New configurable ordering period for products with custom date controls

AI Commerce Cloud introduces a powerful new feature that allows merchants to define a specific ordering period for each product directly on the product card. This is achieved through two new date fields: Data Available and Data Discontinued.

By default, Data Available is set to the product’s creation date, and Data Discontinued is set to the year 9999. This means that, unless changed, products are orderable immediately upon creation. However, merchants can now adjust these fields to control exactly when a product can be ordered — a particularly valuable tool for campaign products, pre-orders, or seasonal collections.

If a customer attempts to place an order outside the specified period, the shopping cart will automatically return an error message and prevent the purchase, ensuring clear communication and avoiding unintended orders.

It’s important to note that adjusting these dates does not affect product visibility on the storefront by default. To maintain SEO performance, products remain visible even if they are not currently orderable. If a merchant wishes to hide a product completely from search engines and customers, the traditional Disabled status should be used instead.

When a product is out of its orderable date range, the cart displays a global language key defined by TEXT_OUT_OF_DATE, clearly informing customers that the product cannot be ordered at that time.

This feature offers merchants greater flexibility in managing product availability without sacrificing visibility or SEO impact, supporting more sophisticated marketing strategies and inventory control.