Shopping Cart Software

The next step of shopping cart evolution is likely to take the form of improved integration with other back-end services. Shopping carts have become standard equipment for online vendors. But software developers -- particularly those that make some of the larger off-the-shelf shopping cart software packages -- are upping the ante by integrating additional features into their products.

For example, as companies become more sophisticated about selling online, developers are expanding shopping cart functions to interface not only with elaborate transaction-processing systems, but also with product inventory databases, shipping management utilities, marketing recommendation engines and a host of other systems that are crucial to doing business online.

In terms of sheer quality of the shopping experience and integration with other company departments, experts agree that Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has long been the company to emulate. The company's shopping cart is a big part of its success. However, Amazon built its shopping cart system in-house, and, for the most part, that system is still not available to other companies

Recently, Amazon has begun moving beyond retailing. The company is aiming to make inroads as a service provider, helping paid clients set up their own commerce systems. For the most part, however, companies are buying shopping carts as part of larger commerce packages.

According to experts, the offerings that stand out include carts that come already integrated with other Web development software, such as transaction-processing and inventory management applications. IBM's (NYSE: IBM) WebSphere , for example, integrates Web design capabilities with a complete shopping cart system.

Analysts have also cited off-the-shelf components that can be custom-configured and connected to other business functions as needed. Makers of these applications include BroadVision (Nasdaq: BVSN) and Blue Martini.

Another excellent choice may be Microsoft's Commerce Server 2002. It even provides a powerful set of capabilities for non-transaction-based sites including user profiling, content targeting, multi-language, and advanced business analytics.

Commerce Server 2002 is a great choice for an online store and has features for transaction-based sites with capabilities for catalog management, order processing, and merchandising. Organizations can leverage all or some of the Commerce Server 2002 features depending on their site's needs.

For assistance in selecting the most appropriate shopping cart software contact us.