Integrated electronic shopping cart system and method
View Patent ↗Integrated shopping cart functionality is provided on a first website so that products/services from different affiliated websites can be integrated into the shopping cart at the first website and the e-commerce functionality of the first website can be utilized to purchase the selected products/services. A framework for integrating this functionality enables the first website to integrate with affiliated websites so that an increased number of users may access the first website since the proprietor of the first website may offer various products/services from a multitude of different affiliated websites, for example by providing URL links to the affiliated websites that a user may access in order to select items from the affiliated websites. These items can be integrated into the shopping cart at the first website and purchased with a single transaction. Increased user traffic is expected at the first website since a user's shopping interests can be fulfilled at a single website. Additionally, affiliated websites are benefited by this integrated shopping cart functionality since the e-commerce functionality of the integrated shopping cart is performed by a server that is associated with the first website. Therefore, affiliated websites need not include their own e-commerce functionality. Instead, they may take advantage of the e-commerce functionality of the first website and still receive the benefits of the sale of their offered products/services to the user. Maintenance costs and overhead costs with respect to including an e-commerce software engine are therefore reduced and often eliminated as a result.
1. An electronic shopping cart system integrated with a computer network connecting a plurality of servers together, the computer network being accessible by a user, comprising:
a first server associated with a first website, the first server including a shopping cart application that functions as a hub for items that can be selected by a user accessing one or more of a plurality of websites and configured to maintain a shopping cart order of any such items selected by the user, and a catalog application adapted to receive item information relating to the items that can be selected by the user accessing one or more of the plurality of affiliated websites, the first server being configured to process the shopping cart order and to provide order fulfillment information to the affiliated websites from which the items were selected by the user; and
a plurality of affiliated servers associated with the plurality of affiliated websites, each of the affiliated servers including a respective catalog of item information relating to the items that can be selected from the respective affiliated websites, the plurality of affiliated servers being adapted to provide the respective catalogs of item information to the first server and to receive and process the order fulfillment information from the first server.
2. The integrated shopping cart system of claim 1 , wherein the computer network is the World Wide Web.
3. The integrated shopping cart system of claim 1 , wherein the items include products and services.
4. The integrated shopping cart system of claim 1 , wherein the item information includes any of item identification information, cost information, and description information.
5. The integrated shopping cart system of claim 1 , wherein the order fulfillment information includes any of item identification information and shipping information.
6. An electronic shopping cart system integrated with a computer network connecting a plurality of servers together, the computer network being accessible by a user, comprising:
a server associated with a first website, the server including a shopping cart application that functions as a hub for items that can be selected by a user accessing one or more of a plurality of websites and configured to maintain a shopping cart order of any such items selected by the user, and a catalog application adapted to receive item information relating to the items that can be selected by the user accessing one or more of the plurality of affiliated websites, the server being configured to process the shopping cart order and to provide order fulfillment information to the affiliated websites from which the items were selected by the user.
7. The integrated shopping cart system of claim 6 , wherein the computer network is the World Wide Web.
8. The integrated electronic shopping cart system of claim 6 , wherein the items include products and services.
9. The integrated electronic shopping cart system of claim 6 , wherein the item information includes any of item identification information, cost information, and description information.
10. The integrated shopping cart system of claim 6 , wherein the order fulfillment information includes any of item identification information and shipping information.