There are many pitfalls and obstacles to becoming a successful online retailer. One of the biggest problems is getting traffic to your site; however, this is no different that having a retail store offline. One of the biggest issues with an eCommerce business is getting people to buy your products after they have arrived at your site. Much of the solution to this issue can be solved with good shopping cart software. The following are four ways that good shopping cart design helps your business succeed.
It makes it easy to browse your catalog
Customers should easily navigate through your catalog and browse as if they were taking a stroll through an offline store. This means displaying large images with easy-to-read descriptions of your products. In addition, a customer should be able to find what they are looking for quickly. This means easily understood categories to click on as well as a search function for your catalog contents. The last thing you want is for a customer to leave your site because they can’t find what they were looking for even though you carry the item in stock.
It has an easy-to-use shopping cart
Adding items to a shopping cart should be easy to do, and not only adding items to the cart, but also removing them. Just like an offline store, customers may decide they don’t want a particular item and want to put it back. Shopping cart software should make it easy for a customer to see the contents of their cart and make changes, including the quantity of items. It should also be easy to continue shopping after you have added or edited the shopping cart.
The checkout process is simple
The order summary should be on a single page, so the customer knows exactly what they are ordering. At this point, they should be able to make changes if they wish. Shipping charges should be plain to see, and if you are offering more than one shipping method, it should be easy to specify for the customer. In addition, entering shipping information should be simple. This, too, should be on a single page. The online form should be straight forward, so it is easily understood.
It makes it easy for customers to pay for their items
Brick and mortar stores in the offline world go to great lengths to make payment easy. Of course, you don’t want to take cash, and you may not want to accept checks either, but there are many ways to take payment on the Internet. The more options a customer has for payment, the more likely they are to buy from you. One reason that customers at websites will abandon their shopping cart is that the payment method they prefer was not offered. There are several payment aggregate services available for eCommerce companies; a good shopping cart program will allow you to offer all of them. This software should also allow you to use a merchant account and integrate it with popular gateways used with these merchant accounts.
Once you have spent the time and effort to find prospective customers for your product and get people to come to your site, the success or failure at getting the sales you desire will often hinge on good shopping card software. Take the time needed to find a good program that has all of the features listed above.