We recommend you fulfill any open orders before turning on vacation mode. Vacation mode only hides the add to cart and purchase buttons on your online store, so it won’t affect existing orders.
You have two options for handling current orders:
- Cancel and refund them: Cancel the orders and refund your customers. It’s a good idea to contact each customer to explain why their order was canceled and when they can expect a refund.
- Keep the orders and fulfill them: If you choose to keep the orders, let your customers know your store is temporarily closed and when they can expect their items. You can use the app’s banner or message feature to make this clear.
Pick the option that best fits your store’s policies.
Vacation mode only blocks the online store
Vacation mode only disables the Add to Cart button on your online store theme. Orders can still come through via Apple Pay, Shop Pay, Google Pay, Shop app, PayPal Express, saved cart links, and other sales channels. The app hides the button via frontend injection on your theme — it cannot block checkout at the API level. If you need to fully prevent orders, also pause inventory or disable sales channels directly in Shopify. This is the biggest misunderstanding about vacation mode: it does not make it impossible to place orders, only harder for customers using the standard store flow.
Originally from our Help Center