collected from the use of carts can be useful, for example, which products are bought most often, or where consumers usually abandon carts, and help in optimizing approaches.

How to Configure Magento 2 Shopping Cart?

Magento shopping cart configuration can actually be viewed as a form of customization.

It means that it establishes the functionality, features and behaviors of the cart based on the business requirements, customer and operational dynamics.

With Magento, you can easily set up multiple variations like redirect to cart, quote lifetime, cart thumbnail, and much more.

Let’s discuss in detail how you can perform different types of cart configurations and grow your business.

💡For many of them, there will be one common step: Go to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Checkout. This is what it will look like:

For Sales > Checkout, just scroll down. Here is what you should see:

Let’s move on to the configurations now.

How to Configure the Redirect Link to the Magento Cart

Redirect link to cart is triggered when the customer adds an item to their Magento shopping cart, prompting them to continue to checkout.

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration.
• Then scroll down to > Sales > Checkout.
• In Shopping Cart, there is a setting labeled After Adding a Product Redirect to Shopping Cart.
• Enable this to Yes to make customers automatically be redirected to the cart page after adding an item.

• When ready to apply the changes, click on Save Config.

How to Configure the Mini Sidebar for the Magento Cart

Mini sidebar cart displays at the top-right corner on the hover that shows the summary of your Magento shopping cart.

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Checkout.
• Under Mini Cart dropdown, you will find Display Mini Cart.

• Click Yes if you want the mini cart to appear in the sidebar each time products are added to the cart.
• Set the Number of Items to Display Scrollbar and Maximum Number of Items to Display.

• Use the Save Config button to save the changes you have made.

We should show an output as well

How to Configure the Cart Link

You can configure this option to determine if the cart icon displays the number of different products (or SKUs).

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Checkout.
• You will find My Cart Link when you scroll down under Shopping Cart.

• Expand this section and choose between the two options.
• After that go to the Save Config tab to implement the changes.

How to Configure Cart Thumbnails

Most thumbnails in the cart bear images of the exact product variants that the customers select during check out.

However, when products are varied, there are possibilities of getting a wrong thumbnail image and that does not make sense.

Here’s how to configure:

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Checkout.
• Under Shopping Cart, look for Grouped and Configurable Product Image.

• Pick the option you would like to choose.

• To save the change, click on the “Save Config” button on top right.

We should show an output as well

How to Specify the Minimum Order Quantity

To encourage the customer to buy more products or to sell the products to certain categories of customers (like Wholesale or those who aren’t logged in to the store), there is the “Minimum Quantity Allowed in Shopping Cart” option.

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration.
• Then go to Catalog > Inventory > Product Stock Options.
• This is where you will find Minimum Qty Allowed in Shopping Cart.

• Enter the minimum quantity for a customer to complete a purchase.
• Click Save Config to apply your settings.

We should show an output as well
Magento SEO Ultimate Guide – 12 Best Practices to Follow in 2024

How to Set the Minimum Order Amount

To incentivize customers to spend more, you can also implement a minimum order amount. This feature restricts checkout until the total cart value reaches a specified threshold. I am sure you have seen that on online food delivery!

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Sales.
• Find the Minimum Order Amount dropdown.

You will find several settings here. In the image below, you can see how I added a customized message for my customers, encouraging them to buy more.

You can also decide what error message to show in the cart when the customer has not met your minimum requirement. For example: “You’re almost there! To checkout, you must have an order of at least $50.”

Notice in the screenshot above how I also included discount and tax amount in the minimum order amount. You can choose to exclude.

• Enter the minimum amount for a customer to complete a purchase.
• Click Save Config to apply your settings.

We should show an output as well

How to Configure the Gift Options for the Magento Cart

You can allow your customers to add a gift message or greeting cards that are available.

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Sales.
• From there, scroll down to Gift Options.

• Click Save Config to apply your settings.

We should show an output as well

How to Define the Quote Lifetime

Customers may abandon their carts and return later, but product prices can fluctuate over time.

To maintain pricing accuracy, specify a “Quote Lifetime” in days to set a duration for which quoted prices remain valid.

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Checkout.
• Under Shopping Cart, you will find Quote Lifetime.

I have set it to 45 days in the image below.

Here, you can set the value to the days of your liking. Then hit Save Config on top right corner.

We should show an output as well

How to Configure Cart Price Rules for Automatic Discounts

Well, online stores are incomplete without discounts. Magento 2 shopping cart configurations can definitely help you automate these discounts and better your operations.

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Marketing > Promotions > Cart Price Rules.

• To add a new discount rule, click on Add New Rule that you will see on the right side.
• Scroll down to Conditions, select the type of the discount by which the criteria will be defined (subtotal, particular goods or services, or a certain customer category).

• Under Actions, specify how the discount will be taken (fixed, percentage, free shipping or any other).

• Once you have decided all the actions and conditions, click Save Rule.

We should show an output as well

How to Configure Tax Calculations in the Cart

• Log in to your Magento Admin.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Tax.

Here, you will find a plethora of options.

Pick Calculation Settings to configure multiple factors like what to base your tax calculation on, calculation methods, whether shipping prices are included, etc.

We should show an output as well

Scale Your Magento Store with Cloudways Autonomous

Keep your store ready for all the unexpected traffic spikes with Cloudways Autonomous. Stay ahead of the curve with advanced scalability and cutting-edge technology.

Sign Up Free

How to Configure the Persistent Magento 2 Shopping Cart

The idea behind configuring the persistent Magento shopping cart is that you can specify the time span of the cookies and other options that you want for customer activities.

Let’s learn how you can enable the persistent shopping cart in Magento.

• Log in to your Magento admin panel.
• Navigate to Stores > Configuration 
• From the side navigation panel, expand Customers and select Persistent Shopping Cart.

💡At your very first glance, you won’t be able to see many options. For that, you need to Enable Persistence to Yes.

After that, the very next option you will see for Persistence Lifetime (seconds).

Here, you need to specify the time in seconds for how long you want the persistent cookie to last.

💡Note:  The default value is 31,536,000 which is equal to one year and that’s the maximum time allowed.

Here’s the breakdown of the options:

For Enable “Remember Me” you need to select from any of the following:

• Yes:  If you set it to Yes, it will display the Remember Me checkbox on the login page so that customers can save their Magento shopping cart information.
• No: In the case of No, Persistence will be enabled but users won’t have a chance to save their information.

Here’s the default option to remember the information of the customer in your store. By selecting this option to Yes, the Remember Me checkbox will be checked by default.

Customers can uncheck the option if they choose.

Then there’s Clear Persistence on Sign Out – Yes or No. The difference between both is below:

• Yes: The shopping cart will be cleared when the registered user logs out.
• No: The shopping cart will be saved when the registered user logs out.

With Persist Shopping Cart, this is what Yes or No mean:

• Yes: In case the session cookies expire, the persistence would be retained.
• No: The Magento shopping cart will not be retained once the session cookie expires.

Last, click on Save Config to save all the settings.

Magento 2 Shopping Cart Management

By now you understand that shopping cart plays a very important role in the conversion process and improving the buyer experience in Magento 2.

It is therefore important for store owners to apply proper strategies so as to enhance the cart and also minimize cart abandonment, thus increasing sales.

Magento 2 comes with a variety of tools to help with the management of the shopping cart, including customization of the cart, as well as promotional capabilities.

Below, you’ll find some of the common scenarios that pop up while managing Magento 2 shopping carts.

View the Shopping Cart in Magento Admin

If you want to access the Magento shopping cart, here’s what to do:

• Log in to the Magento Admin panel.
• Navigate to Sales > Orders.

• Select an order to view its shopping cart details.

💡Alternatively, you can view cart data under Customers > Cart to see customer carts in progress.

Add Items to the Shopping Cart in Magento

There are different ways to add items to your shopping cart in Magento when you are adding a product as an administrator. One way is to add it through the Catalog.

• Go to Catalog > Products section.

• Use filters or the search bar to locate the products you need.

• Select the desired items by checking the checkboxes next to them.
• For configurable products, choose the specific product options before proceeding.
• Enter the desired quantity for each product to be purchased.
• Click “Add selections to my cart.”
• Close the Products section when you’re done.

We should show an output as well

Apply Discount Codes to the Shopping Cart in Admin

Coupon codes can be easily applied to the entire shopping cart directly from the Magento 2 admin panel.

• Go to Sales > Orders.
• Create a new order or view an existing one.
• Under the Shopping Cart section, you’ll find a field to enter Coupon Code.
• Apply the discount code, and the system will calculate the applicable discount.

Delete Products from the Shopping Cart in Magento 2 Admin

To remove products from shopping cart in Magento 2, take these steps:

• Go to Sales > Orders.
• Open an existing order or create a new one.
• Under the Shopping Cart section, locate the item you want to remove.
• Click on the Remove button next to the product you wish to delete from the cart.

Transfer Items from the Shopping Cart to the Wishlist

In Magento 2, this feature is not included in the admin panel, but on the frontend, a customer can work it out by moving items from the cart to the wishlist.

If this is done for a customer from the Admin, you would normally modify the customer’s cart yourself or use an extension that provides this option.

Alternatively, guide the customer to use the Move to Wishlist option available in their cart on the frontend.

Place an Order from the Shopping Cart in Magento 2 Admin

• Go to Sales > Orders.

• Click Create New Order.

• Choose a customer, and then you can add products to the order by choosing products (which can be chosen from the cart).

• Check the items in the cart, add any coupon or discount code and then go to the checkout.
• Choose the payment and shipping method and complete the order creation process before placing the order.

Summary

Magento 2 provides store owners with an array of strong configuration options that can be used to ensure the shopping cart is optimized for online stores, thus enhancing the checkout process.

In this blog, you found several types of Magento 2 shopping cart configurations and how to perform them. You also learned how to configure persistent Magento 2 shopping cart.

Even though we covered several configurations, trust me, there is so much more to explore. With Magento’s user-friendlly backend, you can find thousands of options to play around with!