Today, buying online is made simple with the use of online shopping carts. If you’re a small business owner who has a pressing need or desire to begin selling your services or products online, you may be asking yourself “how does eCommerce work?”
To help answer your most common questions, we’ve compiled the essential information you need to make e-commerce work for your business.
What is eCommerce?
Put simply, eCommerce refers to any commercial transaction that is conducted online. Every time you are purchasing or selling something through the internet, you are engaging in eCommerce. This means that every business has the capacity to expand and add an eCommerce component. However, due to the digital nature of these efforts, there are few core pieces you need to have for whatever it is you want to sell online.
Web Hosting
Any good eCommerce site has to start with a strong web hosting server. It’s important to look at factors such as bandwidth and reliability when looking for a web host. Without a good web host, your customers can get frustrated with your site’s problems and abandon their shopping cart.
Product Display
Customers can’t buy anything off your site without seeing what they are buying. As an eCommerce business owner, you have to make sure your products are easy to view. This helps the customer know what it is they are putting in their shopping cart. The more organized and appealing your website looks, the more likely a new customer will purchase something and will visit your site again.
Shopping Cart
This is one of the key elements of e-commerce. Once a customer knows what he or she wants to buy, they place the item in an online shopping cart and continue to the checkout from there. Without the shopping cart, there would be no e-commerce happening. If your website’s shopping cart is not easy to use or is not functioning properly, the chances of a customer abandoning their cart is high.
Related Content: How An Seo Agency Can Increase Retention with an Online Shopping Cart
Payment Processing
Online shopping carts and payment processing work together. After your customer makes a transaction through your online shopping cart, the payment processing portion of e-commerce begins. This is the most important part of eCommerce because it is where payments get verified and reach your bank account. Without a payment processing service, payments cannot be authorized. Want to reduce your payment processing costs? Pairing an Authorize.net shopping cart with Stax processing can increase savings on payment processing.
Shipping
If you are looking to sell a physical product, one of the last steps in a successful e-commerce transaction is to ensure the product has been delivered. It is important to make sure the customer receives what they paid for, especially if you’re a small business owner. You don’t want any bad reviews hurting your chances of future business success and growth.
If you’re a small business owner looking into eCommerce, understanding the different elements involved in an online shopping cart transaction is essential. Make eCommerce easy with Stax as your payment processor.
For more information on how your business can start saving money, check out Stax today.
