eCommerce Shopping Cart Software
eCommerce shopping cart software provides a way for potential customers to effectively “store” the items they would like to purchase from an eCommerce website. Having the goods stored in a digital cart enables customers to review the entire order they are placing without having to look at individual item listings.
Through account-based or cookie tracking functionality, these solutions enable eCommerce websites to save the shopping carts of customers regardless of whether they leave the site. This means these customers can easily pick up where they left off in a future visit. Furthermore, eCommerce shopping cart software can also provide call-to-action capabilities such as push notifications that a customer has items left in their cart, which helps to enhance purchase conversions.
These solutions can be delivered both as standalone software as well as part of a fully-fledged eCommerce suite that provides hosting and website analytics. As such, especially when opting for a standalone solution, it is crucial to check which payment processors your desired shopping cart software can integrate with.
Ecwid is a powerful shopping cart solution that enables small business merchants to easily and quickly set up a store and start selling. Users have the freedom to operate multiple online stores including on websites, social media channels, and mobile devices.
Ecommerce shopping cart software focuses on simplifying processes and managing orders, payments and customer support. It does this by providing businesses with an eCommerce platform to effectively sell products online. It’s complete with several features to improve the quality of business such as payment options, product reviews, order management and etc.
Businesses need an effective tool to ensure customers visit their websites, purchase products and obtain conversations from it. With eCommerce shopping cart software, customers can view the products they are interested in, add or remove a few ones and virtually check out their carts.
Several shopping cart solutions exist in the current market with some offering free trials. This allows you to choose the best software solution for your business. One such software solution is Ecwid, an eCommerce platform designed to allow businesses with only ten products to use a free version. No transaction fees exist on the plans they offer. However, Ecwid differs from other solutions because it’s not a hosted solution but rather a widget to be placed on other sites.
Some of the most useful features are highlighted in the following:
Shopping cart software isn’t complete without a variety of payment options. These said options include credit, debit and even cash on delivery. Having more than one payment option benefits the majority of your customers who prefer to buy products online via credit cards. This feature also processes credit card transactions with a real-time payment gateway.
Product reviews add credibility to the products you sell. Customers are hesitant to order items if they don’t see credible reviews regarding the pros and cons of the merchandise. It helps them decide if they can use these said products or not. With reviews, customers who’ve purchased the same items can describe how satisfied/dissatisfied they are with the commodities. Promoting a product isn’t feasible for sales if not enough people have bought and reviewed it accordingly.
Wish lists refer to lists on which customers save a specific item for a later date. This gives them the freedom to select items they wish to purchase but are currently unable to due to different circumstances. Ecommerce sites also have registries to assist customers. This is helpful for special occasions such as birthday parties or Christmas.
You can customize how customers view their orders. With the shipping and order management feature, you can create simple and flexible product orders to make it easier for buyers. Managing the shipping and orders shouldn’t only benefit you but also the customers. The interface should be easy to navigate and manage for customers. It should also allow them to clearly see their purchase orders and how much all of it costs.
While products come with extensive descriptions, not all minor details can be included. With online shopping, customers can still have dozens of questions. If these questions are not answered, it usually discourages them from going through with the purchase. Ecommerce websites have customer support systems in place to answer any questions asked by visitors. Nowadays, support tools include live chat features, phone and email support, video tutorials, discussion boards and more.
Free shipping and gift card options attract customers back to your online store. If some of your most loyal customers haven’t purchased anything in a while, it helps to promote special offers. This gives them the incentive to return to your store. Along the way, they may across more items that could strike their interest.
It is critical to ensure website security when it comes to online shopping. Customers become hesitant if they feel like their private information (name, email, address and credit card information) isn’t protected by the site they’re browsing. Businesses make use of software solutions with built-in SSL data encryption to protect their customer’s data.
Another feature to look out for is the site search and browse feature. This lets customers search and browse for items according to product variations such as price, category and brand type. For them, it saves time and effort. It also encourages them to buy more items since products are easier to find.
Benefits-wise, eCommerce shopping cart software is one of the key factors in establishing your brand online. The rise of technology has allowed for merchants and customers alike to engage in shopping in the World Wide Web. Not many people go to physical stores anymore unless they really have to. Once you’ve already set up your own eCommerce website, the next step is making sure people purchase something from it.
The main benefits online stores receive from shopping cart solutions include customer convenience, 24/7 global availability, integrated tools, as well as a growth in sales.
The reason why businesses invest in eCommerce shopping cart software is to benefit the customers. Online stores are useless if customers can’t navigate their way through the site to finish their transactions. To lessen such issues, shopping carts are implemented to ensure less hassle and more convenience. The carts help customers in managing their orders, calculating each cost and taking into consideration any additional fees such as shipping.
Having an online store allows you to be available 24/7 for a wide range of audiences. If you ship internationally, this means different time zones exist for your customers. With shopping cart software, customers can still purchase items from your store.
With eCommerce, integrated tools such as CRM, email marketing tools and accounting programs are vital in keeping your business afloat. CRM focuses on sustaining customer relationships, email marketing attracts potential people to visit your website and accounting programs tracks and stores information about each transaction made. Additionally, the whole point of having an eCommerce store is to increase sales revenue. Physical stores aren’t enough to cater to a large audience. Being able to sell products online generates more income for you.
