Smart Cart Scheduler Overview
The Smart Cart Scheduler gives you the ability to automatically set start and end times for your Smart Carts, meaning you can schedule carts to go live and expire according to your needs without having to manually enable or disable them.
Note: This feature is available for V2 carts only. Legacy carts do not support scheduling features.
The Smart Cart Scheduler is perfect for planning promotional campaigns, seasonal sales, and limited-time offers. Set your cart to automatically activate at midnight on Black Friday, or schedule it to expire when your flash sale ends — all without needing to manually toggle carts on and off.
Key benefits:
Hands-free activation — Your scheduled cart goes live automatically at the exact time you specify
Automatic expiration — Carts turn off when your promotion ends without manual intervention
Fallback support — Designate a fallback cart to take over when your scheduled cart expires
Advanced planning — Schedule carts up to 30 days in advance
Your Smart Cart schedule follows the time zone set in your Rebuy Admin settings.
To check or update your time zone preferences, go to Settings > App Settings in your Rebuy admin.
How to schedule a Smart Cart
You can schedule a Smart Cart to automatically go live and turn off at specific times, no manual toggling required. This is useful for sales events, seasonal promotions, or any time-sensitive campaign where you want precise control over when a cart appears.
Navigate to your Smart Carts in your Rebuy admin and select the cart you want to schedule.
In the cart's editor > Global Settings section, toggle on Schedule Cart.
Set your Start Date and End Date using the date/time pickers.
Click Save to activate the schedule.
Your Smart Cart will automatically go live at the scheduled start time and turn off at the scheduled end time.
Note: You can schedule start and end dates up to 30 days in advance. The scheduler uses 24-hour time format and follows your app's configured time zone.
IMPORTANT: If both A/B Testing and Cart Scheduling are active, A/B Testing settings take priority over the cart schedule.
Important scheduling limitations
Important: If you manually toggle your scheduled Smart Cart on/off before the scheduled start time, your schedule will be cancelled. The cart will will no longer automatically activate or deactivate according to your schedule and the fallback cart will not activate.
Best practice: If you've set up a schedule, avoid manually toggling the cart's Live mode on/off before or during the scheduled start time. Let the scheduler handle activation automatically.
Using fallback carts
The fallback cart feature lets you automatically switch to a different Smart Cart when your scheduled cart expires. Instead of your storefront reverting to a default state, the fallback cart takes over seamlessly at the scheduled end time.
Note: The fallback option only appears when you have at least one active scheduled cart.
Schedule at least one Smart Cart (see How to schedule a Smart Cart above).
Open the three-dot menu next to the cart you want to use as your fallback.
Select Set as Fallback.
Click Save.
When your scheduled cart reaches its end time, the fallback cart will automatically become active on your storefront.
Note: If you manually disable a scheduled cart before its scheduled end time, a prompt will appear asking whether you want to enable the fallback cart immediately.
IMPORTANT: Toggling a scheduled Smart Cart to Live mode before its start date will cancel the schedule. The cart will stay live indefinitely and the fallback cart will not activate.
Previewing scheduled carts without affecting the schedule
You can safely preview a scheduled Smart Cart without disrupting or cancelling the active schedule. Preview mode lets you see exactly how the cart will appear when it goes live, without toggling Live mode or making any changes to your schedule.
Navigate to your Smart Cart in your Rebuy admin.
Find your scheduled cart in the Smart Cart overview table.
Click the Preview button icon next to the cart or from within the Smart Cart's Editor.
Your storefront will open in Rebuy's preview mode, showing exactly how the cart will look when it goes live.
More about Rebuy's Preview Mode here: Using Rebuy Preview Mode
Troubleshooting and best practices
If your scheduled Smart Cart isn't behaving as expected, the tips below cover the most common issues and how to avoid them.
Why didn't my scheduled cart go live?
If your Smart Cart didn't activate at the scheduled time, here are the most common causes:
Schedule was cancelled by manual toggling — Toggling the cart off and back on before the scheduled start time resets the schedule. Check your Smart Cart dashboard to confirm the schedule is still active.
Time zone mismatch — The scheduler follows your app's configured time zone, not your local browser time. Make sure your time zone setting matches your intended activation time.
Another cart was already live — Only one Smart Cart can be active at a time. If a different cart is live when your schedule tries to activate, it may cause a conflict.
End date already passed — If you set both a start and end date and the end date has already passed, the cart will not activate.
A/B Testing — If both A/B Testing and Cart Scheduling are active, A/B Testing settings take priority over the cart schedule.
How do I know if my schedule is still active?
Check the schedule status indicator in your Smart Cart dashboard. Each cart entry displays its schedule status when applicable. If you see your schedule listed with dates, it's active. If you've manually toggled the cart, verify your schedule settings to confirm it hasn't been reset.
Can I edit a scheduled cart before it goes live?
Yes, you can edit a scheduled cart's design, content, and settings before the scheduled start time. However, avoid manually toggling Live mode on or off, as this will cancel the schedule.
What happens if I have multiple schedules overlapping?
Only one Smart Cart can be active on your storefront at any given time. If you schedule multiple carts with overlapping times, the most recently saved schedule takes priority. Plan your schedules carefully to avoid conflicts.
Smart Cart Scheduler FAQ
Can I schedule legacy Smart Carts?
No, the Smart Cart Scheduler is only available for V2 carts. Legacy carts do not support scheduling features.
How far in advance can I schedule a cart?
You can schedule both start and end dates up to 30 days in advance.
What time zone does the scheduler use?
The Smart Cart Scheduler follows the time zone set in your Rebuy app settings, not your local browser time zone.
Can I have multiple carts scheduled at the same time?
You can create multiple schedules, but only one Smart Cart can be active on your storefront at any given time. Make sure your schedules don't overlap to avoid conflicts.
Will my scheduled cart work with A/B testing?
Once an A/B test experiment is live, the carts used in the test cannot be edited until the experiment ends. Schedule your carts before starting A/B tests, or wait until the experiment concludes.
What happens to my cart after the scheduled end time?
When your scheduled cart reaches its end time, it will automatically turn off. If you've set up a fallback cart, that cart will become active. If no fallback is configured, no Smart Cart will be live on your storefront until you manually enable one.
Can I cancel or modify a schedule after it's set?
Yes, you can edit or remove a schedule at any time by going into the cart's Global Settings and adjusting the Start Date and End Date fields, or by toggling off Schedule Cart entirely. Just remember that manually toggling Live mode will cancel the schedule.
What happens If I switch to a different Smart Cart before the Schedule Ends?
If a user selects a different cart before the schedule ends, the schedule and global fallback will be deleted. A modal will appear, notifying the user of this action and asking for confirmation to proceed.
Fallback Display: If a user disables the scheduled cart before it ends, a modal will appear, allowing them to enable the fallback cart once the scheduled cart is disabled.
Can I use the Smart Cart Scheduler with Legacy Carts?
No, the Smart Cart Scheduler is only available for V2 carts. Legacy carts do not support scheduling features. Consider upgrading to V2 for access to this functionality.