Commerce Reference Store sets the cache-mode attribute of the inventory item type to simple, with a timeout of 5 minutes. This ensures that the inventory information available on product detail pages is never more than a few minutes out of date, but avoids the frequent database lookups that would occur if caching were disabled. Caching can result in out-of-date inventory data at checkout time, but sites typically ensure they have up-to-date inventory information at checkout by making remote calls to an external inventory system that has real-time data.
If you build a site based on Commerce Reference Store, you may need to change the cache mode to reflect your site’s needs. See the ATG Repository Guide for information about the available cache modes.
