You finally have your Inbound Marketing program cooking. Web traffic is up and your CTAs (Calls to Action) are driving visitors through the sales funnel. But, wait; Your shopping cart is killing you!
For an ecommerce business, your shopping cart system is as important to your website as your engine to your car. Consider all the times you have used a shopping cart system to make purchases online. On one hand, the best ones are those which are seamless, secure, and navigable. On the other hand, the worst ones are broken, insecure, and confusing.
A lot of our projects involve working with businesses that rely on ecommerce to survive. They simply cannot afford to use a shopping cart system that lead to abandonment rates like we are seeing on the Web today. I'm often asked questions like 'what platform should I be using?' or 'What platforms are most professional?' There are a lot of options out there, but only a few truly fit the bill.
Several studies have been conducted that have looked into shopping carts and ecommerce platforms. Amazingly, the studies all point to the same trend: 67% of shopping carts on the Web are abandoned. There is a myriad of reasons for this. Most have to do with the integrity and professionalism of the shopping cart. Bottom line is, if you don't have a professional check out process, the visitor doesn't have the trust to buy your products.
As an agency that specializes in open-source web development, we often recommend the use of Magento's ecommerce software. Magento is an open-source ecommerce platform that is used by over 125,000 businesses around the world. Check out the graph below which gauges the ecommerce software used on the top 1 million sites. Magento owns a 23% market share (according to Alexa) for handling their ecommerce checkout and shopping cart needs.
We just finished a project for a company that conducts all of its business on the web through the use of ecommerce software. Kenmore Stamp Company sells stamps of all kinds to collectors from around the world. One of the biggest concerns for them was integrating a system that would be reliable, PCI (payment card industry) compliant, and modern. Our development team leveraged Magento for this project because of its ease of use and provided a professional checkout experience. Additionally, the client made note that their product line would be growing, so the shopping cart must be able to accommodate expansion. Magento was the only software that could efficiently, securely, and professionally handle these requirements. Another great feature of Magento is that even though their open- source edition is free, they offer Enterprise editions used by companies like Nike, The North Face and Office Max.
When selecting the best ecommerce shopping cart system for your site, the most important consideration is the professional experience you will provide your shoppers. Magento is a great product that is very versatile in its capabilities. Just remember, you do not want to be part of the 67% of shopping carts that are abandoned. If you have any questions about shopping cart systems or ecommerce solutions, feel free to contact the CommonPlaces team.