The Importance of An Ecommerce Shopping Cart

By: Andrius Zabulionis

Since the rapid growth of the internet over the last few years, particularly as a commercial device, the growth of what has come to be known as ecommerce has been cemented by the importance of achieving conversions online. From this, the importance of a good ecommerce shopping cart has become further recognised by businesses both small and large, which has led to an increasing number of competing applications on the market. But what is it that makes an ecommerce shopping facility important to the business model, and what are the benefits of having a ecommerce shopping cart integrated within your website?

The Internet, as much as it is a highly profitable arena for both online and predominantly offline businesses, is also a very competitive domain. There are literally billions of sites out there competing to attract traffic and sales. Traffic gives the potential for earnings online – if no one sees your site, no one can buy. Some sites will do quite well at attracting traffic and will spend heavily on search engine optimisation and advertising, but won't convert the sales meaning they are absolutely worthless. As part of converting sales, it is important to have an ecommerce shopping cart that is both easy to navigate and flexible enough to cater for the needs of your customer. If your site lacks a shopping cart, it's going to be harder to convert your website traffic into sales. By placing any obstacles in the way of your customer, you are reducing the chances of a conversion, hence the importance of including a shopping cart within your site.

The importance of an ecommerce shopping cart may be obvious as far as some websites are concerned, but what about so called 'brochure' sites? Can they benefit from having a shopping cart integrated within their site? Many brochure sites aim for the high-end professional look, and feel that integrating a shopping cart within their site will devalue the branding they've worked so hard to achieve. In fact, this can have quite the opposite effect on your brand, and can provide your customers with a direct route to paying you money. Whether as a deposit or an upfront fee, any company can benefit from having an ecommerce facility integrated within their website. Again, by presenting customers the opportunity to pay, you can increase conversion rates from your traffic. When visitors have to go out of their way to pay, they are less likely to use your service, or to pay you promptly than if payment is made a basic and straightforward process.

Having an ecommerce facility within your website is of critical importance in strengthening conversion rates and making for easy payment. Those without an ecommerce shopping cart will be left in the wake of their competitors in what is already a tough environment, and will find accepting payment from online customers more problematic and expensive. By ensuring your site boasts a sophisticated and user-friendly ecommerce shopping cart, you can remain competitive online whilst promoting quick and effective payment to maintain positive cash flow.