In general terms, an Internet shopping cart (sometimes referred to as a virtual shopping cart) is a software program that, when integrated into your Web store, enables customers to choose one or more items from the Web store, specify particular options that might be available and then purchase those items collectively in just a few steps - all online.
The basket
Just as you might choose grocery items from several different aisles at your local supermarket, a visitor to your Web site can navigate through the site, choosing items which may appear on different pages from one another. Continuing this analogy, as you walk down different aisles in the supermarket, items are placed in a shopping cart, which serves as a "basket" for those items until you are ready to check out. Similarly, shopping cart software keeps track of the chosen items as a customer navigates through your Web store.
Once the customer is finished shopping, the shopping cart summarizes the items and facilitates the checkout process - allowing him to pay for all items at once - just like the checkout counter at your local supermarket. It totals the cost of the items placed in the "basket", applies the necessary discounts or coupons, calculates sales tax, and adds shipping costs according to the shipment method specified by the customer. Fields are provided to input 'ship to' addresses and payment information.
Of course, the analogy above assumes that the customer can rely on the shopping cart's "permanence" - that is, once items are placed in the cart, they remain there as the customer navigates from page to page until the customer is ready to check out. What's more, if the customer leaves the Web store without checking out, the items remain in the cart and are still there upon their return.
As is the case with real-life shopping carts, virtual shopping carts exist in many different varieties. Some are very sophisticated technically, and have a professional appearance about them, while others are very simple to use.
