Jump to first page Shopping carts Implementation and interface by Dylan Tweney

Dylan Tweney Shopping carts: A brief history n In use on the Web since at least 1994 n Simplify purchasing process, enabling multi-product orders n Widely adopted by 1996 n Now: virtually required component of e-commerce sites n Beginnings of de facto interface standards

Dylan Tweney Anatomy of a cart checkout path Product list availability quantity Price Continue shopping “remove” button Check out shipping cost preview

Dylan Tweney Key shopping cart functions n Provide checkout path n Confirm list of items to purchase n Provide information about availability n Select quantity to purchase n Price confirmation / totaling n Enter / confirm mailing and billing information n Make additional purchases easy

Dylan Tweney Why call it a “cart?” n I don’t know.

Dylan Tweney Alternatives? n Not really, unless your site is very small n 800 numbers u effective, except for dialup customers u requires call center support n Fax / order forms u low-tech, simple, but clunky n One-click shopping u Very rapid purchases of single items u Amazon.com patent: Enforceable?

Dylan Tweney Key considerations: Merchant features n Ease of installation n Ease of configuration / maintenance / modification n Tax calculation n Shipping cost calculations n Integration with existing catalog, customer databases

Dylan Tweney Key considerations: User interface n Readability n Completeness of information n Ease of navigation to other parts of sites n Ease of modifying the order n Persistence if “abandoned” n Security / privacy assurance n Compatibility with browsers

Dylan Tweney Tweney’s 3 Laws of Shopping Carts n Simplicity = sales. n No surprises. n Repetition is reassuring.

Dylan Tweney The guiding principle n Your shopping cart is a BRANDING OPPORTUNITY!

Dylan Tweney Shopping cart case studies n Amazon.com n CDNow n Walmart.com n SFGiants.com n Webvan.com

Dylan Tweney Amazon.com

Dylan Tweney CDNow

Dylan Tweney Walmart.com

Dylan Tweney SFGiants.com

Dylan Tweney WebVan: Live Demo click

Dylan Tweney How do I get a cart? n Buy software n Let someone else host your shopping cart n Use e-commerce package solution’s built-in cart n Sign up for free store; integrate into your existing site n Let someone else build everything for you

Dylan Tweney Standalone cart software n MiniVend, (free!) n WebCart, ($650, $399 “lite” version) n SalesCart, for FrontPage ($399) n AbleCommerce, for Cold Fusion ($795-$7,000) n CAUTION: Dansie Shopping Cart,

Dylan Tweney Hosted carts n VirtualCart, ($20- 30/month) n AmeriCart, rt/ ($20-30/month) n DXCart, ($40/month) n iCat Commerce Cart (price dep. On ISP)

Dylan Tweney E-commerce software packages n iCat Web Store (Intel) n InterShop n Open Market / ShopSite n BroadVision n IBM Net.commerce n Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition

Dylan Tweney e-Malls n Amazon.com zShops - with Amazon.com Payments feature ($10/month) n Yahoo Store, ($100- $300/month)

Dylan Tweney Free-commerce providers n Freemerchant.com n Bigstep.com n eCongo

Dylan Tweney All-in-one commerce solutions n Encanto e.Go ($1,495 + $60/mo.) n Vstore (free, hosted, “super- affiliate” program)

Dylan Tweney Managing and benefiting from “data exhaust” n Reporting options will vary depending on software/service used n Track clicks, inquiries, selections -- not just purchases n Abandoned shopping carts: Real or phantom problem?

Dylan Tweney Seller beware n Security: provide it, and make sure buyer knows it’s there n Privacy protection -- what do you do with purchase data? n Data integrity -- “is that ticket to Paris really $3.99?” u It might be, if your site says it is n Product inventory availability u Don’t sell what you don’t have

Dylan Tweney Conclusions n Learn from the best: Order products at Amazon, Cdnow, Webvan; take notes! n Remember: the goal is to make it easy for customers to buy your stuff! n Remember: Shopping cart is BRANDING OPPORTUNITY n Good luck and have fun!