Online Store

An online storefront is a web site that enables visitors to find, order and pay for products and services. Running a successful store involves getting qualified buyers to visit your store, helping them to understand their problem (and the pain or desire that it is causing them), giving evidence you can solve their problem (credibility), and making it easy for them to acquire the solution from you (steps they use to gain ownership of the item).

Online storefronts typically include storefronts, shopping carts, payment processing, and order fulfillment systems. There are many store hosting options that can influence the effectiveness of a user experience and web analytics can be used to determine which mix of web pages, content choices, and product offers are most effective.

The basic process for running online stores includes promoting, qualifying, interest building, convincing, and order processing. There are different types of online stores which include online mall, e-commerce hosts, e-commerce software applications or custom software.

The online storefront provides various types of information to the visitor such as company description, product types, product description pages, store policies, and contact information. A shopping cart allows customers to select and temporarily store products that they want to purchase.

Payment processing is a system that allows the user to select which payment method they want to use, gather payment information (e.g. credit card number), and processes or records the payment information. Fulfillment is the process of picking or obtaining the items the customer has ordered, shipping the item(s), and maintaining delivery tracking information.

This figure shows that an online storefront usually contains a combination of storefront, shopping cart, payment processing, and fulfillment functions. The storefront is the display that the user sees which contains company description, store policies and product information. The shopping cart is a process that allows the user to select and temporarily store items that they want to purchase. Payment processing is the capability to gather payment information (e.g. credit card information) and receive payment for the order. Fulfillment is the tracking of the delivery of items the customer has purchased.

Online Store Operation Diagram

Online Store System Diagram

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Related Online Stores Terms

Store Navigation
Store Hosting
Online Catalog
Product Page Layout
E-Commerce Host
Online Mall
Shopping Cart
Payment Processing
Transaction Cost
Fraud Detection
Online Coupons
Product Fulfillment
Online Store Interfaces
Database Connectivity
Inventory Management
Fraud Management
Online Auctions

Online Store Books

more details

Online Stores

This book explains how to setup and operate online stores and incorporate marketing programs. Learn how to create online catalogs with product page layout guidelines. Order processing steps are explained, along with payment processing options. You will gain an understanding of fraud management and learn how to measure store performance and track visitors.

$19.99 Printed, $16.99 eBook

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