Implementing Cart Functionality in React JS

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will be implementing a cart functionality in React JS. We will be using React Hooks to manage the state of the cart. We will be using the Context API to pass the cart state to the components that need it. We will be using the Local Storage API to persist the cart state in the browser.We will also be using Tailwind CSS to style our application.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you will need to have the following installed on your machine:

• Node.js
• npm

You also need to have a basic understanding of React JS and Tailwind CSS.

Getting Started

To get started, we will create a new React application using vite. To do this, run the following command in your terminal:

npm create vite@latest

You will be prompted to enter the name of your project. Enter the name of your project and press enter. In this tutorial, we will be naming our project react-cart. You will also be prompted to select a framework. Select React and press enter. You will also be prompted to select a variant. Select Javascript and press enter. This will create a new React application in a folder named react-cart. To start the application, navigate to the react-cart folder cd react-card and run the following command in your terminal:

npm run dev

This will start the application in development mode. You can now open the application in your browser by navigating to http://localhost:5173.

Installing Tailwind CSS

To install Tailwind CSS, run the following command in your terminal:

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer

npx tailwindcss init -p

This will create a tailwind.config.js file in the root of your project. Open the tailwind.config.js file and add the following code to it:

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
  content: [
    "./src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
  ],
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  plugins: [],
}

Next, let's clean up the index.css file in the src folder. Open the index.css file and remove all the code in it. Next, add the following code to the index.css file:

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

Let's also clear up the App.jsx file in the src folder so that it looks like this:

function App() {
  return (
    <>
    </>
  )
}

You can also delete the App.css file in the src folder.

Creating the Products Component

Let's create a new folder named components in the src folder. Inside the components folder, create a new file named Products.jsx. We will be using the Dummy Json to get the products that we will be displaying in our application. To fetch the products, we will be using the useEffect hook. We will also be using the useState hook to store the products in the state. Let's import the useEffect and useState hooks from the react package. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

import { useEffect, useState } from "react";

Create a new function named Products and export it. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

export default function Products() {
  return (
    <>
    </>
  )
}

Let's initialize the state of the products. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

const [products, setProducts] = useState([]);

Next, let's fetch the products.We will use an async function to fetch the products. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

async function getProducts() {
    const response = await fetch('https://dummyjson.com/products')  // fetch the products
    const data = await response.json() // convert the response to json
    setProducts(data.products) // set the products in the state to the products we fetched
  }

Next, let's call the getProducts function in the useEffect hook. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

useEffect(() => {
    getProducts()
  }, [])

Next, let's display the products in the Products component. In the return statement of the Products component, add the following code:

<div className='flex flex-col justify-center bg-gray-100'>
  <div className='flex justify-between items-center px-20 py-5'>
    <h1 className='text-2xl uppercase font-bold mt-10 text-center mb-10'>Shop</h1>
  </div>
  <div className='grid sm:grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-3 lg:grid-cols-4 gap-4 px-10'>
    {
      products.map(product => (
        <div key={product.id} className='bg-white shadow-md rounded-lg px-10 py-10'>
          <img src={product.thumbnail} alt={product.title} className='rounded-md h-48' />
          <div className='mt-4'>
            <h1 className='text-lg uppercase font-bold'>{product.title}</h1>
            <p className='mt-2 text-gray-600 text-sm'>{product.description.slice(0, 40)}...</p>
            <p className='mt-2 text-gray-600'>${product.price}</p>
          </div>
          <div className='mt-6 flex justify-between items-center'>
            <button className='px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700'>Add to cart</button>
          </div>
        </div>
      ))
    }
  </div>
</div>

This will display a card for each product. Each card will display the product image, title, description, and price. Each card will also have a button that will be used to add the product to the cart.

Navigate to App.jsx and import the Products component. Add the following code to the App.jsx file:

import Products from './components/Products'

Next, let's display the Products component in the App component. In the return statement of the App component, add the following code:

<Products />

Your App.jsx file should now look like this:

import Products from './components/Products'

function App() {
  return (
    <Products />
  )
}

export default App

Your Products.jsx file should now look like this:

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'

export default function Products() {
  const [products, setProducts] = useState([])

  async function getProducts() {
    const response = await fetch('https://dummyjson.com/products')
    const data = await response.json()
    setProducts(data.products)
  }

  useEffect(() => {
    getProducts()
  }, [])

  return (
    <div className='flex flex-col justify-center bg-gray-100'>
      <div className='flex justify-between items-center px-20 py-5'>
        <h1 className='text-2xl uppercase font-bold mt-10 text-center mb-10'>Shop</h1>
        <h1 className='text-2xl uppercase font-bold mt-10 text-center mb-10'>Cart</h1>
      </div>
      <div className='grid sm:grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-3 lg:grid-cols-4 gap-4 px-10'>
        {
          products.map(product => (
            <div key={product.id} className='bg-white shadow-md rounded-lg px-10 py-10'>
              <img src={product.thumbnail} alt={product.title} className='rounded-md h-48' />
              <div className='mt-4'>
                <h1 className='text-lg uppercase font-bold'>{product.title}</h1>
                <p className='mt-2 text-gray-600 text-sm'>{product.description.slice(0, 40)}...</p>
                <p className='mt-2 text-gray-600'>${product.price}</p>
              </div>
              <div className='mt-6 flex justify-between items-center'>
                <button className='px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700'>Add to cart</button>
              </div>
            </div>
          ))
        }
      </div>
    </div>
  )
}

Open the application in your browser and you should see the products displayed.

Creating the Cart Context

Context is a way to pass data through the component tree without having to pass props down manually at every level. In this tutorial, we will be using the Context API to pass the cart state to the components that need it. Let's create a new folder named context in the src folder. Inside the context folder, create a new file named cart.jsx. We will be using the createContext hook to create the cart context.We will also be using the useState hook to store the cart state and the useEffect hook to persist the cart state in the browser. Let's import the createContext, useState, and useEffect hooks from the react package. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

import { createContext, useState, useEffect } from 'react'

Next, let's create the cart context. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

export const CartContext = createContext()

Next, let's create the CartProvider component. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

export const CartProvider = ({ children }) => {
}

Initialize the state of the cart. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

const [cartItems, setCartItems] = useState([])

Looking at how we want our cart to work, we want to be able to add items to the cart, remove items from the cart, and clear the cart. Let's create a function that will be used to add items to the cart. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

 const addToCart = (item) => {
  const isItemInCart = cartItems.find((cartItem) => cartItem.id === item.id); // check if the item is already in the cart

  if (isItemInCart) {
  setCartItems(
      cartItems.map((cartItem) => // if the item is already in the cart, increase the quantity of the item
      cartItem.id === item.id
          ? { ...cartItem, quantity: cartItem.quantity + 1 }
          : cartItem // otherwise, return the cart item
      )
  );
  } else {
  setCartItems([...cartItems, { ...item, quantity: 1 }]); // if the item is not in the cart, add the item to the cart
  }
};

Explanation:

• We are using the find method to check if the item is already in the cart. The find method returns the value of the first element in the array that satisfies the provided testing function. If no values satisfy the testing function, undefined is returned.
• If the item is already in the cart, we are using the map method to increase the quantity of the item in the cart. The map method creates a new array populated with the results of calling a provided function on every element in the calling array.
• If the item is not in the cart, we are using the spread operator to add the item to the cart.

Let's create a function that will be used to remove items from the cart. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

 const removeFromCart = (item) => {
  const isItemInCart = cartItems.find((cartItem) => cartItem.id === item.id);

  if (isItemInCart.quantity === 1) {
    setCartItems(cartItems.filter((cartItem) => cartItem.id !== item.id)); // if the quantity of the item is 1, remove the item from the cart
  } else {
    setCartItems(
      cartItems.map((cartItem) =>
        cartItem.id === item.id
          ? { ...cartItem, quantity: cartItem.quantity - 1 } // if the quantity of the item is greater than 1, decrease the quantity of the item
          : cartItem
      )
    );
  }
};

Explanation:

• We are using the find method to check if the item is in the cart. The find method returns the value of the first element in the array that satisfies the provided testing function. If no values satisfy the testing function, undefined is returned.
• If the quantity of the item is 1, we are using the filter method to remove the item from the cart. The filter method creates a new array with all elements that pass the test implemented by the provided function.
• If the quantity of the item is greater than 1, we are using the map method to decrease the quantity of the item in the cart. The map method creates a new array populated with the results of calling a provided function on every element in the calling array.

Let's create a function that will be used to clear the cart. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

const clearCart = () => {
  setCartItems([]); // set the cart items to an empty array
};

Explanation:

• We are using the setCartItems method to set the cart items to an empty array.

Let's create a function to get the cart total. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

const getCartTotal = () => {
  return cartItems.reduce((total, item) => total + item.price * item.quantity, 0); // calculate the total price of the items in the cart
};

Explanation of the code above:

• We are using the reduce method to calculate the total price of the items in the cart. The reduce method executes a reducer function (that you provide) on each element of the array, resulting in a single output value.

Next, let's use the useEffect hook to persist the cart state in the browser. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

useEffect(() => {
  localStorage.setItem("cartItems", JSON.stringify(cartItems));
}, [cartItems]);

Explanation:

• We are using the setItem method of the localStorage API to set the cart items in the browser. The setItem method sets the value of the specified localStorage item.
• We are using the JSON.stringify method to convert the cart items to a string. The JSON.stringify method converts a JavaScript object or value to a JSON string.
• For a real-world application, you will need to use a database to store the cart items, since the localStorage API is not secure and can be easily manipulated by the user.

Let's also use the useEffect hook to get the cart items from the browser. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

useEffect(() => {
    const cartItems = localStorage.getItem("cartItems");
    if (cartItems) {
    setCartItems(JSON.parse(cartItems));
    }
}, []);

Explanation:

• We are using the getItem method of the localStorage API to get the cart items from the browser. The getItem method returns the value of the specified localStorage item.
• We are using the JSON.parse method to convert the cart items to an object. The JSON.parse method parses a JSON string, constructing the JavaScript value or object described by the string.

Let's update the initial state of cart items to the cart items we get from the browser. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

const [cartItems, setCartItems] = useState(localStorage.getItem('cartItems') ? JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('cartItems')) : [])

This will set the initial state of the cart items to the cart items we get from the browser. If there are no cart items in the browser, the initial state of the cart items will be an empty array.

Next, let's pass the cart state to the components that need it. Add the following code to the cart.jsx file:

return (
  <CartContext.Provider
    value={{
      cartItems,
      addToCart,
      removeFromCart,
      clearCart,
      getCartTotal,
    }}
  >
    {children}
  </CartContext.Provider>
);

Your cart.jsx file should now look like this:

import { createContext, useState, useEffect } from 'react'

export const CartContext = createContext()

export const CartProvider = ({ children }) => {
  const [cartItems, setCartItems] = useState(localStorage.getItem('cartItems') ? JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('cartItems')) : [])

  const addToCart = (item) => {
    const isItemInCart = cartItems.find((cartItem) => cartItem.id === item.id);

    if (isItemInCart) {
      setCartItems(
        cartItems.map((cartItem) =>
          cartItem.id === item.id
            ? { ...cartItem, quantity: cartItem.quantity + 1 }
            : cartItem
        )
      );
    } else {
      setCartItems([...cartItems, { ...item, quantity: 1 }]);
    }
  };

  const removeFromCart = (item) => {
    const isItemInCart = cartItems.find((cartItem) => cartItem.id === item.id);

    if (isItemInCart.quantity === 1) {
      setCartItems(cartItems.filter((cartItem) => cartItem.id !== item.id));
    } else {
      setCartItems(
        cartItems.map((cartItem) =>
          cartItem.id === item.id
            ? { ...cartItem, quantity: cartItem.quantity - 1 }
            : cartItem
        )
      );
    }
  };

  const clearCart = () => {
    setCartItems([]);
  };

  const getCartTotal = () => {
    return cartItems.reduce((total, item) => total + item.price * item.quantity, 0);
  };

  useEffect(() => {
    localStorage.setItem("cartItems", JSON.stringify(cartItems));
  }, [cartItems]);

  useEffect(() => {
    const cartItems = localStorage.getItem("cartItems");
    if (cartItems) {
      setCartItems(JSON.parse(cartItems));
    }
  }, []);

  return (
    <CartContext.Provider
      value={{
        cartItems,
        addToCart,
        removeFromCart,
        clearCart,
        getCartTotal,
      }}
    >
      {children}
    </CartContext.Provider>
  );
};

Using the Cart Context

Now that we have created the cart context, let's wrap the App component with the CartProvider component. Open the main.jsx file in the src folder and import the CartProvider component. Add the following code to the main.jsx file:

import { CartProvider } from './context/cart'

Next, let's wrap the App component with the CartProvider component. Add the following code to the main.jsx file:

<CartProvider>
  <App />
</CartProvider>

Your main.jsx file should now look like this:

import React from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'
import App from './App.jsx'
import './index.css'
import { CartProvider } from './context/cart.jsx'

ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')).render(
  <React.StrictMode>
    <CartProvider>
      <App />
    </CartProvider>
  </React.StrictMode>,
)

Next, let's import the CartContext from the cart file in the context folder. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

import { CartContext } from '../context/cart'

We will also need to import the useContext hook from the react package. Update the import statement in the Products.jsx file to look like this:

import { useContext, useEffect, useState } from 'react'

Next, let's use the useContext hook to get the cart state. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

const { cartItems, addToCart } = useContext(CartContext)

Next, let's update the addToCart button to use the addToCart function from the cart context. Update the addToCart button to look like this:

<button onClick={() => addToCart(product)} className='px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700'>Add to cart</button>

Now the button should add the product to the cart when clicked, but it's hard to visualize this without a cart page. Let's start by creating a Cart component. Create a new file named Cart.jsx in the components folder. We will be using the useContext hook to get the cart state. Let's import the useContext hook from the react package. Add the following code to the Cart.jsx file:

import { useContext } from 'react'

Next, let's import the CartContext from the cart file in the context folder. Add the following code to the Cart.jsx file:

import { CartContext } from '../context/cart'

Create a new function named Cart and export it. Add the following code to the Cart.jsx file:

export default function Cart() {
  return (
    <>
    </>
  )
}

Let's use the useContext hook to get the cart state. Add the following code to the Cart.jsx file:

const { cartItems, addToCart, removeFromCart, clearCart, getCartTotal } = useContext(CartContext)

Next, let's display the cart items in the Cart component. In the return statement of the Cart component, add the following code:

<div className="flex-col flex items-center bg-white gap-8 p-10 text-black text-sm">
  <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold">Cart</h1>
  <div className="flex flex-col gap-4">
    {cartItems.map((item) => (
      <div className="flex justify-between items-center" key={item.id}>
        <div className="flex gap-4">
          <img src={item.thumbnail} alt={item.title} className="rounded-md h-24" />
          <div className="flex flex-col">
            <h1 className="text-lg font-bold">{item.title}</h1>
            <p className="text-gray-600">{item.price}</p>
          </div>
        </div>
        <div className="flex gap-4">
          <button
            className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
            onClick={() => {
              addToCart(item)
            }}
          >
            +
          </button>
          <p>{item.quantity}</p>
          <button
            className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
            onClick={() => {
              removeFromCart(item)
            }}
          >
            -
          </button>
        </div>
      </div>
    ))}
  </div>
  {
    cartItems.length > 0 ? (
      <div className="flex flex-col justify-between items-center">
    <h1 className="text-lg font-bold">Total: ${getCartTotal()}</h1>
    <button
      className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
      onClick={() => {
        clearCart()
      }}
    >
      Clear cart
    </button>
  </div>
    ) : (
      <h1 className="text-lg font-bold">Your cart is empty</h1>
    )
  }
</div>

This will display the cart items in the cart component. Each cart item will display the item image, title, price, and quantity. Each cart item will also have a button to increase the quantity of the item and a button to decrease the quantity of the item. The cart component will also display the total price of the items in the cart and a button to clear the cart.

You can now choose the best way to navigate to your cart from the products page using the react router. In this tutorial, we will be toggling a modal to display the cart. In the Products component, let's import the Cart component. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

import Cart from './Cart'

Let's also initialize the state of the modal. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

const [showModal, setShowModal] = useState(false)

Let's create a function to toggle the modal. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file:

const toggle = () => {
  setShowModal(!showModal)
}

Next, we will add a button to toggle the modal. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file below the h1 tag:

{!showModal && <button className='px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700'
  onClick={toggle}
>Cart ({cartItems.length})</button>}

This will display a button to toggle the modal. The button will display the number of items in the cart.

Let's now display the modal( Cart component) when the button is clicked. Add the following code to the Products.jsx file just before the last closing div tag:

  <Cart showModal={showModal} toggle={toggle} />

Your Products.jsx file should now look like this:

import { useState, useEffect, useContext } from 'react'
import { CartContext } from '../context/cart.jsx'
import Cart from './Cart.jsx'

export default function Products() {
  const [showModal, setshowModal] = useState(false);
  const [products, setProducts] = useState([])
  const { cartItems, addToCart } = useContext(CartContext)

  const toggle = () => {
    setshowModal(!showModal);
  };

  async function getProducts() {
    const response = await fetch('https://dummyjson.com/products')
    const data = await response.json()
    setProducts(data.products)
  }

  useEffect(() => {
    getProducts()
  }, [])

  return (
    <div className='flex flex-col justify-center bg-gray-100'>
      <div className='flex justify-between items-center px-20 py-5'>
        <h1 className='text-2xl uppercase font-bold mt-10 text-center mb-10'>Shop</h1>
        {!showModal && <button className='px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700'
          onClick={toggle}
        >Cart ({cartItems.length})</button>}
      </div>
      <div className='grid sm:grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-3 lg:grid-cols-4 gap-4 px-10'>
        {
          products.map(product => (
            <div key={product.id} className='bg-white shadow-md rounded-lg px-10 py-10'>
              <img src={product.thumbnail} alt={product.title} className='rounded-md h-48' />
              <div className='mt-4'>
                <h1 className='text-lg uppercase font-bold'>{product.title}</h1>
                <p className='mt-2 text-gray-600 text-sm'>{product.description.slice(0, 40)}...</p>
                <p className='mt-2 text-gray-600'>${product.price}</p>
              </div>
              <div className='mt-6 flex justify-between items-center'>
                <button className='px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700'
                  onClick={() => {
                    addToCart(product)
                  }
                  }
                >Add to cart</button>
              </div>
            </div>
          ))
        }
      </div>
      <Cart showModal={showModal} toggle={toggle} />
    </div>
  )
}

Let's update the Cart component to use the showModal prop. Open the Cart.jsx file and update the Cart component to look like this:

import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
import { useContext } from 'react'
import { CartContext } from '../context/cart.jsx'

export default function Cart ({showModal, toggle}) {

  const { cartItems, addToCart, removeFromCart, clearCart, getCartTotal } = useContext(CartContext)

  return (
    showModal && (
      <div className="flex-col flex items-center fixed inset-0 left-1/4 bg-white dark:bg-black gap-8  p-10  text-black dark:text-white font-normal uppercase text-sm">
        <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold">Cart</h1>
        <div className="absolute right-16 top-10">
          <button
            className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
            onClick={toggle}
          >
            Close
          </button>
        </div>
        <div className="flex flex-col gap-4">
          {cartItems.map((item) => (
            <div className="flex justify-between items-center" key={item.id}>
              <div className="flex gap-4">
                <img src={item.thumbnail} alt={item.title} className="rounded-md h-24" />
                <div className="flex flex-col">
                  <h1 className="text-lg font-bold">{item.title}</h1>
                  <p className="text-gray-600">{item.price}</p>
                </div>
              </div>
              <div className="flex gap-4">
                <button
                  className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
                  onClick={() => {
                    addToCart(item)
                  }}
                >
                  +
                </button>
                <p>{item.quantity}</p>
                <button
                  className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
                  onClick={() => {
                    removeFromCart(item)
                  }}
                >
                  -
                </button>
              </div>
            </div>
          ))}
        </div>
        {
          cartItems.length > 0 ? (
            <div className="flex flex-col justify-between items-center">
          <h1 className="text-lg font-bold">Total: ${getCartTotal()}</h1>
          <button
            className="px-4 py-2 bg-gray-800 text-white text-xs font-bold uppercase rounded hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:bg-gray-700"
            onClick={() => {
              clearCart()
            }}
          >
            Clear cart
          </button>
        </div>
          ) : (
            <h1 className="text-lg font-bold">Your cart is empty</h1>
          )
        }
      </div>
    )
  )
}

Cart.propTypes = {
  showModal: PropTypes.bool,
  toggle: PropTypes.func
}

We have added a close button to the cart component. The close button will be used to close the cart component. and I have added some tailwind css classes to the top div to inset the cart component from the left side of the screen.

Conclusion

Our application is now complete. You can open the application in your browser and test it out. You should have something that looks like this:

There are other ways you can explore to improve the user experience of the application that I won't cover e.g

• The Add to cart button can change to a quantity selector when the product is already added to the cart.
• Adding notifications to the application when a user adds/removes an item to the cart.You can use the React Toastify library to add notifications to the application.

I'll implement these features in the source code of the application. You can check it out here You can also checkout the live demo here

Resources

• React
• Tailwind CSS
• React Context

Thank you for reading this tutorial. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on Email or LinkedIn.