> Portal Navigation:
> 
> - Append `.md` to any URL under `https://dev.wix.com/docs/` to get its markdown version.
> - Pages are either content pages (article or reference text) or menu pages (a list of links to child pages).
> - To get a menu page, truncate any URL to a parent path and append `.md` (e.g. `https://dev.wix.com/docs/sdk.md`, `https://dev.wix.com/docs/sdk/core-modules.md`).
> - Top-level index of all portals: https://dev.wix.com/docs/llms.txt
> - Full concatenated docs: https://dev.wix.com/docs/llms-full.txt

## Resource: Introduction

## Article: About Purchase Flow

## Article Link: https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/e-commerce/purchase-flow/introduction.md

## Article Content:

# About Purchase Flow

The purchase flow represents the customer journey from item selection to payment completion within the Wix eCommerce platform. This process transforms browsing customers into buyers by processing [catalog items](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/catalogs/introduction.md) through a structured 2-stage sequence: cart management and checkout processing. Successful completion of the purchase flow creates an [order](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/e-commerce/orders/orders/introduction.md) for post-purchase processing and fulfillment.

This section covers:

- **[Cart](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/e-commerce/purchase-flow/cart/introduction.md)**: Manage customer item selections, quantities, pricing calculations, and cart modifications before proceeding to checkout.
- **[Checkout](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/e-commerce/purchase-flow/checkout/checkout/introduction.md)**: Handle the payment collection phase, including transaction processing, checkout configuration, template management, and abandoned checkout recovery.

## Purchase flow patterns

The platform supports 2 fundamental approaches to moving customers through the purchase flow:

+ **Cart-to-checkout flow**: Customers add items to a persistent cart, review and modify selections, then continue to checkout for payment processing. This familiar eCommerce pattern allows customers to browse, compare, and refine their selections before committing to purchase. The cart maintains state across sessions for logged-in users.

+ **Direct checkout flow**: Skip cart management and proceed directly from item selection to checkout. This "buy now" approach reduces friction for single-item purchases, appointment bookings, or scenarios where immediate purchase intent is clear.

## Purchase flow customization

The purchase flow provides extensive customization options through service plugins and configuration APIs:

+ **Purchase flow extensions**: Integrate custom logic for additional fees, discounts, shipping rates, tax calculations, and validations through [extensions](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/extensions/introduction.md) that enhance cart and checkout processing.

+ **Checkout behavior**: Configure policies, terms of service agreements, and user interface elements through the [Checkout Settings API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/purchase-flow/checkout/checkout-settings/introduction.md) to align with business requirements and legal compliance.

+ **Pre-configured checkouts**: Create standardized checkout experiences using [Checkout Templates](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/purchase-flow/checkout/checkout-templates/introduction.md) with predefined items, pricing, or promotional offers. Templates enable consistent experiences for flash sales, product bundles, or recurring purchase scenarios while working with either flow pattern.

+ **Abandoned checkout recovery**: Implement customer re-engagement strategies using the [Abandoned Checkout API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/purchase-flow/checkout/abandoned-checkout/introduction.md) to recover lost sales from incomplete checkout sessions.

## See also

- [About Catalogs](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/catalogs/introduction.md)
- [About Orders](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/e-commerce/orders/orders/introduction.md)
- [Architecture and Data Flow](https://dev.wix.com/docs/rest/business-solutions/e-commerce/architecture-data-flow.md)