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Commerce on the world wide web has always been a study in contradictions. One example: store owners must defend against hackers and other forms of online intrusion, but must also publicize and promote the addresses of their servers. Another: the online store has no brick and mortar storefront, but because of its far reach and low overhead it sells more, and therefore requires far more brick and mortar warehouse space. Finally: if a site looks more like fun than business, it will often actually conduct more business.

Apparently, no matter what your site looks like, it must be obvious to the customers that the site uses an ecommerce solution of nothing but business. That means the site must be serious about protecting its store and its customers. The shopping cart is the first part of the ecommerce solution the customer will notice. The shopping cart can look nice and friendly in an attempt to calm users, but it still must remain serious and professional to insure ecommerce solution.

Some online retailers cut corners here. They shouldn’t. The shopping cart does most of the heavy lifting for your online store software, so order that pink t-shirt in extra large. This piece of the puzzle provides the means for presenting the merchandise, identifying what has been purchased, applying discounts, totaling purchases, and capturing the customer’s payment in a way that protects everyone involved.

We have covered the essential features that a software product must have to qualify as a shopping cart. Some go beyond these and provide additional features like the ability to analyze consumer preferences for certain products or brands. However, the tracking of products from the store to the consumer triggered by the consumer’s click on product pictures posted on the website remains the single most important function of a cart.

From there, the payment information must be transmitted to the payment processor which charges the customer’s card and transfers cash to the online store’s bank account. Again, this must happen securely, to prevent the theft and fraudulent use of customer information. These risks require the constant development and evolution of the software, to stay one step ahead of would-be thieves.

It’s fun designing a site for your online store that’s filled with pink t-shirts and other frivolities. However, you also need to feature suits and ties in the business end of things, such as the accounting and security parts of your business. While dressing your functional aspects, be sure to think about adding a sweater vest, cuff links, a top hat, or a monocle to give your business a solid feel. True, you’ll want your online store to be warm and appealing, but keep in mind that you don’t want to limit its functionality just to make it cute

An online retail site must attract the visitor’s attention in order to be a viable business venture. The ecommerce solution is an important part of site protection both for the vendor and the customer. When items are targeted for purchase, the shopping cart becomes an important part of customer satisfaction. Every part of the online store software you use must be easy to navigate and still provide all the necessary information needed to complete the sale and prompt a return visit for future purchases. Online retailers cut corners here which they should not.

- Samora Jinqua