Published on September 03, 2012 What is your shopping cart purchase criteria?
When doing anything in business, you should always plan before you do. Even if it’s a plan on the back of an napkin, without any kind of plan you are susceptible to being stung. This is especially true online, where things move quickly and you can easily make a big mistake without realising it unless you are prepared for the possibilities.
When it comes to selecting a shopping cart provider, the same is true – even if you already have a shopping cart provider or auction site and are looking to switch. If you don’t have a criteria to evaluate something how do you know if it’s right for you?
Things you should consider include the actual cart features, but also the things outside the cart itself – like how the cart fits with your approach to marketing and philosophy to service.
Here are a few things you might want to consider when choosing a provider:
- Convenience
for customers: is it easy to find products? is it easy to add them to the cart? is it easy to check out (do you have to sign up and answer 100 questions just to buy something)? can customers read your policies and work out the postage cost before they check out? can customers read reviews and ratings of products from past customers? can they buy gift vouchers if they can’t find what they want?
for you: is the cart easy to manage? - Compatibility for Australia
for customers: will they see the full price they have to pay (including a GST breakout) or will they have to work out GST themselves? how will the site look in their particular browser (like an Android)? are spellings of things in Australia? Does the site know about Australian states and postcodes?
for you: can you use the Australian payment and shipping methods that will help you make the most from your business? - Costs
for customers: are they getting hit with postage or payment surcharges for receiving the products that they buy from you?
for you: are you having to pay transaction fees when you make sales (the “success tax”)? - Customisable
for both of you: do you want to see a site that is different and stands out? or one that has the same generic design and colours as 500 other sites? site design must be intuitive and flexible if it will appeal to a wide spectrum of customers and encourage them to buy.
Also don’t forget security, ensuring your design uniquely reflects your business personality and you have the tools you need to market your site to the world.
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