Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Making shopping baskets effective

The online shopping bag
In the online shopping space, the shopping basketor the shopping cart may be likened to the shopping bag of physical shopping. In ecommerce, it is the virtual bag you carry to the online store. Just as you pick up your shopped items and put them into the bag and have them billed at the counter; the shopping basket is the place in which you place all your selected items. Although modelled on the shopping bag, the shopping basket comes with a few extra features. Unlike the shopping bag which is more a utility item, the shopping basket should also be equipped with a few aspects of its own.
The extra little
If your shopping bag or trolley is the source into which you put your selected items, the shopping basket is the same, except that it has a system of real time billing. In physical shopping, you don’t get to value the bill with every item you shop for, while this happens in the online shopping basket. This is obviously because it runs on software designed for this.
Combination of effectiveness and aesthetics
The shopping basket is one of the most important elements of an ecommerce website.The shopping basket, being what it is, requires a fine combination of utility and looks to enhance the shopping experience. Since the shopping basket is a source of near total information about the product, online shopping websites would need to be made both attractive and effective.
Scope for many features
A good shopping basket could facilitate a number of thoughtful features. One of the primary features of a shopping basket should be to give the shopper the option of making changes into their shopping list. This is one of the main ways by which the basket looks friendly. This feature is where you could decide what to go for and what to discard. The basket should also have all important details of the product, in a way that makes the online shopping easier. When the total value of the purchase is made known with the purchase of each item, it is that much easier for the online shopper to decide on whether to go ahead with the items or not. It can also have details such as the unit price, the tax as applicable, and the shipping rates and so on.
Other utilities
Another important feature it could have is that of available stocks, which will be another important component of decision making by the shopper. The shopping basket should be made accessible from any page of the website, so that viewers are not left searching for it. Also, there should be space for virtual window shopping, as would be done in real shopping. These are a few of the simple, yet effective ways in which the shopping basket can make for a good experience.

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