The Matter of Shopping Cart Limbo

The item was added to the cart on a Monday.

This was a decisive act. Adding to the cart means: I intend to buy this. I have identified it, evaluated it, and placed it in a virtual holding space from which buying it is one step.

The one step has not been taken.

Day Three

The price was checked. The price was unchanged from Monday. Prices sometimes drop. The price had not dropped. The item was still in the cart.

Day Five

A review was read. The review was positive. Two alternative items were added to the cart for comparison. This is a reasonable step in a considered purchase.

The cart now contained three items. The original was still the frontrunner. The alternatives had been added to confirm this.

Day Nine

The cart: the original item, two alternatives, and a fourth item added because the page suggested it and it seemed potentially useful.

The decision is: buy the original item. This has been the likely decision since Monday. The nine days have produced one review, two alternatives, one related item, and the same information about the original item that existed on Monday.

The Cart's Function

The cart is a decision space. It holds things that are being decided about. The checkout converts the decision into an action. Some decisions require nine days. Some require more.

The item was purchased on day eleven when a discount code arrived in an email. The discount was 10%. It was a good deal. The cart was checked out in three minutes.

The decision had been made on Monday. The checkout happened on day eleven. The cart held it between those two events, which is the cart's correct function.