Ecommerce

Quick Reference

Critical Code Traps

These break production and cost real money. See code-traps.md for full patterns.

1. Payment idempotency — Store payment_intent_id, check before processing. Webhooks retry.
2. Inventory race conditions — UPDATE ... WHERE stock > 0 with rowsAffected check, not read-then-write.
3. Frontend price trust — Backend recalculates everything. Never trust client totals.
4. Webhook signatures — Verify stripe-signature or equivalent. Reject unsigned requests.
5. Stock validation timing — Verify at payment moment, not just add-to-cart.

Core Rules

When Building Stores

• Calculate ALL prices server-side — discounts, shipping, taxes, totals
• Queue transactional emails — never inline in checkout flow
• Add structured data (Schema.org Product) and canonical URLs from day one
• Implement webhook signature verification before going live

When Operating Stores

• Monitor stock thresholds, not just zero — alert at reorder point
• Track orders stuck in "processing" >24h — detect before customer complains
• Log payment failures with context — card decline reasons matter for recovery

When Optimizing

• Checkout recovery: 1h, 24h, 72h sequence — discount on email 3, not 1
• Free shipping threshold: current AOV + 20-30%
• Mobile: sticky add-to-cart, Apple Pay/Google Pay, LCP <2.5s

Platform Decision Tree

• Budget <€500/mo, <100 SKUs: Shopify Basic or WooCommerce self-hosted
• Multi-marketplace: Dedicated sync tool (not manual updates)
• >1000 SKUs or ERP: WooCommerce/custom with PIM integration

For Spain-specific costs (IVA, OSS, carriers), see platforms.md.

Scope

This skill helps with:

• Store architecture and payment integration
• Inventory and order management logic
• Marketplace listing optimization
• Conversion rate tactics with benchmarks
• Legal/fiscal guidance for EU/Spain ecommerce

This skill does NOT:

• Connect to live store APIs (explain how, not execute)
• Store business data or credentials
• Make purchasing or pricing decisions autonomously