#41: How To Pick An E-Commerce Shopping Cart with Andrew Bleakley

Andrew Bleakley has been designing E-Commerce shopping carts since the mid-1990s. He joins us this week from Byron Bay in Australia to discuss the core business principles e-commerce store owners must get right, and his process of helping clients choose a shopping cart.

Topics Discussed:

  • 02:30 – How Andrew got into shopping carts in the mid-1990s
  • 04:00 – Background of first versions of online shopping carts
  • 04:30 – Trust issues in the mid-1990s
  • 05:00 – Four core functions of an e-commerce store
  • 06:00 – Trends of future online marketplaces and platforms
  • 07:00 – Challenges eBay encountered going into the 2000s
  • 09:00 – Drawbacks of cloud e-commerce platforms
  • 10:00 – Don’t pay attention to marketing numbers of e-commerce platforms
  • 11:30 – What makes people quit their e-commerce stores
  • 13:00 – Doing the proper research before starting an online store
  • 14:00 – Need for a service between sign up and give up
  • 15:00 – WordPress solutions of WooCommerce and WP E-Commerce
  • 16:00 – Process of choosing an e-commerce shopping cart
  • 19:00 – Listing out the features you absolutely require in a cart
  • 20:00 – Mobile e-commerce trends and future development
  • 21:00 – Viability of Responsive design and mobile e-commerce
  • 22:00 – Balance of hype, innovation, and ROI in e-commerce
  • 23:00 – Future of the faceless e-commerce store
  • 25:30 – Being authentic and the first two years of building a brand
  • 27:00 – Treating customers are real people online
  • 29:00 – The #1 tool for relationship building online with customers
  • 31:00 – Following up with abandoned cart orders
  • 33:00 – Paying attention to detail and polish of your online store
  • 35:00 – Connect with real people and peers in the e-commerce world
  • 36:30 – Reasons to get an SSL certificate for your e-commerce store
  • 38:00 – Setting up takes a long time and things can’t be rushed
  • 39:30 – Always get a second opinion from professionals and experts
  • 41:20 – So…Shopify vs. BigCommerce?

 

Mentions in the Episode:

 

Episode Length: 43:46

 

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Comments

  1. Good interview Terry with Andrew.

    I agree that long-term Amzn & Ebay will have issues. It puzzles me how many people pay those high fees and risk particularly with Amazon having them compete by selling the product themselves. I do think its a great platform for folks to list and learn everything else about running an ecommerce store. Printing labels, customer service and a feel for what the market wants. Long-term building a brand you need a storefront of your own.

    Customer service to Andrews point is huge. For one of our stores we made calls for all first time orders and it really helped with repeat business.

    Loving your show and glad heard you on Entrepreneur on Fire.

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