Shopping Cart Design

Perfecting Your Shopping Cart Design

Offering high quality products at competitive prices isn’t enough to draw customers to your online store. To achieve this goal, you also need to understand the shopping habits of online buyers. Following the web usability guidelines you identify, implement your shopping cart design to accommodate your customers’ habits and offer them the best possible buying experience.

Internet shoppers examine products before making a buying decision. Further, they are more likely to shop and compare product prices before buying, verse customers who shop at a physical store. By following those simple guidelines in your shopping cart design, you will help ensure your Internet retail business’s success by focusing on your customers.

First, design your store’s website to permit easy searching and navigation. Assist shoppers to find a desired item by creating web pages that feature smaller numbers of merchandise. Promote painless navigation by posting navigation tools and search features prominently.

Encourage shoppers to return by promoting newly available website features.  Advertise and emphasize new features, site updates, and new product arrivals. Include time relevant special discounts and promotions that will encourage shoppers to visit and return to your ecommerce store. Because Internet shoppers expect online buying to be convenient and painless, design a website shopping cart that delivers quick, efficient order processing whenever a shopper decides he or she is ready to make a purchase.

Select a merchant account that includes credit card transaction processing. Check to see that the account network includes payment access for the three top credit card companies. Additionally, consider offering PayPal or direct banking options for those shoppers who would rather not pay with a credit card. Consider investing in a shopping cart application that will allow shoppers to add or remove items and calculate totals quickly and accurately. Finally, always display security certificates or identity protection guarantees in a prominent location.

Online shoppers often desire to communicate with store owners concerning questions or feedback about shopping experiences. Always try to answer these questions in a timely fashion. Sometimes, your quick response will translate into a sale that otherwise would not have been completed.

To facilitate this goal, post an email launcher on each page used for your online store. Another alternative is to include a “Frequently Asked Questions” site (often referred to as an FAQ). This will help customers quickly locate the answers to popular questions.

Give customers a variety of shipping choices. Allow them to choose the ecommerce shipping vendor and time frame in which they desire to receive the merchandise. Fully list all available ecommerce shipping options as well as the prices for each. Note any discount opportunities prominently, and let the customer check the box beside the ecommerce shipping method he or she desires. These ecommerce features, specials, and discounts should interface easily with your online store’s shopping cart and merchant account software.

Inform customers about ecommerce shipping and tracking updates. This will allow them to monitor the progress of their order from your warehouse to their doorstep. Post links so that customers can easily locate and track their package at the selected ecommerce shipping carrier.

Always remember that discounts are effective. Internet buyers, like shoppers at physical stores, enjoy finding bargains. In fact, they may enjoy it even more because they are accustomed to compare prices at various websites before buying. Consider offering discounts for larger volume purchases.

In addition, you may choose to offer discounts or free shipping for orders of a certain size or larger. If you do so, always post any notices or disclaimers about exceptions to the offer. One other option is to include discounts for repeat shoppers who visit your web store within a set time, such as one week.

Always follow up with visitors to your site. First, always send a customer satisfaction survey after the service or merchandise is ordered. Discover how satisfied the customer was with the sales experience. Consider factors such as customer satisfaction, their overall experience with your virtual store, and the ease of use offered by store. Discover what areas your store excelled, and learn where improvement might be necessary.

Ask the customer’s permission before adding his or her email address to your newsletter or emailing list. Explain that this is solely for the purpose of keeping them informed about your online store. Finally, ask your customer if he or she would like to produce a testimonial about the store. Encourage this by offering a discount on future online orders.

Following these simple ecommerce usability guidelines should ensure that your customers are satisfied and keep coming back time and again.