What’s the Difference Between an Ecommerce Software Solution Versus a Shopping Cart Solution

What’s the Difference Between an Ecommerce Software Solution Versus a Shopping Cart Solution

I was doing some research online this morning and something I’d never really noticed before caught my attention – and held it rather effectively. I was looking at comparisons of Top 10 software reviews for shopping cart software and ecommerce software solutions. What grabbed my attention was the simple fact that although the ecommerce packages all included shopping carts (they wouldn’t be much of an ecommerce platform without them now, would they?) the pricing for the ecommerce packages was lower.
Doesn’t seem to make much sense now does it? Except of course that it does and it’s an outstanding example of the benefits of thinking ahead. After all, think of the three types of businesses that are likely to be looking at just a shopping cart as opposed to an all in one ecommerce solution.
The first type will be the business that already has a site up and running. Perhaps it was not built to be a store, just an information site. If it’s been up for a few years there as probably been lots of time and money already invested in it. Someone likely fainted at the idea of ripping it all down and starting from scratch with an ecommerce site. To them the extra price and hassle of a cart add on is worth it.
The second type will be business people who didn’t do their homework and didn’t look at the all the options ahead of time before making a decision. They’re not going to get the best value and unless they luck out, will easily be missing important features that would have made their business that much easier to get up and running The worst of it, is that it happens all the time and since the internet is their best source of research and it can be difficult to find something on the net if you don’t know what you’re looking for it’s an easy mistake to make.
Finally, there will be the businesses with the resources to do a lot of customization. They have the money, time and manpower and so as far as most small online start ups are likely concerned, they can go right ahead and spend their money.
My point? As someone who is more concerned with the fate of a single person start up or new family business, it’s important to try and get a feel for the internet environment and learn a little about the options before your stick your foot in it. For those companies who are marketing ecommerce software solutions- ask yourself what’s lacking in your communications programs. You don’t seem to have differentiated yourselves very well and have done your smaller prospects a grave disservice.
Louise Collins is the Author of Start Up Mistakes a report created to help the small internet business start up avoid some of the expensive mistakes that can doom a new business.