Page 178 - DCAP306_DCAP511_E-COMMERCE_AND_E-BUSINESS

Unit 14: Designing and Building E-Commerce Web Site - Advanced

Design a payment details form for e-commerce Web site. Consider the order is made
for two products of different price.

14.3 Tracking Orders
In an online shopping store, the shopping cart program should be able to differentiate between multiple
shoppers so that it can correlate the shoppers with their shopping cart at the check-out time. There are
many programs to track the shopping carts:
1. Cookie: A cookie is a small computer file containing the cart number which is transmitted to the
Web browser and remains on the hard disk during the visit to the store. The use of the cookies is
quite widespread and will be used by most software since it is probably the most efficient method.
A few people view cookies as an invasion of privacy so, an alternate tracking method is sometimes
required.
2. Temporary IP Number: The temporary IP number is automatically assigned by the Internet Service
Provider (ISP) to recognize the customers when they log onto the Internet. While the customer
cannot see the IP number, it will however be stored in the store software.
3. Cart Number: Randomly-generated cart number can be appended to the URL which appears in the
browser’s “Location” or “Address” field. Whenever, the customers navigate to another product
page, their cart number will also appear on that page.
There are some programs which maintain the state of the customers shopping throughout the year.
It is vital that the shopping cart software chosen is able to recognize shoppers by methods other than
the cookie method since, a small percentage of shoppers can have their cookies turned off. However,
the cookie approach is generally preferred since it allows the shoppers to obtain their cart when they
login again later.

It is also important that the merchant is able to keep track of the shopper’s name and address apart from
the cart numbers. The software products will maintain the online database of customers. When
shoppers want to place another order, a cookie on the shopper’s browser will recognize them as a
repeat customer and often identify them by name. Some of the database-energized sites will be able to
personalize contact with the customers, like:
1. Giving filled-in billing and shopping address preferences.
2. E-mailing data about sales and special offers.

3. Presenting the shopper with the offers and product recommendations based on the previous
purchases or items which are placed in the shopping cart.
4. Allowing the customer login access to past order history, present order status, packaging tracking,
and so on.

14.4 Case Study
Case study is a practical study that analyzes the growth and challenges faced by the organizations
during the operations process. The following sections discuss the analysis and various issues pertaining
to the online shopping giants like Amazon.com and eBay.

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