By Susan Delly
March 8, 2013

One of the things that we love about Shopping Cart software is innovative and fast paced… it’s always improving.  This is especially apparent when you look at the shopping cart solutions on ZippyCart’s top carts of 2013 comparison list.

Here are a few recent upgrades and changes that are worth noting.

1. Fortune3  – after a recent upgrade, the team at Fortune3 was pleased to announce their integration with Endicia, for all of your shipping needs.  It’ll now be easier to print postage and labels online!
2. PinnacleCart – as of March 15, 2013, PinnacleCart.com has decided to focus their efforts on their hosted solution and no longer offer their licensed solution.  They will still be providing the same quality support to their existing licensed stores and right now, they have a killer offer for those who want to get in on their licensed product last minute.  Check them out if you’re interested!
3. AmeriCommerce  - with the latest upgrade, they added new embedding tools, blog widgets, a customer reward system, additional payment options, a new coupon code generator,  a bunch of new apps and 2 new themes.  They’ve been busy over at AmeriCommerce!
4. Ashop – a company on the rise… AshopCommerce is currently taking on some major upgrades.  They have recently put out an amazing new admin design and layout and have disabled some features that were outdated, to make for a smoother, easier navigation.  For more information, check out their ZippyCart review and site.
5. Shopify – version 3.4 of Shopify mobile was recently released and with it comes some stress reducing goodies.  Their new mobile dashboard allows eMerchants to access key orders and products easily, as well as manage batch or multiple orders with one click!

With the whirlwind of changes and improvements, the eMerchant always wins! 

Let’s take a closer look at 3 of the top eCommerce solutions on the market!

By Halyna Yefymchuk
Feb 25, 2013

Hosted shopping carts have rapidly gained popularity on the market because of their reasonable price and ease-of use. The most confusing part of them is… which one to pick?!  Common questions that merchants ask regard the difference in platforms functionality and pricing, as many of the top ranked carts  seem to be pretty much the same. Hosted environment, reasonable monthly pricing, standard set of eCommerce features, free trial periods – this is what you will find in almost all of ZippyCart’s hosted solutions. However, a closer look at the platform will definitely show the difference. To satisfy your interest let’s consider three popular shopping carts and answer all your whys, whats and hows.

Pinnacle Cart

What is Pinnacle?

Pinnacle is a shopping platform developed by Desert Dog Software LLC. It comes with both hosted and licensed versions, which is a huge plus when considering scalability, but for now, we will concentrate on hosted Pinnacle cart.

When did it appear on the market?

The exact date of the appearance of hosted shopping cart cannot be followed, however official sources show that the software developers of Pinnacle cart already had 20 years of experience in the Internet industry when they launches the platform in 2003.

How much does it cost?

The minimal pricing plan costs $30 per month. However, the plan is limited allowing 1GB of traffic and disc space of 100 MB. The amount of products however is unlimited, and all of the basic eCommerce features are included. This minimal plan also requires set up fee in the amount of $49. The benefit of pricing system is that you can change your plan whenever you need that.

Who can use the shopping cart?

Newbies and eCommerce experts both love Pinnacle Cart’s shopping cart as it satisfies the needs of large or small business owners.  It is especially popular with stores looking to upgrade as their store grows but is suitable for startups also, as it is user friendly and makes store launch easy.

Why choose Pinnacle cart for your business?

Pinnacle shopping platform offers a number of beneficial features among which are daily backups, high quality support, total control of storefront design with “Design Mode” toolbar, digital and physical products, guest checkout and advanced SEO tools.  In fact, they offer the one of the most generus  feature sets on the market.  Pinnacle Cart is a complete eCommerce solution that is extremely secure.  They go the extra mile in guaranteeing their online stores have top notch security with their PA-DSS compliance.

Where can I get Pinnacle cart?

Just follow the links on ZippyCart’s comparison carts or review pages!

CoreCommerce

What is Core Commerce?

CoreCommerce is a hosted SaaS currently used to create over 13 000 web stores. The solution is developed by a company CoreCommerce Inc., based in Franklin, TN.

When did it appear on the market?

The shopping cart was created in 2001. First the company launched a licensed platform digiSHOP, and in 2008 it version was adapted to create hosted solution CoreCommerce.

How much does it cost?

The monthly pricing plan starts from $24.99 and includes all the basic platform functionality. It charges no setup and transaction fees, however limits the number of products you can sell to 150. The bandwidth is also limited to 2GB. All pricing plans include Support that claims to be a “legendary one”.

Who can use the shopping cart?

The shopping cart usability and high quality customer service the shopping cart combined with 0ther scalable offerings make this software a great option for start ups and already experienced store owners.

Why choose CoreCommerce?

First of all, CoreCommerce is extremely customer oriented. The company reacts to customer suggestions and provides updates based on them. As a result, new features or improvements are released often. Also the merchant can benefit from vast possibilities of integration. CoreCommerce can be integrated with Google Checkout, Checkout by Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, eBay, SEO tools, Shopzilla, Google product search, Amazon, etc. Among other great features are Image Zoom, design editing via CSS and HTML, real-time shipping, customer groups.

Where can I get CoreCommerce?

To find CoreCommerce, please follow the links on ZippyCart’s comparison carts or review pages!

3DCart

What is 3DCart?

3DCart is a Margate, FL-based hosted cart developed by 3Dcart Shopping Carts.

When did it appear on the market?

The company is in eCommerce business since 1997. First it developed custom eCommerce solutions, but in 2001 introduced their own shopping cart software. Currently the platform powers over 5 000 stores.

How much does it cost?

The platform offers a ‘mini’ package for $19.99, which appears to be the cheapest solution out of the three listed in this article, extras not considered. This plan is limited to 100 products and allows low traffic rates. However it offers hundreds of featuress and over 50 marketing tools.

Who can use the shopping cart?

The aim of the developers was to create a shopping cart suitable for merchants with little or no programming knowledge to make their store launch easy and quick. However the set of powerful features will satisfy experienced users and webmasters. Thus the owners of small to large business can use the platform equally beneficially.

Why choose 3DCart?

Having solid experience in the industry, 3DCart is flexible to different business requirements. The advanced features that you will get with 3DCart include mCommerce templates and Social Commerce integration, product reviews, rich set of inventory management features and over 25 SEO tools to get high rankings. Apart from that, 3DCart can boast of exclusive features: image 3dZoom, gift registry, auto follow up and integrated blog.

Where can I get 3DCart?

Just follow the links on ZippyCart’s comparison carts or review pages!

Now that you’ve got the answers on basic questions you may go ahead and make deeper research of features that are included in each hosted shopping cart. Or choose the suitable solution immediately and start developing your business with a new eCommerce solution!

Guest author Halyna Yefymchuk is a Marketing Assistant at MagneticOne, developer of Cart2Cart – an automated shopping cart migration service. Find out more information about migration to/from PinnacleCartSoftware, CoreCommerceSoftware and 3DCartSoftware.

By Susan D
Sept 24, 2012

There is so much competition in today’s world of shopping cart solutions. With over 300 eCommerce companies to choose from… how does an online merchant know which one will be best for their business needs? Well, here at ZippyCart, we’ve been researching eCommerce solution software all year and have a list of what we consider the top 12 eCommerce solutions of 2012.

Here is a look at the top 12 eCommerce Solutions of 2012, in alphabetical order.

1. 3d Cart “Starting an online business has never been easier.”
   The team at 3dCart is proud of their design tools and the ease in which their online merchants can set-up a web shop. They offer over 50 website templates and the ability to customize on your own through their HTML & CSS access. They also have a Quick Edit Bar that will speed up the process of building your store and let you see your edits in real-time.  3dCart offers over 25 SEO tools because they feel that Search Engine Optimization is the most important consideration, when building an online store. They also have a feature which allows for different levels of pricing based on your customer grouping. 3dCart is feature rich!
2. Amazon Webstore “Put the power of Amazon behind your site.”
   Amazon is a huge name in online shopping but some don’t know that they also offer an eCommerce solution for online merchants as well. They offer packages for the individual seller, Small/Medium Business, and Large Businesses. SMB’s can use AmazonWebstore in many ways. They can integrate with Amazon Services to get their product in front of the millions of Amazon customers, they can choose Fulfillment by Amazon and have their shipping needs handled for them, or they can simply put Amazon Prime and Check-out on their existing website.
3. AmeriCommerce “Grow With Us”
   As one of Inc 5000’s fastest growing companies, the AmeriCommerce team invites all merchants, big and small to partner and grow with them. They are one of the only eCommerce solutions that allow you to manage multiple storefronts with one unified admin panel, making AmeriCommerce unique amongst hundreds of shopping cart software companies. Their CRM (customer relationship management) shopping cart also makes customer and order history, order management and order history a breeze with features like abandoned cart follow-up, mail list management, and automatic confirmation emails.
4. AShop Commerce “Selling online is now easy.”
   The eCom specialists at AShopCommerce (not to be confused with AshopSoftware) have put a lot of time into building and thought into their SEO and feel that your success is their success. They allow their merchants to sell both physical and downloaded products through a computer or mobile store front. They also provide a solid SEO that features spider friendly URLs, auto HTML & CSS generation, customizable META tags, and auto tag generation.
5. Big Commerce “Sell More”
   The team at BigCommerce have built one of the most complete eCommerce Solutions that ZippyCart has come across. Their all-in-one solution will host your website, domain name, shopping cart, and more, while providing you with great SEO and a healthy feature set. All of this comes packaged in their fun, easy-to-use control panel! “Fun” might seem like a strange word but they’ve managed to make their system one of the most pleasant places to work!
6. Core Commerce “Everything to make your online business click!”
   Always a ZippyCart favorite, CoreCommerce stays on top of the trends and latest eCommerce technology. They provide an amazing support team that is always ready to answer questions about their system or full feature list. Their solution offers features such as a built-in blog, strong marketing presence, a mobile storefront, and easy-to-use design customization.
7. Fortune 3 “Sell on the web, the right way!”
   The shopping cart software provided by Fortune3 provides thousands of features that online merchants need to build, maintain and be successful with their online store. They allow you to sell your products on FaceBook and offer widgets that make social sharing a breeze. They also allow their merchants to keep in touch with their clients through customer reviews, newsletters and email marketing.
8. Nexternal “Sell more online than ever before!”
   Online business owners who already have an online store may be interested in Nexternal as they specialize in taking an existing storefront and adding it to their system. Their software includes an order management system, a B2B, and a business to customer store. This system allows clients to be separated in to specialized grouping, which makes them one of the few who offer this type of management. The team at Nexternal will take the time to do walk-throughs and address problem areas. They are very careful in taking on your business needs.
9. Pinnacle Cart “Build the perfect online store in minutes.”
   ZippyCart appreciates all of the work that the PinnacleCart team has put into their software. They’re always a favorite due to their extremely robust feature set and top-notch SEO & marketing. They take on cart abandonment with their unique Drift Marketing and keep customers engaged with features like a built-in blog and customer reviews. Products listed under their system can easily be pushed to eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, Google, PriceGrabber, NextTag, and more. In addition, all of their packages provide 3 ways to sell… a website, mobile store and Facebook storefront
10. Shopify “Create your eCommerce store today with Shopify.”
    Shopify has long been a heavy hitter for merchants who are seeking a shopping cart solution. Their storefronts usually look great and are built to sell as there are over 100 premium and free design templates to choose. They also allow you to write your website in any language that you want and have shopping cart check-out translations for over 50 languages. Of course to support this, they support currencies and tax rates, as well.
11. Shopping Cart Elite “Innovation is how our shopping cart stands out from the rest.”
    The team at SCE wants to make sure their stores are always ahead of the competition. They provide features that will spy on competitor pricing and adjust your prices accordingly, and features that will automatically build one way backlinks and drive traffic to your store. In addition, SCE will help you push your products into the Google Base, Ebay, Amazon and Craigslist, making sure you have visibility through many channels.
12. Volusion “Open a successful online store.”
    Having been around for more than a decade, Volusion is a well-known eCommerce solution that has stood the test of time. Their online stores come with a great product set-up and an integrated one-page checkout that helps buyers complete the sales process and reduce cart abandonment. Other helpful features include daily deals, coupons and discounts, and a wish list for customers.

September 14, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

After four months, e-commerce company Shopify has reached the halfway point in their Build-A-Business Competition. A grand prize of $100,000, plus a VIP trip for two to New York City to have lunch with Seth Godin, meet with Gary Vaynerchuk, then a trip to California to have dinner with Timothy Ferriss and visit the infamous Googleplex to get expert AdWords advice from Google Execs, is all being awarded to the entrepreneur that creates the most successful online store using the Shopify platform. The e-commerce company launched their second edition of its popular competition on May 1st and contestants have until December 31, 2011 to build their business. Shopify determines the winner by taking the best two months, so there is still plenty of time to sign up.

All new competitors receive a free 30-day trial, and a Build-A-Business start-up kit that includes two hardcover books (Seth Godin’s Poke The Box, and Gary Vaynerchuk’s The Thank You Economy), 50 printed business cards by Moo, $100 in Google Adwords money, and $100 in MailChimp Credits.

The winnings that are up for grabs, and the freebies that Shopify is including in this year’s competition is certainly a step-up from last year’s contest. “The prize money is significant, but don’t forget the spirit of the contest: to give a kick in the pants to all those people who have wanted to start businesses but haven’t,” said Tobi Lütke, co-founder and CEO of Shopify, “but the real prize is having a business of your own at the end of the contest.”

At the halfway point, there are already 2,100 new online stores competing, but Shopify expects that number to double by the end of the year. “We expect over 4,000 new stores to have signed up by the end of the competition. Last year’s winner, DODOcase, has projected annual earnings of $5 million a year. This year, some of the stores competing are well on their way to hitting a similar target, so we’re seeing a lot of quality and high-revenue generating businesses emerge,” said Mark Hayes, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Shopify. So the contests 2,100 stores have generated over $2 million in GMV which is likely to grow substantially as more entrepreneurs join and the stores gain momentum going into the holiday season. “Traditionally in e-commerce, the months leading up to Christmas tend to be the most lucrative,” said Hayes.

Although Shopify isn’t releasing an official leader-board yet, they have released some of their front-runners and notable newcomers:

Tattly: An online store that sells properly designed temporary tattoos. Founder of swissmiss, Tina Roth Eisenberg, created Tattly out of her frustration in hideous looking “clip art” rub-on tattoos.

JackBacks: Real wood backs (as opposed to the more common stick-on) for the iPhone 4. Each back comes with the little screwdriver and an easy install guide.

FlockStocks: High quality feather hair extensions featuring a unique micro loop installation that allows easy at home application.

Pix & Stix: Electro-conductive rubberized drum sticks and guitar picks created to use with GarageBand for the iPad 2.

Opena: The world’s first iPhone 4 case with a slide-out bottle opener.

June 16, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Two senators this Wednesday introduced legislation that would require companies such as Apple and Google to obtain consent from their customers before sharing their location data.  The Location Privacy Protection Act would make companies less secretive and more direct with their customers.  The senators behind the bill are Al Franken (D-Minn) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) who co-sponsored the it.

The legislation comes after a wave of anger and controversy spread when it was revealed to the public that Apple, Google, and even app developers were storing location data.

Al Franken was quoted as saying “Geolocation technology gives us incredible benefits, but the same information that allows emergency responders to locate us when we’re in trouble is not necessarily information all of us want to share with the rest of the world.”  The senator added “This legislation would give people the right to know what geolocation data is being collected about them and ensure they give their consent before it’s shared with others.”

The current laws in place don’t give consumers to much protection.  The new law could affect how many apps you add to your shopping cart.  If developers have to be forward about their intentions it could drive down their incentive to release new apps or reduce your incentive to download them.  Users shouldn’t have to worry to much about having an empty shopping cart, though.  Honest app developers that have users’ best interest in mind will always exist.

One reason for the timing of the bill may be to do the massive attack Sony suffered after hackers exposed millions of users’ personal data.  The fact that Apple and Google were storing this data without getting our consent or even telling us that they were doing it was bad enough. If any of these companies ever suffered a Sony-style attack their customers privacy could be severely jeopardized, especially since it came out that Apple’s data-storage system may not have been encrypted at all. And even if the data was encoded in some way, if a group is clever and talented enough to break into the data storage system in the first place, then they can probably figure out a way to crack that too.

November 8, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

There’s a lot of changes coming to ZippyCart, and we always want our blog readers to hear it from us first. As such, below you will find our latest press release, announcing the addition of AmeriCommerce to our expert shopping cart reviews:

ZippyCart.com is known for their expert reviews of the best e-commerce solutions available, as they have become a leader in their field by providing succinct and reliable information on the latest innovation and technologies of the e-commerce software solutions’ industry. They feature only the top valued solutions in the current market that provide small to mid-sized companies with the tools they need to power an online store. Collaborating with a team of e-commerce experts, ZippyCart spent 3 weeks reviewing all aspects of the AmeriCommerce ecommerce software suite, which has earned itself a position on ZippyCart’s list of Top Ten Hosted Shopping Carts.

AmeriCommerce won the 2010 //CODiE// for Best eCommerce Solution and recently made its first appearance on ZippyCart on Monday, November 8th, 2010. This software solutions provider is best known for powering LOLmart.com and the acclaimed chocolate mavens, Dilettante. “AmeriCommerce has a variety of great features that make it a stand out ecommerce solution for any merchant looking to start or improve an online store.” Says Nick Grant, co-founder of ZippyCart.com. “Because of this, AmeriCommerce is a definite contender for ZippyCart’s list of Top 10 Ecommerce Solutions of 2011,” he concludes.

ZippyCart provides multiple ways for merchants to compare and contrast ecommerce solutions when searching for the right shopping cart to power their online store. This includes an evolving list of top hosted shopping carts, top licensed carts, and an annual list that features the top ecommerce solutions of the year.

ZippyCart determines which software solutions to feature is based on a variety of factors including ease of use, customer service, overall features, value for the money, and more. In addition, users of ZippyCart can utilize many tools to assist in finding the right shopping cart for their online business, including expert and customer reviews, side by side comparison charts, and an online generator that can determine which solution is best for their needs.

“It takes time, dedication, and a true knowledge of e-commerce software to understand how to provide the best solutions for users from the stay at home mom, who for the first time is starting an online business, to the e-commerce pro, who is looking to revamp their existing software solutions, all their needs can be met at ZippyCart.com and that is what is most important to us.” Grant states.

“Adding AmeriCommerce to our expert shopping cart reviews helps to further ensure our users can find information about the best options available, making ZippyCart their one-stop shop when searching for their next shopping cart,” Grant concludes.

October 5, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

We’ve put this press release out on the wire, but we wanted to make sure you, our readers, could be some of the first to hear the news.  We have begun our Q4 review process, which means that our top 10 shopping carts lists will all be updated for the 2011 year, to ensure that we are always providing you with detailed information about the best e-commerce solution out there!

NATIONAL – ZippyCart.com, the Internet’s leading e-commerce software review company, has begun its Q4 process of determining the best e-commerce software for 2011.  Each year, ZippyCart releases a top 10 list of the best shopping cart software for the year.  This list is just one of the many tools that ZippyCart provides for e-commerce merchants in search of the right software to power their online store.  ZippyCart also includes a list of the Top 10 Hosted Shopping Carts of Today, the Best Licensed E-Commerce Software of Today, and the Top 10 Free Shopping Carts of All Time, as well as independent expert reviews and customer reviews of the top e-commerce software available.  What makes the top 10 list of the year stand out is the stringent review process that each e-commerce software solution must undergo to even be considered for placement.

The Q4 review process begins with the selection of independent panelists in parallel with the selection of over 100 e-commerce solutions to be reviewed.  “Now is the time to put your name in the running if you wish to be a panelist or if you want your e-commerce solution reviewed.  All solutions currently on the site will already be reviewed, and we have openings for 2 more panelists as well,” says Scott Riley, spokesperson for ZippyCart.  Panelists must have at least 5 years of experience in e-commerce either as merchants or solution providers, but must not currently work for or be professionally affiliated with any e-commerce software company.  ZippyCart currently has 5 returning panelists, and will bring that number to its traditional 7 to complete the review process. Panelist names are kept secret to ensure opinions remain unaltered during the 3 month process.

Each e-commerce solution is reviewed based on a variety of factors which are scored on a weighted scale.  These factors take into account a full review of the software solution from administration panel to online store builder, reporting, social media and SEO tools, and much more.  Each e-commerce software provider is also scored based on customer service, which is determined by many tactics including secret shopping and customer reviews.  Solutions are also compared side by side, to further determine which options are the best.  Finally, e-commerce solutions are also evaluated based on value for the money, which is a factor that is very important to many merchants in the current economy.

“This process is just one aspect of ZippyCart that makes it stand out from other companies that review e-commerce software,”  Riley states.  “We are completely focused on helping e-commerce merchants find success in all they do, and to ensure this, we make sure that our reviews are 100% non-bias and informative.  We take great pride in our Q4 review process and make no apologies for the results, which lead to the most honest top 10 lists in the industry!” Riley concludes.

The Top 10 Shopping Carts of 2010 consisted of CoreCommerce, Pinnacle Cart, 3dcart, X-Cart, BigCommerce, 1ShoppingCart, nsCommerceSpace, ViArt, Nexternal, and Miva Merchant.  It is likely that the 2011 list will see some big changes as 2010 was a crucial year for many e-commerce solutions with innovations in both social and mobile commerce.