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Good books to get me started!
Can anyone recommend any good books that I can read to help me get started with an internet based business? Any help is appreciated!
PayFlow Pro
I am taking the step to open an online store (built with osCommerce) and am coming across some stumbling blocks.
Ecommerce Startup
I have a feeling that these are topics that many people need information on, but I cannot locate specifics that talk to these subjects.
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11.10.04
Seven Shopping Cart Enhancements To Increase Your Sales
 By Kevin Gold
For online businesses with their main goal of selling products, shopping cart abandonment can mean the difference between profitability and loss. But since recent surveys suggest that less than 50% of retailers know their shopping cart abandonment rate, let's review what it is and why it is important to know.
What is "shopping cart abandonment"?
Basically, shopping cart abandonment is when a visitor initiates your checkout process but leaves before completing their purchase.
Why is it important to know?
Industry publications report a 70% average shopping cart abandonment rate for the majority of retailers. Since, on average, websites convert visitors-to-sales at a rate of 1% to 2% then 98% to 99% of the visitors to your website leave without purchasing!
These percentages identify an enormous improvement opportunity for online businesses.
 A Traditional Retail Example of Shopping Cart Abandonment.
Let me illustrate shopping cart abandonment using a traditional department store.
Imagine walking into your local department store to pick up a gift for a friend's wedding.
You find the three items you want but together the price exceeds your budget so you drop one of them and head with just two to the checkout counter.
When you get close to the checkout counter, you grow frustrated with the long lines ahead. After a ten minute wait in line, the cashier asks you to complete a membership form before they will compete your purchase.
The membership form requires your driver's license information so you pull out your wallet while people behind you start huffing impatiently.
As you register, you mind lingers about whether two items is just too much for your friend's wedding gift. "I mean they only gave us one item for our wedding" you think. So you ask the cashier to remove one of the items.
While ringing up your one item, the credit card reader fails. After the fourth swap by the cashier, you panic wandering if your card has just been charged four times.
At this point you give up and leave the store empty handed. While storming out you wander if the department store up the street will make your purchase any easier.
Know These Top Reasons for Shopping Cart Abandonment
This example is filled with some of the top reasons why visitors to your website may abandon their shopping carts. A recent study by Vividence Corporation, a Customer Experience Management company, reported the most significant reasons for Internet shopping cart abandonment are:
High shipping prices or long delivery times
Comparison shopping and browsing
Changed Mind
Total cost of items is too high
Checkout process is too long
Checkout requires too much personal information
Site requires registration before purchase
Site is unstable or unreliable
Checkout process is confusing
Read the Rest of the Article.
About the Author:
Kevin Gold is an owner and principal of Enhanced Concepts, Inc., a traffic generation and website conversion firm that specializes in achieving positive financial results for its client’s web initiatives. Kevin is the author of FroogleMaximizer™, the first, comprehensive Quick Start Guide to maximizing Froogle™. Start maximizing today by visiting www.frooglemaximizer.com. |
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 About eCommNewz
The eCommNewz team of experts in the United States and around the world delivers news and advice that keep entrepreneurs on the cutting edge of internet commerce. eCommerce is easy to get into but not easy to find success. eCommNewz knows that with eCommerce, The Secret Is In The Details.
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