December 28, 2009
By the ZippyCart Shopping Carts Content Team
There are a lot of websites that provide guides on college and higher education, but not many utilize an ecommerce shop for visitors. Going to college requires much more than just attending class and passing tests. You need to buy textbooks, office supplies, and often a laptop computer if you do not already have one. Allowing a prospective student to browse through the supplies they might need for college, in addition to information about colleges, degrees, tuition, and salaries can create a valuable resource for prospective students. Having this all in one experience gives visitors the ability to learn all they need to decide if they can afford college now and if the job they want will pay well enough when they graduate. Once a prospective student has all of the costs and information they need about college, they will feel better prepared to take the next step to enroll.
A great example we found of an education resource site that also provides visitors with a student store experience is www.MyCaliforniaDegree.com. This California college directory has a great search so you can look for college textbooks or anything specific you may need to complete your education. They also have a good selection of computers, computer accessories, and office supplies so you can determine all that you need to attend class. One other product niche which they showcase are ereaders, as the battle is heating to determine if more college textbooks will be available on an ereader like the Amazon Kindle. On top of all of that they also provide prospective students with a selection of media players and mp3′s so you can get all the music you need to listen to when you are studying or writing those big college papers. Overall a student store like this is a great way for sites to add an ecommerce element to their site without it taking away from their focus of educating prospective students about college.
Scott is an avid fan of all things ecommerce. His claim to fame is that he "puts the Zip in ZippyCart." He considers himself the world-wide number one reader of TechCrunch, C|Net, and The Ecommerce Times. Scott has worked in the SEO industry for many years, but found himself always shifting his focus to review sites and ecommerce blogs. When we decided to start the ZippyCart Ecommerce news, Scott was an obvious fit. He handles most of our OpEds as he is a very opinionated guy. Scott is also our Twitter guy, so don't hesitate to send him a tweet if you see him online.
