---
title: Shopping carts
slug: commerce-connect-14/docs/shopping-carts
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-07-23T10:25:32.641Z
---

The shopping cart (or basket) is where the shopping and ordering process starts. The main components of a shopping cart using the abstraction APIs are described in this topic.

The cart APIs are built around the `IOrderRepository` interface, which lets you load, update, save and eventually delete carts. The cart objects are represented by the `ICart` interface, which extends the `IOrderGroup` interface.

A main reason to prefer `IOrderRepository` over the concrete classes is that it is implementation-independent. Whether your underlying implementation is the legacy cart mode, or the more recent serializable one, `IOrderRepository` works the same, the providers do all the work "under the hood".

## Load and create a cart

Each cart is identified by its name, customer ID, and market. `IOrderRepository` has multiple overloads/extensions to create or load a cart. If a parameter is missing from the method call, the default value is used. For example, if you use overload without a `MarketId` parameter, the current market is used.

To load a cart, use the `.Load()` method:

```javascript
var  cart = orderRepository.Load<ICart>(customerId, "Default");
```

This loads the existing cart, and returns null if no cart exists.

To create a cart, use the `.Create()` method:

```javascript
var  cart = orderRepository.Create<ICart>(customerId, "Default");
```

It is good practice to use the extension method `.LoadOrCreate`, which creates a cart (if none exists) or loads an existing cart:

```javascript
var cart = orderRepository.LoadOrCreateCart<ICart>(_customerContext.CurrentContactId, name)
```

## Add items to a cart

To add an item to a cart, you must first create an `ILineItem`. `IOrderGroup` has an extension method called `CreateLineItem`, which takes the SKU's code, and returns an `ILineItem` instance. A good practice is to check if the cart has an existing line item with the same SKU. If yes, increase the quantity. Otherwise, create a new line item and add it to a cart.

```csharp
var lineItem = cart.GetAllLineItems().FirstOrDefault(x => x.Code == code && 
    !x.IsGift);
      if (lineItem == null)
        {
          lineItem = cart.CreateLineItem(code, _orderGroupFactory);
          lineItem.DisplayName = entryContent.DisplayName;
          lineItem.Quantity = quantity;
          cart.AddLineItem(lineItem, _orderGroupFactory);
        }
      else
        {
          var shipment = cart.GetFirstShipment();
          cart.UpdateLineItemQuantity(shipment, lineItem, lineItem.Quantity + quantity);
        }
```

## Remove items from a cart

To remove an item from a cart, remove it from the shipment. Normally, a cart has only one shipment, so removing the first shipment is enough.

```csharp
var lineItem = cart.GetAllLineItems().FirstOrDefault(x => x.Code == code && !x.IsGift);
      if (lineItem != null)
        {
          var shipment = cart.GetFirstShipment();
          shipment.LineItems.Remove(lineItem);
        }
```

## Validate a cart

Before a customer can place an order, the cart must be validated to ensure it has sufficient quantity, that the prices are accurate and up-to-date, and that any promotions are applied correctly.

```csharp
public IDictionary<ILineItem, IList<ValidationIssue>> ValidateCart(ICart cart)
 {
   return _orderValidationService.ValidateOrder(cart); // orderValidationService is an instance of the class OrderValidationService
 }
```

## Save a cart

To save a cart, call `IOrderRepository.Save` on an instance of `ICart orderRepository.Save(cart);`.