Shopping Cart Advanced Features
Advanced features is what sets apart the basic, simple shopping carts from those that offer merchants the chance to gather information from customers that can be used in marketing decisions, or allow merchants to gather and keep track of customer’s names and addresses to a shopping cart that has the ability to email the customer a purchase confirmation or notify past customers of a sale that is happening on the site. Advanced features can also help the customer to make buying decisions such as recommending product selection based on buyer preferences based on past order history.
A customer may be able to look at their past order history, check the status of recent orders or track a package that is in transit to them. Cookies on the shopping cart can identify a customer as a past customer and provide data on that customer that will enhance and improve the present shopping experience of that customer.
Advanced features may vary from one shopping cart to the next but some common advanced features include: Order management, which is the ability to view new orders, or to view past orders, to print invoices and packing slips for each order. Product Management, which is the ability to add and edit products quickly or to view statistics in the product database. Web Page Management, which is the creation and updating of the entire Website. Advanced shipping would include custom shipping methods or the ability to utilize real-time shipping calculation from major carriers such as USPS, UPS and FedEx.
Tracking of Inventory, which would include managing and updating items for sale, and pricing of items. Featured Items in which select items appear on a special section of the home page or all pages in areas that would be eye-catching to site viewers. Sales Reports that might include a printout of all sales in a given time period, and the ability to view and compare weekly, monthly or yearly sales comparisons, sales trends, and to evaluate these trends. Order Status is the ability to update the order and the shipping status available to the customer in the customer login area.
Multiple Currencies and exchange rates for all product categories. Customer Management, which would include the ability to find, updates, and view archived information on all customers. Email list management is the ability to email a customer after a purchase to confirm the purchase and to thank them for their business, or to email out notices of an impending sale or special discount, or to announce new products.
Ad tracking ability that can track all click-through advertising and resulting sales. Affiliate Manager to allow the Website owner to run an effective affiliate program to promote the site Wholesale Manager, which would allow the site owner to offer a wholesale membership option. Other advanced features include volume discounts, customer discounts, minimum purchase, promotional codes, coupons, and gift certificates, digital download manager, Bill Me Later capabilities, Traffic and Hit Counter, Ticket manager to care for problems with orders, a Will Call capability and an online manual and documentation to help get the shopping cart up and running.