Shopping Cart Edit
Problem summary
The user wants to buy multiple products, which is collected over time through a shopping session.
Example
Usage
- Use when the user can possibly buy more than one product.
- Use when the user can possibly buy more than one instance of a product.
- Use when the user may want to return later to carry on shopping
- Use when the user may want to return at a later time to conduct payment
- Do not use when you only have one product to sell.
- Do not use when your site is arranged in a way, so that it does not make sense for the user to buy more than one product at a time (for instance for Application Service Providers (ASPs) allowing a user to upgrade his service).
Solution
A shopping cart is a collection of selected products that the user can choose to add more products to or remove products from. Further, the user can choose to change the quantity of each product in the shopping cart, and is presented by a subtotal cost of his or her selected items plus shipping charges, VAT, etc. At any time, the user can choose to continue shopping or proceed to checkout – meaning to paying and ordering what is in the shopping cart.
Whenever a product is presented, a complimenting button lets the user add the respective product to the product cart. The cart can be expected at any time in detail by clicking on a “show cart” link.
When the user chooses to checkout, he is presented with a final list of items on the order, as well as options as to how he or she wants to pay (credit card, wire transfer or cash on delivery).
Rationale
The shopping cart is a well known metaphor for shopping. The metaphor provides the user with the idea, that putting items in the shopping cart does not necessarily mean that he or she is buying those items, as they can be removed before checking out of the store. The shopping cart pattern allows the user to collect a number of items first in order to pay for them all at a later time. The checkout metaphor goes well with the shopping cart as this resembles how the process is at for instance a super market.
More example images of the 'Shopping Cart' pattern
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A shopping cart (left), permantent link to shopping cart (top right), and product description link to add to shopping cart (bottom right) at Ignition Skateshop.
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At amazon.com, a miniature shopping cart is shown on some pages.
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At amazon.com, there is a constant link to the users shopping cart at the top of the page.
This document is in version 1 and was last updated on Dec 25, 2008 by Anders. Edit this pattern.
Shopping Cart has 3 comments
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over 1 year ago
Klaus Martin
18 Jun 2008
Where is the main example from?
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over 1 year ago
Anders Toxboe
19 Jun 2008
Klaus Martin: Apple.com webstore
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5 months ago
albert
9 Oct 2009
is it osCommerce?