An effective shopping cart system is integral to an ecommerce venture. This book shares 34 things that ecommerce entrepreneurs must know about shopping cart systems. The book promises to help mop up all the money that should have been spent on a website but was lost because of abandoned carts. It shows how shopping cart systems can be simplified to rein in more customers, and send the online cash registers ringing.


The idea is to make the path of purchase smoother.

Content
Online businesses can improve their profits and generate greater sales if the shopping cart system is efficient. The author says that a good shopping cart system would multitask, and perform functions such as upselling, customer service, accounting, broadcast email, and the like.

The book starts by explaining shopping carts and credit card processing. The author helps choose a shopping cart system and says that it is one of the most important decisions while setting up an online shop. The book helps readers calculate shipping and tax and distinguishes between soft and hard goods. There's interesting information on customizing “continue shopping” pages, an important tool to improve the customer’s shopping experience.

The book also gives vital information on receipts and confirmation emails, multiple orders and dropship email compatibility, encryption, mail merge capability, integrated autoresponders, and ad tracking. The author devotes time to important topics such as recurring billing, sales reports, analytics, and offline shopping.

Author
Tom Antion has been an entrepreneur for over three decades and has been selling on the Internet since 1994. He is an Internet multimillionaire whose The Great Internet Marketing Retreat Centre in Virginia Beach, VA, USA, is a one of its kind initiative. Antion is also a professional speaker who is passionate about creating marketing strategies on the Internet for small businesses. He has also founded Internet Marketing Training Centre of Virginia, the only licensed and independent Internet marketing school in the US. Antion has appeared on Canadian Broadcast Network, the Australian Broadcast Network, and Tokyo Today.

Pros

• This book throws light on one of the most important topics in the ecommerce space: the shopping cart system.
• The book is a quick read, and does not lie heavy on the reader.
• The language and style in the book are easy to comprehend, and can be easily followed by the readers.
• The checklist for judging a shopping cart system is handy.
• The author’s lists of do’s and don’ts are practical and easily applicable.
• The book is packed with information that stems from the author’s experience.
• The book is well researched and covers the topic comprehensively.
•  Small ecommerce business owners will find the tips useful especially if they personally sell and market products on their ecommerce website.

Cons

• Readers looking for information on software will find it disappointing, as kickstartcart.com is the only software discussed in the book.
• By naming only one service, the author has risk compromising his neutrality. At some point in the book, it starts feeling like an advertorial, which his is a pity considering the unique opportunity that the topic of the book provided.

Conclusion
This book’s audience comprises of ecommerce entrepreneurs and online enthusiasts. The targeted reader would most likely be running an online business with a lean team and on a tight budget. The book is also of interest to ecommerce enthusiasts who have a genuine interest in the booming space.