An online shopping cart is a must for any successful eCommerce site. Most sites, particularly those for small and medium-sized businesses, rely on external services to host their shopping carts – the software is simply too complex and the program needs too many for every business to create their own cart from scratch. As the saying goes, there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
There are many different services available, each offering several different plans to choose from. Here are some features to consider when determining whether or not this service is right for your business.
Member Login – These days, customers expect some sort of member system where they can log in, store billing information, and track orders. Customers especially appreciate not having to enter their address and credit card information every time, and being able to track their orders helps customers feel more secure. Your shopping cart should also offer a password recovery system, so a customer doesn’t have to open a new account if they forget their password.
Multiple payment options – Not all customers will want to pay the same way, so your service should make sure you offer multiple payment options. For example, you need to make sure that the system can handle all major credit cards: at least Visa and MasterCard, but you should also consider shopping carts that can also process American Express and Discover. Also, don’t forget about online payment systems like PayPal. Many customers like being able to pay without giving out their bank or credit card information.
If your product requires customers to pay in installments, for example, monthly or yearly membership renewals, you should look for software that can be configured to handle recurring billing automatically.
Tax and Shipping Calculation – In order to tell your customer the total cost and provide payment in real time, your system will need to be able to accurately calculate the appropriate taxes, as well as shipping and handling charges. A good shopping cart program will allow you to enter several different tax options, depending on the customer’s billing address. Also, your service should be able to calculate shipping charges for the total order, based on dollar amount or actual weight.
Discounts, Coupons, and Gift Certificates: Coupons and discounts are great ways to increase sales, so you’ll want to make sure your eCommerce store software can handle these things. Gift certificates and gift cards can also boost business, so make sure yours has a way to let customers redeem them.
Newsletter Signup – When customers sign up, they give you their personal information. You’ll want to put that information to good use. One way is to allow customers to opt-in to receive newsletters and other mailings. Your site must provide a space for customers to indicate whether they want to receive your emails; the most successful approach is to have the box already checked to opt out of them and allow the customer to uncheck the box if they do not want to receive your emails. You can also include a subscription management page, where customers can change their personal information and/or mailing preferences as needed.
Other Options: Depending on the nature of your business, there are a number of other features to consider when purchasing eCommerce software. For example, if you sell clothing or items that come in different colors and styles, you’ll want to give customers a way to choose which one they want. Gift wrapping is another feature that many customers appreciate: in this case, the online shopping cart allows the customer to check a box indicating that the item is a gift and should be wrapped for an additional fee.
Digital delivery: Digital products, such as e-books, music, and other computer files, are more often sold online. However, when a customer buys an eBook or song from you, the last thing they want is to have to wait for you to wake up or get home and send them the file. Instead, you should look for software that also provides digital delivery, either through automatically generated emails or an account page that allows customers to immediately download items they’ve purchased.
Tech Support: All of these things are nice to have, but perhaps the most important feature is the one that serves you, rather than the customer. This service is technical support. Especially when you first install the software, you may encounter errors or issues that you need technical advice to resolve. Never try to install a program yourself without having that support number there as a backup. Even once you’ve got your shopping cart up and running, having technical support available is always a good thing – if your system fails for any reason, you’ll want to fix it as quickly as possible to minimize the number of customers you need. lose due to an unresponsive system.
Purchasing an online shopping cart is a big decision and should not be taken lightly by any means. Don’t forget that you’re choosing a service that can make or break your business, so you don’t want one that will frustrate or irritate your customers.