Tony McGrath
01 February 2011
The online shopping experience is complex, with many different moving parts combining to create an experience that is intuitive, easy and quick for the consumer. All of these different cogs and wheels in the ecommerce system are referred to collectively as the online shopping cart, and it is one of the most important parts of any successful ecommerce portal.
In a recent blog post, Paul Rouke of Econsultancy explains some of the best practices that etailers can take to make sure their online shopping carts are as simple to use and aesthetically pleasing as possible.
"Retailers should look at answering as many customer questions as possible before they enter the checkout process, paving the way for a simple checkout that is a formality for most visitors," he explains.
One website that Rouke cites as an example of shopping cart best practices is ASOS, a fashion and accessories retailer. ASOS' online shopping cart is designed to provide customers with all of the information they need to make the right purchase, including data about which items are in stock, how long items can be reserved in the shopping cart, how much the items will cost, what the consumer can expect to pay for shipping and other vital facts.
ASOS sells more than 850 brands, so if they can do it, the task of simplifying the online shopping cart should be a piece of cake for smaller etailers who are just starting out.
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