Learn More - A Primer on Shopping Cart Technology

While the focus of this text is on incorporating web-based and Internet technologies into your management, some technical details are needed to help you make a good decision. When it comes to shopping cart technologies, it can get pretty complicated pretty quickly. If you choose to implement a shopping cart technology, you have two basic options; you can use a third party to host your site or you can host your own. Here, we'll talk you through some of the key aspects of each choice. We rely heavily on “Constructing Usable Shopping Carts” by Evans, Kerr, and Stephens.

There are three primary advantages to using someone else's software to launch your shopping cart service. First, you can do it with little knowledge about web programming languages. Typically, you'll select from a relatively small set of pre-defined options. Second, going with someone else means that you won't have to upgrade your server software or hardware. This is an obvious cost saving. Finally, you can usually launch your shopping cart quickly because someone else has taken care of all of the startup issues, including troubleshooting.

Along with these advantages, you should keep in mind three disadvantages. First, third-party systems will inevitably be less flexible than one you could build from scratch. From how you present yourself to how you manage inventory and sales, you need to be sure that your selected option matches your business model. Second, security is an issue. Third party software which may be used by many is a more likely target for hackers. Once they crack the code, so to speak, they have the key to lots of websites containing lots of information such as credit card or other personal identity information of your clients. Finally, third-party assistance comes at an expense. The actual cost of the software runs the gamut from free to very expensive. We suggest that you talk to an expert about your needs to decide which, if any, third party solution is right for you.

The best part of developing your own shopping cart solution is that you control everything. If this scares you then a third party approach may be the best choice for you. But if you want full control, then you have to build it yourself. While the technicalities are way beyond the scope of this text, there are four things that you need to think about as you proceed.

You must understand and be able to develop web-based database applications. You'll need to store, organize, and retrieve data (for example, product, description, sizes, price…) from these databases.
You will have to display your products in your on-line store. You'll also have to allow the buyer to view their shopping cart at any time and make changes as needed.
You'll have to provide a detailed, logical checkout process for the user. Within that, you'll need to integrate a system of accepting payments on-line.
You MUST be sure that your shopping cart is secure. People must be able to safely use your technology to purchase your goods and services.

Providing a shopping cart is an important step in implementing an e-commerce strategy. With some careful thought and consideration, you'll be able to select the option that is best for your business.