shopping cart

The online version of a grocery store shopping cart, it is what you place your merchandise in while browsing a Web site. You "check out" by navigating to the purchase page and entering your credit card number on an online form. Shopping cart technology is a software program designed to make products available for online ordering (kind of like an electronic catalogue). The behind-the-screens technology that enables this e-commerce component to work involves cookies and SSL. Shopping carts usually have a variety of features which allow a user to organize selcted items and make changes prior to purchase. The shopping cart enables the user to use a credit card to make the purchase, then it provides fulfillment information to the merchant's shipping department. A good shopping cart program should always provide order confirmation numbers and quick customer service links.