A shopping cart is the backbone of any eCommerce website. They streamline the buying process and allow customers to select, hold, and purchase products or services.
Shopping carts come with a lot of benefits, including simplification of the payment process, the ability to save and revisit purchases, later on, easier access to shipping information, and inventories that don’t need to be tracked by hand.
Not all shopping cart software is equal, however. If you’re searching for shopping cart software for your business, then you need to find the right one. This article will tell you exactly how you can do that:
What Is Shopping Cart Software?
Shopping cart software is the software business owners use to enable their customers to make purchases on their websites. Shopping cart software also makes managing inventory, calculating taxes, and adding or removing products easier. Shopping cart software also allows customers to add discount codes, promotional codes, or loyalty codes to receive discounts at checkout. It also allows customers to pay by different methods (e.g., Klarna, PayPal, or Visa).
Shopping cart software is an investment into the future of your business. It will simplify complex processes and allow you to run an entire eCommerce operation without any previous tech experience.
What Does Your Business Need?
As this article has already shown, shopping cart software has a lot of features. Not all software has the same features, however. You need to create a comprehensive list detailing all of the features that your business needs, then use that list to find the perfect software. This will help you to keep your website organized and effective. When you’re selecting your website’s shopping cart software, consider potential business growth. Don’t start with a platform that’s too large to handle but conversely don’t start with a platform that’s too small for you to grow.
Browse Other Websites
When you’re figuring out which features you want, you’ll probably want to browse other websites and study the features that they have. It’s usually best to visit your competitions’ websites. You should also check out other websites that have five-star ratings on Google Review and Trust Pilot. Try to find websites that receive good reviews because of their website’s interface and shopping cart software. There’s no shame in copying another website’s shopping cart design. If it’s effective, then it’s worth borrowing.
Evaluating Platform Features
When you’ve created a list detailing all of the features that you need, you’ll need to start evaluating individual platforms’ features. One of the most popular shopping cart software platforms is SamCart. There are a few SamCart alternatives worth checking out, however, don’t buy into the biggest brand just because it’s the biggest brand. You need to find software that offers you the features you want. Armed with your list, you’ll be able to effectively scour the internet to find the perfect software for your business. Don’t compromise on any of the features that you want. If a platform doesn’t have them, find another one.
Product Limitations
Some shopping cart software limits the number of products that you can sell or puts a cap on the amount of storage space that you can use. If you’re a big business that sells a lot of products online, then this is no good. Most shopping cart software platforms will tell you what their limitations are (if there are any). For a small business, limitations are fine. Platforms with limitations are often cheaper. You do need to consider growth as we mentioned earlier, however. If your customers are unable to make purchases because of software limitations, they may become irritated and want to shop elsewhere.
Store Navigation
If you want your customers to enjoy shopping with you, then you need to make sure that your storage is easily navigable. The same goes for your shopping cart software. If your shopping cart software is confusing and hard to use, then your customers will probably find another website that stocks similar products to yours. Make sure that the shopping cart software you use is simple, easy to use, and isn’t confusing.
Customer Support
When you’re running an online business, problems can (and regularly do) occur. You need to make sure that you find shopping cart software that has quality customer and technical support. Any problems that arise will need to be addressed immediately. You should research the shopping cart platform’s office hours and make sure that they match your own. You can often tell how good a platform’s tech support and customer services are by reading their reviews. If you find any disgruntled former customers bashing the platform’s tech support, then it might be a good idea to look elsewhere. Poor tech support can negatively impact your business and push your customers away.
How Much Does It Cost?
If you’re a small business, there’s not much benefit to be had in investing in extremely expensive shopping cart software. You need to find affordable software. You might be able to find software that you pay for on a subscription basis. This could be a good idea, especially if your business is new. This will save you from having to make a one-off payment and allows you to cancel if you decide to close your business. If you’re a larger business, then there’s definitely a benefit to be had in investing inexpensive, quality shopping cart software.
Satisfied Customers
As we mentioned previously, you must read reviews from previous customers. This is so you can gauge customer satisfaction. Reading and researching about a shopping cart software platform is very important. If you get stuck with the wrong platform, it can negatively impact your business. If you can, reach out to other business owners on internet forums like Reddit and ask for their opinions. They might be able to recommend a better alternative to the platform that you’re considering using. Make sure that you do your research and don’t commit yourself until you’re confident a platform’s worth your time.
It isn’t easy choosing shopping cart software. With this article, you’ll be able to select the right software more effectively. Make sure you do your research and know exactly what features you need. Good luck.