ZippyCart Ecommerce Shopping Cart Solutions

Each shopping cart undergoes extensive research and testing by our expert review team. From this, they are evaluated on 10 weighted features and then given an overall ZippyScore which ranges on a scale of 1 to 5. Learn more about our shopping cart reviews and see each cart's report card in our Shopping Cart Ratings section.

Shopping carts come at various price points and in this economy, price does matter. For most carts, there is a one–time licensing fee if you want to host the cart on your own server. If, on the other hand, you want the shopping cart company to host it for you, then you will most likely just be paying a monthly hosting fee.

Since shopping carts come in many different packages, there are sometimes extra fees associated to the cart. If you have a cart that has an option between licensed or hosted, you will see the hosted fee show up in this "other fees" section. Please note, that in that instance, the hosted fees are not added to the licensing fee. Instead, you have the choice between either fee, rather than both.

When comparing shopping carts, it's important to ask yourself how easy it is to setup. See which shopping carts have store setup tools and which do not. Store setup tools include templates, a store setup wizard, or one click install.

Customization is very important to many merchants. If it is for you, then consider a shopping cart that is easy to customize when doing your shopping cart comparison.

Let your shopping cart take inventory for you while you kick back and relax. Inventory management includes tracking of product sales, returns, and overall count.

When doing a shopping cart comparison, consider how your cart should integrate with other important reporting tools, like accounting. Can you integrate your accounting information with the software of your choice, like Quickbooks? The carts that are checked come with the ability to export your data to your accounting interface as well as integrate the software completely.

Sometimes you may want to sell a software package that can be downloaded by your customer and save on shipping costs. Other times, you may need to sell an important eBook or instruction manual. If this is you, then consider a shopping cart that has this feature.

More and more consumers trust PayPal™ and Google™ Checkout when making purchases online. To ensure that your customers feel comfortable buying at your online store, consider a shopping cart program that includes full integration with these established brands.

You may only want to ship within certain states, countries, etc. If this is true, when comparing shopping carts, look for software that allows you to apply shipping permissions.

SSL is the standard protocol for any online credit card payment system. This allows secure information to be sent over the internet by encrypting it to keep the information safe. If your shopping cart checkout URL begins with "http://" then a customer might be discouraged from making a purchase on your site. Instead, this URL should have "https://" That "s" makes a big difference because it stands for secure, which will make you and your customers more comfortable.

If your shopping cart is being hosted by the software company that you purchased it from, then they should keep backups of your cart. This allows them to restore your eCommerce store instantly in case anything goes wrong.

When comparing shopping carts, you will probably be hard pressed to find a cart that doesn't provide some form of tech support. It's a great thing that all paid shopping cart programs come with this, but it's important to determine if the type of tech support provided fits your needs.

Some merchants prefer to host their store and shopping cart with the actual shopping cart provider. See if the cart of your choice has this option.

Do you want your shopping cart to show up on search engines? If so, you will need one that is search engine friendly.

Is there a tool within your shopping cart software that allows a user to search and browse your product offerings?

As identity theft continues to grow, online shoppers are becoming more aware of how and where they use thier credit cards online. When comparing shopping cart solutions, you should consider whether your cart will end up living on your domain, or if it will end up on the shopping cart provider's URL. You know your customers the best, so consider what would make them feel safer when providing their credit card information.

From time to time, you may want to run a special promotion on a partner site. To do this, you may consider giving coupon codes out to visitors from that site. If this is you, then a shopping cart solution with coupon codes is an important feature to consider during your shopping cart comparison.

Do you sell a product that your customers will want to give to their friends and family? Then you will definitely want to offer Gift Certificates in your store. This is made easier with a shopping cart that comes with gift certificates as part of its basic feature set.

If you are a busy merchant, then you can save time by automatically sending an order confirmation email to your customers. Many shopping carts come with this already, but its always important to make sure this is an option.

This shopping cart feature is a win-win for both the merchant and the customer. It allows you to process your credit cards in real time, which ensures that you get paid and your customer gets a timely delivery.

This shopping cart feature lets your customers choose shipping rates in realtime, which allows them to find accurate rates for their location instead of estimated or flat rates determined by you.

Tax is different state by state. This shopping cart feature allows your customers to see the tax they owe instantly by using a geo specific tax table, without you having to guess at a flat rate.

Some customers will want the cheapest possible shipping, while others will want to get your product as fast as possible. To give your users options, look for a shopping cart with a flexible shipping option during your shopping cart comparison.

In many states, there are laws setup that protect consumers from identity theft, but at the merchant's expense. If a merchant accepts a fraudulant payment, they are sometimes required to pay back the credit card company. To avoid this, look for a shopping cart that has Identity Theft Protection features that require the CVV2 code from the consumer.

A great tool for marketing your products online is to allow your customers the chance to sell it for you. Having a "Tell a Friend" feature available in your online store allows your customers to email your products to friends and brings you even more sales

A great tool for marketing your products online is to allow your customers the chance to sell it for you. Having a "Tell a Friend" feature available in your online store allows your customers to email your products to friends and brings you even more sales

To streamline the ordering process, many e-tailers look for a shopping cart with the Printable Shipping Label feature. This allows you to print out customized shipping labels from your desk each time an order is placed at your online store. Consider this time saving asset when comparing shopping carts.

As online shopping continues to grow in popularity, it's important to build a relationship with customers virtually, and email marketing is a great way to do this. Some shopping carts have a feature that allows you to gather mailing lists, but you will have to work with a 3rd party email vendor to use these mailing lists. Other shopping carts take away the hassel by providing both mailing lists and email marketing within the cart software. Finally, other carts give you the ability to create HTML emails, but will not help you populate mailing list. Consider what's most important for you during your shopping cart comparison.

This is a very common feature in the world of eCommerce. Having upsell and cross sell tools allows you to get the most out of every customer by showing them other product suggestions, either through a "customers who bought this also purchased" frame on your page, or offering a list of featured products that pair well with what they are looking at.

Many merchants running a shopping cart find extra profit opportunities in affiliate advertising and marketing. If this is you, or will be you one day, consider a cart that has affiliate management tools already included. This will help you maximize your ROI and minimize the headache of managing multiple affiliate partners.

Product reviews give customers the opportunity to get honest input about the products they are considering. This also fills your website with unique user generated content, which will help you in search results. Consider how moderated product reviews can help your online store when comparing shopping carts.

If you want to take your sales to the next level, consider an ecommerce platform that has an "always on screen" shopping cart. This lets customers browse your store, add things to their cart, and keep a tab on how much they are spending before they make their final purchase. Without the constant reminder of what their shopping cart holds, many customers will abandon the purchase right before hitting the "confirm sale" button. So if you want to increase your sales, then this feature will take you a long way.

Letting frequent customers "join" your online store is a great way to keep them loyal to your brand. Customer accounts or memberships give customers the opportunity to save their order history, their carts, billing information and more. This also allows you the chance to give special discounts to valued customers.

Often, a customer will come to your site in search of one specific product. While honing in on that product, they may see something that they also want, but haven't yet budgeted for it. Giving them the option of a "wish list" lets them save that product and will remind them to purchase when they have the money.

Newsletters differ from email marketing only slightly. Customers can hit a "subscribe" button on your site to subscribe to a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly newsletter. These emails are expected and setup on a regular schedule, while email marketing can be sporadic, focused on a specific deal, and cover any topic you wish.

The Internet has greatly changed the expectations of most consumers. They have become accustomed to quick results, so you don't want to lose a sale because your checkout process is too time consuming. During your shopping cart comparison, consider carts with a speedy checkout process to decrease cart abandonment and increase sales.

The one downfall of buying a product online is that the customer cannot hold it before purchase. To make up for this, eCommerce solutions allow for multiple image sizes and angles so that a customer can get a better idea of what the product is and how they can use it.

Expert Reviews. Detailed Reviews From the Experts. Find out what the experts think of featured shopping cart software solutions. Click here to review shopping carts.

Comparison Charts. Shopping Cart Comparison Tools. Compare ecommerce solutions side by side with a variety of comparison charts. Click here to compare ecommerce solutions.

Customer Reviews. Hear What Customers Have to Say. Find out what customers are saying about the ecommerce solutions that interest you. Click here to learn more.