A cart countdown adds a timer to your cart drawer to nudge shoppers to check out. Insert Cart countdown from Insert → Shopify → Cart into your Cart layout.

Cart countdown inserts a banner with the default text Your cart will expire in: and a minutes-and-seconds timer. The timer counts down from a set duration — 10 minutes by default. Customize the message, timer, and styling in the Design panel.

Place the countdown near the Header for high visibility, or above the Footer checkout button as a last nudge before payment.

Select the countdown and open its settings in the Design panel. Under Set ending time, choose how the timer runs:

For a Time countdown, the Reset option controls whether the timer restarts:

Use Digits to show One or Two digits, which controls leading zeros on the numbers.

The countdown banner is always visible by default. To hide it when the cart is empty, add a Conditional visibility rule on cart count. You can also pair it with a Cart reward so shoppers see both progress toward a reward and time remaining. See Conditional visibility.

The cart panel is narrow, so keep the countdown compact — a single line of text or a small clock layout. Preview it inside the drawer and test on mobile, where long messages can wrap awkwardly.

The Interactive group in Insert also has a general Countdown element for pages and campaigns. It uses the same timer controls, but only inside a Cart layout does the Reset behavior tie to cart changes (adding or removing products) instead of page loads. Use Cart countdown in cart drawers so the timer follows the shopper's cart. See Countdowns and tickers.