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Topic 1: shopping cart - discuss how a shopping cart works and different types - hosted on another server or part of their web site
Words: 512
The technology behind online shopping carts have gone through several evolutions and are currently at a point that it is very hard for an online merchant to live without one. An online shopping cart allows a customer to select items in the online store and place them in their virtual shopping cart. This allows customers to track which items are in the online shopping cart, and their respective quantities, in real time. An online shopping cart can allow customers to see their running total, and even add shipping and taxes.
Shopping carts give the customers a very easy way to keep track of what they want, and what their current total is. These virtual shopping carts are even better than real shopping carts because they are more flexible and do all of the math for you. Shopping carts help merchants as well. A shopping cart can allow a merchant to process payments automatically, dispatch order confirmation Emails automatically, and keep track of inventory and quantities automatically. Just as an online shopping cart does the work for a customer, it does a lot of the work for the merchant as well.
Online shopping carts are so common today that websites without them often look unprofessional and can drive away potential customers. For the merchant, an online shopping cart can even provide data collecting and market research. For example, a shopping cart can tell you how many abandoned sales were attempted, and also track how much traffic you get and which websites the traffic comes from. If you are getting a lot of abandoned sales you can make changes to help customers commit, and you can track what positive or negative effects your changes make of the rate of abandoned sales.
A shopping cart can also help make customers want to come back. Customers like a secure, easy, and worry-free shopping experience, and online shopping can make some people nervous. A professional online shopping cart and order confirmation Emails can help put the buyer at ease and let them know that their order is being processed. A lot of buyers think "Now they have my money, but will they really process my order?" Even if they eventually get their order in the mail, by making the wait time more bearable and worry-free you will make their experience with your online store more pleasurable.
You can host a shopping cart on your own site, or have it hosted by a third party. By hosting a shopping cart yourself you are able to control the features and elements better. This allows your shopping cart to be better tailored to your products. Having a shopping cart hosted on another server offers you less flexibility, but shortens your set up time and is generally easier for merchants that are busy or not very good with online set ups. Whichever method you choose, a shopping cart is almost a requirement for any online merchant.
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Topic 2: shopping cart software discuss the pros and cons of a shopping cart as part of their web site
Words: 507
Online shopping carts are so common and advanced today that few online merchants would want to be without them, and few customers would use an online store that doesn't have one. However, they are some cases where a merchant does not want to use an online shopping cart. Those cases are fairly rare and most merchants find online shopping carts to be indispensable.
An online shopping cart allows the customer to keep track of the items on their current order, place a single order for all of their wanted items, keep track of their running order total, and even figure in shipping costs and taxes. Some online shopping cart software even allows fairly specific options such as allowing the customer to select a product color or decide on other variables that are specific to the product. Online shopping carts give customers a sense of control and make the online merchant look more professional and trust worthy.
Online shopping carts help merchants as well. An online shopping cart can help the merchant track marketing data, such as how often someone places an item into the shopping cart but removes it before placing the order. A merchant can also track how many people place items into the shopping cart but never place an actual order. The online shopping cart software can also do some of the merchant's jobs for him or her, such as keeping track of inventory and sending out order confirmation Emails. Instead of the merchant having to keep track of how much inventory is selling and how much is left, the online shopping cart can do it automatically. The online shopping cart software can also notify the merchant via Email that an order has been placed, to help improve shipping times. And customers usually like getting a confirmation Email right after the order was placed to let them know that everything worked correctly and their order is on the way to their home.
However, the nature of some merchants makes a shopping cart less feasible. For example, some merchants produce highly customized products that vary a lot from order to order. An online shopping cart would not be appropriate for custom orders with a huge range of options and possibilities. So, a merchant that makes custom guitars may not want to use a shopping cart with a huge list of options. Instead, that merchant may request that the custom Emails him or her so that they can talk about various options, how long the order will take to complete, and which materials are feasible or not feasible. Many high end custom materials vary in price from week to week based on availability, so an online shopping cart could not offer accurate pricing.
Online shopping carts are not the best solution for merchants that produce highly customized products, but for most merchants that sell stock items it is generally the most flexible and automated option. Many customers quite frankly expect to use an online shopping cart and might turn elsewhere if the website does not have one.
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Topic 3: Hosted shopping cart - discuss the pros and cons of a shopping cart that's hosted somewhere else. Use ecompal.com as an example.
Words: 461
When setting up your online store you almost always should add an online shopping cart. The main question then becomes whether to host it on your own server, or have it be hosted on another server. There are advantages and disadvantages to each option and which you choose depends on many factors.
Using your own shopping cart gives you more flexibility whether you create the shopping cart yourself and use third party software and host it on your server. Using your own shopping cart allows you to make more specific changes and create features that directly support your products. For example, if you sell craft jewelry and have certain products that give customers the option between a ruby and an emerald, your custom shopping cart can allow customers to select which they prefer. This can offer more options in one item rather than having to list the options as multiple items.
Having the online shopping cart on your own server also allows you to have easier access to the shopping cart and its code. You can alter your shopping cart from the same place you alter your webpage and online store rather than having to go to another website or server to make changes to your online shopping cart.
A shopping cart created for your own page and hosted on your own server also allows you to use a totally unique, custom look. Readymade shopping carts hosted on the developer's server are usually more limited in visual options and make your online shopping cart look less unique.
However, the good third party online hopping cart servers and software, such as ecompal.com, have their own advantages. Websites like ecompal.com allow you to set up your online shopping cart in far less time because ecompal.com does much of the work for you. You simply select the options you want and you are ready. Websites like ecompal.com also allow you to use a very professional shopping cart without needing to know any computer coding or having any experience with code.
Having your online shopping cart on another server allows you to have more free space on your own server. This can be a major advantage for online merchants that use a lot of pictures, videos, or sound on their webpage as space can be at a premium.
So whether a shopping cart on your own server, or another server, is best for you depends on the nature of your online business, products, amount of free server space, amount of free time, and level of coding expertise. Keep in mind that many of the online shopping cart services such as ecompal.com also have a lot of customization features, so they may be able to give you all of the options and uniqueness that you need.
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Topic 4: ecommerce shopping cart - discuss ecommerce extensions to a shopping cart, like sequential auto responders, ad tracking and split testing, and customer management (like reorders and tracking customer information)
Words: 541
Some online shopping carts are very simple and easy for the online merchant to use. The advantage of these simple shopping carts is that they are easy to set up and easy for online merchants to control and use without needing a lot of experience with online programs or coding. However, online shopping cart software has been constantly improving for years and now offer a lot of great features and options that can help a merchant generate more sales and more profit.
One of the great features that many new online shopping carts have is to automatically send order confirmation Emails. Online shopping can be a bit scary to some people and it is reassuring to get an Email that lets them know that their order was received without problem and that their order is on the way. It is also very nice to get an Email thanking the customer for their business. These order confirmation Emails can help generate return customers which gives you a consistent customer base.
Many customers also like to have their less sensitive information saved so that they do not have to enter it each time they place an order with you. And modern online shopping carts can do that as well. Whenever a customer returns to your online store they simply have to sign in and when they place their order, all of their less sensitive information is already entered. Sensitive information such as credit card numbers should usually not be saved because of the security risk. Some online shopping carts also track customer preferences and can inform them about related products. For example, if you sell CDs you can set up your online shopping cart to inform buyers of a Beethoven CD about other classical music CDs that you offer. This is a great way to generate larger sales from existing customers. Online shopping carts can even generate market research for you. You can keep track of the amount of abandoned sales, make changes to your store or shopping cart, and then see if the changes you made improved your rate of abandoned sales or not. You can also track the geographical locations of your customers to see trends and capitalize on them.
One of the worst parts about being a merchant is keeping track of inventory, but online shopping carts can do that too. Each time an order is place the online shopping cart can automatically update your inventory and even communicate the inventory to customers so that they know how many items you have left of each product. Split testing is the process of using two separate web pages that have the same content to see which one does better with customers. Online shopping carts allow you to track the sales generate by each of the pages being split tested to see which one generates the most sales and even see if the two pages have their own advantages and disadvantages for generating different kinds of sales. Online shopping cart technology has come a long way and gives online merchants so many features and so much relevant data that if you use a simpler or dated online shopping cart you will miss out on sales. That is the plain and simple truth.
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Topic 5: online shopping cart - what's an online shopping cart and how does it benefit the person using it.
Words: 480
An online shopping cart is a piece of software, or a simple script, that allows customers to place items into their virtual shopping cart or basket and keep track of them and the running total. As the customer is browsing the online store he or she may come across items that they want. They then simply press a button that says something along the lines of "add to shopping cart" and that item is placed in their virtual shopping cart. They can add as many items to their online shopping cart as they wish, and can even adjust the quantity of each item.
One of the best parts about an online shopping cart is that it allows the customer to keep track of their running total as they shop. Many online shopping carts even add the estimated shipping cost, or actual shipping cost, and taxes. This allows customers to alter their order as they go along and have it perfectly fit the total price they want to pay. Many people wish real life shopping carts did the math for them and even included tax so that they didn't have to keep doing math as they shop.
Online shopping carts can even save a customers shipping information so that they do not have to enter it each time they shop. This is a great time saver and can help a customer feel like they want to return to that merchant time and time again. Online shopping carts can also track a customer's purchases and make suggestions based on their preferences. This can help notify a customer of items they may be interested in but otherwise would have missed.
An online shopping cart can be set up to track inventory which can save a customer a lot of frustration. For example, if there is only two more of an item in stock and the customer wants to order three of them, they will be informed that there is not enough of the item in stock when trying to place the items in their online shopping cart. This is preferable to placing an order for three of the item and then being notified later and disappointed that only two are in stock.
Online shopping carts can also generate automatic Emails than thank the customers for their business and confirm that their order has been placed. This helps make customers feel appreciated and puts them at ease by letting them know that their order has been officially placed and wasn't lost due to lag or a server hiccup.
Online shopping carts do so many things to make the shopping process easier and smoother for customers that many customers will not buy from an online merchant that does not use a high quality online shopping cart. Do not miss out of sales by failing to use a proper online shopping cart to aid your customers.
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