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You are starting an online store like a magazine subscription servce. You have done research and come to know that shopping cart solutions play an important role. Just like in any physical shops, the shopping cart accompanies a visitor to your website the moment he enters till he checks out. And it does much more than the physical shopping carts. The software makes the really good ecommerce shopping cart do additional jobs. That is why, selecting the cart is important.

Being conscious of these factors, you have prepared a checklist of features you want for your shopping cart. But go over the checklist again from the viewpoint of customer service. Your business can grow if you get not only new customers but also repeat business from existing customers. To have your customers keep buying from you, can your shopping cart software help? By providing additional services to them, yes it can.

Once an existing customer enters your online store, do you provide an option for him to see his previous purchases? If the shopping cart displays his buying history, it certainly makes shopping easier for the customer in selecting his purchases and more importantly, reminding of some items he would like to buy but you forgot at present.

Any customer going for shopping prepares a list of products which he dreams of buying. In a situation like this, it will be helpful if the shopping cart has an option to display the customer's wish list. If this list is displayed during his subsequent visits, he can make up his mind about purchase. It also is useful if the cart displays the products of his interest, which he has not purchased during his earlier visits. A 'Thank You' note while checking out on the shopping cart will be good for repeated purchase.

We all love bargains. It is in the human nature to get more for less. If you happen to have a discount sales on products the customer had bought before, he would certainly like to know about your special offers and your sales will also increase. For these additional services, you just have to visualize yourself as the seller in a 'brick-and-mortar' store, attending to a regular client. Would you not point out to him about discounts or new models available now of products he usually buyed?

As with any other retailer, you need to stay in contact with customers once they leave your store. The best shopping cart software makes this easy for any online retailer. It should have confirming emails sent to the customer to let him know when he has been charged and when his purchases havebeen shipped Periodic notice of new products, discounts, and specials will also entice him to come back.

One more feature to take into account, especially if you sell niche products, is to join hands with other businesses that are complimentary to your line of trade. For example, if you are selling paper flowers online, you can contact vendors of flower vases, ornamental tables or even origami sites and arrange to mutually display each other's carts on the websites. It is advisable to look at customer service also when deciding on the shopping cart software.