Ecommerce has offered a very fertile business platform for small and medium sized businesses – an online store that never sleeps. As the online marketplace attains a greater maturity with each passing day, the roles of shoppers have reversed – They are now in the driver’s seat as far as the shopping experience is concerned. Online shopping carts have a major role to play in the success of the digital economy. But, with so many variations of shopping cart at disposal, even a seasoned etailer finds it puzzling to make the right decision.

Optimizing the shopping cart – The ground work…
A good shopping cart becomes great if the right groundwork has been done…

• A merchant account is activated
• Incorporate both a ‘mini’ shopping cart as a ‘full’ shopping cart
• Large buttons are always good and so is the ‘help tips’ along the way
• Keep it simple – Simple background, Strong border and consistent font
• Don’t forget the progress bar – keeps the shopping experience alive

Minimizing the shopping cart abandonment
Incomplete transactions have plagued even the most seasoned ecommerce operators. On an average, more than 70% of the transactions fail to reach the ‘submit’ button. Customer surveys have managed to pinpoint some of the most visible reasons for the abandonment – High shipping prices, Lengthy check-out process, Registration required for check-out, Lack of trust in the site, Complexity in the check-out process.

Anti-abandonment steps…

• Keep the checkout process to within 4 or less steps
• Give a sense of security – By displaying SSL, security and Trust badges, privacy policies & video testimonials
• Do not show mass errors – but display them as the form is filled

The rules of a good Landing page apply to the shopping cart as well.