Mini-Carts for Buying Groups eCommerce: Benefits & Top Tips

Using Mini-Carts for Buying Groups

Mini-carts are a "mini" version of shopping carts that accompany customers through steps of the shopping process. When someone adds something to their cart, it shows up in the mini-cart, which they can see without leaving their current page.

Buying groups can use eCommerce mini-carts to view what's in the cart without leaving their current page. This is useful especially when making large orders, since you may want to quickly check the quantity of items in the cart. This is also helpful for purchasing items that go together or when the quantity of one item depends on the quantity of another.

How Mini-Carts Can Help Buying Group eCommerce

Mini-carts can integrate with your buying group line-of-business software just like other shopping cart integrations. If someone changes something in the mini-cart, it will affect inventory as if they’d ordered it from a regular page.

Mini-carts help keep customers on task, as they are a visual reminder throughout their buying group eCommerce experience of the items they want to buy. Without the mini-cart, people might be more prone to getting distracted and navigating away from the checkout process.

Mini-carts are an asset for buying group eCommerce stores as they reduce shopping cart abandonment, create a better purchasing experience, and increase revenue.

What Mini Carts Can Do for Your Buying Group Platform

Mini-carts are an important aspect of a buying group platform. Each element should be tailored to your buying group eCommerce business and the way your customers want to shop. A/B testing of mini-cart features can help you tweak the settings so that you’re guiding the actions of your customers to your mutual benefit.

Each mini-cart is different depending on the client we are working with. Looking at the list below, you can see just how customized a mini-cart can be to perfectly fit any company’s needs. Some have standard features while others are specialized for their eCommerce store. Exactly what they will look like depends on your needs, your preferences, and what a professional website designer suggests.

What They Are Ordering

A specific list of what the customer is ordering will be a part of every mini-cart. You, or the designer of the site, will have to decide when long titles truncate (if they will at all). You can also decide whether you want a visual representation of the item or if the title of the item will be enough.

Regular Price and Discount Price

Everyone loves a bargain, so this gives you the opportunity to show the retail price and the discount that the buyer is getting. Not only does it show them that you have applied the code, but it also works as marketing to give them a better feel about the deal they’re getting.

Item Quantity

Item quantity should be shown so that the customer can verify the number of each item in their cart. This can also be broken out if there will be split-fulfillment, i.e., “15 units of this item will be delivered by Monday, the other 5 units will be delivered on Thursday.”

Additional Discounts and Coupon Codes

You can add as many lines for order-level discounts as you want. This includes discounts for new customers, bulk orders, salesperson specials, negotiated discounts, etc. Coupon codes can also be added, and the field to enter the code can be either very conspicuous or well-hidden. It really depends on how much you use the feature and if you think your customers will be looking for it.

Shipping

Whether you’re charging for shipping or are shipping for free, this line should be included. Customers who are being charged for shipping want to see the exact shipping rate, and anyone being offered free shipping wants to verify it here.

Handling Fees

“Shipping and Handling,” “Postage and Packing.” Handling fees in the B2C world are a common way for sellers to tack on some extra costs to the shipping price. But in B2B eCommerce, handling becomes a legitimate concern for big orders. This might include fees for oversized loads, wrapping, breaking up orders for split shipping, and accessorials (liftgate needs, non-commercial delivery destinations, forklift usage upon delivery, etc.)

Taxes/Customs/Duties

Customers need to know what they might expect to pay in taxes, customs, and duties, even if it’s not an exact amount. These can easily be added to group buying platforms with APIs that give a good estimate on how much each of these charges will be.

Rewards Programs

If you have a rewards program for your customers, the mini-cart can show them the points that they will be gaining from this order. Like the discounts mentioned above, this gives the customer another incentive to complete the order.

Countdown Timer

If you are offering items that are limited, such as signed art pieces or concert tickets, you might want to include a countdown timer on the mini-cart. This lets the customer know that they have limited time left before the items in their cart are put back into your regular inventory for someone else to buy.

Multicurrency/Digital Currency

If a customer wants to pay in a denomination different from that of your country, or if you accept digital currency, your group buying platform probably notified them of the amount of each item in their chosen currency. Now that they’re seeing the mini-cart, they are able to see the total for all of the items in whatever currency they wish.