Since CoreCommerce was launched in 2008, we have earned the reputation for two things.

1) 93% customer satisfaction…
2) Innovative features added constantly

When it comes to “features”, there is only one other competitor that really has the scale/quantity of features that we do {V}, all other shopping cart companies don’t even come close. Of course, as with any shopping cart, we have features our competitors don’t have and vice versa, I’m simply referring to the quantity of features we offer our clients.

To help validate my point, we have received multiple awards over the years, the most recent being a few weeks ago by Zippy Cart Reviews as the “2011 Most Innovative” shopping cart company.

Imagine having new features added to your storefront 12-14 times a year, while the industry standard is 1-2 times a year. Why does this matter? As new trends emerge, we are better able to offer our clients that extra technological edge to help you better compete with your competition. In 2005, Facebook was unheard of–today they have 500 million users–half of which they claim to be active–DAILY. Imagine having to wait 6 months to a year (if using a competitor) to get access to tools that can help your business capitalize on new trends. How much revenue are you missing out on?

Here is the list of features (added during 2010):
• Back in stock inventory notification
• Facebook “like” integration
• UPS rates using “negotiated rates”
• Lynx Fulfillment & ShipWire Integration
• Popup shopping cart
• Bundled inventory products
• Allow different product detail layouts by product
• Refer a friend tool
• “Breadcrumb trail” on product detail pages
• Sitewide category discounts
• Calculating sales tax on the view cart page
• Integration with 3rd party email services, Mail Chimp & Constant Contact
• “Add This” Integration
• Canonical URL’s for products, categories & content pages
• Unlimited menu bar links
• 20+ more {free} theme designs
• 60+ pre-designed button groups
• Integration with QuickBooks POS (Point of Sale)
• Printable receipt on the order complete page
• Product review email notification
• Import tax rates by zip code
• Added shipping cost to Gross Sales Report
• Minimum order amount per customer group
• Custom order complete page
• Linkpoint gateway works with “authorize only” mode
• Sales price end dates
• Multiple shipping addresses
• Address book support
• Integration with DAZzle/Endicia
• Minimum order amounts added to weight based shipping
• Vendors can now export their orders
• Different payment methods based on sales channel
• eWay UK & NZ payment gateway integration
• Improved URLs – SEO friendly
• New report to track where orders come from (Order Source Report)
• Nextag Product feed integration
• Batch approve/delete product reviews
• Product detail product pop-up can use light box effect
• More payment gateway integration: Merchant e-Solutions, IMSP Gateway, Quantum AIM Emulator, Renaissance Associates, PayTrace, Moneris US, SecureNet, PSIGate, Internet Secure (Direct)
• Accept customer defined donation amounts
• Updated HST tax rates for British Columbia and Ontario for Canadian tax law changes
• Integration with Fedex Freight for vendor-based shipping
• New design setup wizard
• Upload custom background/foreground for pre-designed themes.
• Support for Android for mobile commerce feature
• Mobile Commerce storefront
• Store search can use “auto-suggest” feature
• Integration with Picnick image editing software
• Free shipping by customer group
• Use images for widget names
• Product detail tab navigation
• Recently viewed product widget w/ product thumbnails
• Email blacklist
• Setup fees: taxable/not taxable
• Drag and drop design mode
• Phone Order system
• Template/stylesheet management
• Custom dashboard layout w/ KPI’s, RSS feeds and more
• Google site search integration
• 3D-Secure Integration
• Auto meta tags
• Free shipping membership Groups
• Add meta tags to custom product lists
• Specify the number of products to display in the featured widget
• Added gift certificate expiration dates
• Upload Customer photos (useful for storing customers faxed ID for products that require age verification)

It’s only January 2011, and we’ve already added the following features, just this year:
• Facebook/twitter/google login integration (1st shopping cart company to offer this)
• Restricting shipping by state
• Displaying product thumbnails on customer printer friendly receipts
• More pre-designed themes
• More pre-designed button groups
• More details about these new features here

The above list doesn’t even include features we added in 2008 or 2009. Because we offer so many features, the challenge becomes trying to balance easy-to-use -vs- full featured. I’ll be honest and admit that I am {on occassion} confused by our admin area. We are working with a usability expert to improve several keys areas of confusion to allow for a better overall user experience. Our first priority is over-hauling how shipping is configured…since this is the number one issue our support teams answer.

We look forward to a prosperous New Year with your help.

Matt DeLong
CoreCommerce CEO

What is Extended Validation SSL?
Extended Validation SSL Certificates give high-security Web browsers information to clearly identify a Web site’s organizational identity (no more hiding behind a private/proxy WHOIS record). All the major browsers support EV SSLs.

These EV SSL Certificates were created in direct response to the rise in Internet fraud, eroding consumer confidence in online transactions. These certificates require a much more thorough “vetting process” before an EV-SSL can be issued. Don’t expect to order the EV SSL Cert today and download it today. This process can often take many weeks and typically a “temporary EV-SSL” is issued until the complete application process is completed.

They are becoming more and more popular and CoreCommerce is installing more and more of our customers. The top SSL Cert providers Verisign, digiCERT & Comodo can provide the EV SSL Certs to give your customers more confidence!

So, perhaps you’ve come across these green address bars during the day and thought, “How do they do that?”, now you know!

What do EV SSLs look like in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari?

Details and the FAQ about Extended Validation SSLs can be found here. You can order these EV SSL directly from the companies mentioned above and order the CC installation from inside your admin > my account > services > secure certificate.

Our latest CoreCommerce release is rolling out today January 18, 2011. We are the first ecommerce solution to support Facebook connect, Twitter and Google login ability. This means with these new customer login options, your customers can actually create an account on your site quickly with their Facebook login, Twitter login or Google/GMail login. This will help increase conversions by giving customers a quicker way to checkout.

Using Facebook Connect, Twitter login and Google Login with CoreCommerce

Restrict Shipping By State

Setting up thumbnails on customer friendly receipt

As usual if you need any help please contact our award winning support department.

CoreCommerce Team

CoreCommerce customer, Basketlady.com was recently spotlighted on Internet Retailer. The article talks about CoreCommerce’s mobile store front feature and how it added $3,000 to their bottom line.

This feature is free on all ecommerce plans with CoreCommerce.

Read the article here:

BasketLady.com takes up a mobile offer from its e-commerce provider

For the second consecutive year, CoreCommerce is one of a just a few finalist in the coveted 2011 Customer Service Department of the Year (IT) Stevie Award. They are learning what all CoreCommerce store owners already know about our Legendary Support™.

The award winner will be announced in February 21, 2010 in Miami, Florida.

How we choose *which* new features to add to CoreCommerce is (and has always been) based on customer feedback. Now, after using GetSatisfaction for a little over a month now, I can gladly say that our process of adding new features is a little more transparent and alot more interactive–with you our customers. When posting your new ideas on how we can improve, you can get other customers feedback and opinions on your ideas. Other customers can share their perspective with you and you can get more votes.

Although not all new features submitted are added right away, you are able to see a little more of our software development process and learn how other customers are using CoreCommerce’s features. Ideas with the most votes (when you click the “I like this idea” button) will be implemented. What is popular today may not be in 3 weeks when we start working on another new round of features…so it’s important to vote! (who says your vote doesn’t count)

Although popular ideas are implemented, not all new features were voted on directly in the CoreCommerce Community. For example, creating subdomains was a feature that was implemented in the last round of changes, but didn’t receive many votes.  Creating subdomains for customers using 3rd party blogs continues to be one of the top 2 or 3 requests asked for in our support tickets. Giving customers the ability to create their own subdomains (CNAME & A records) and MX records on your own frees up valuable time for us to focus on building more new features.

So, not only do we implement popular features based on the number of votes, but we also cherry pick additional ideas that we like or can help us better serve you.

The third way to get new features rolled out is what we customers are calling Fast Track. The fast track is an idea actually came from @BulkCCTVStore and several customers in the community. The basic idea is that customers will group together to hire Core Commerce to add specific features that are NOT currently on our production schedule and get them on the “Fast Track”. One customer “hosts” the idea while other customers interact and fine tune the idea, funds the idea and presents it to Core Commerce for review. We agree on a time line, build the new feature and roll it out.

So, here’s to you our customers…let me hear your ideas…let’s make 2011 a record year.

CoreCommerce wins 1st place – 2011 Zippy Cart of Year

ZippyCart hires a panel of ecommerce experts to independently judge hundreds of ecommerce solutions each year. This panel then scores each solution based on 15 different factors, which they combine to give each shopping cart an overall score for the year. This year, ZippyCart decided to make a few changes which included increasing the scoring factors, adding a weighted algorithm, and creating awards for categories that their readers have been asking about.


Winners in the Category of Best Customer Service, CoreCommerce: 1st Place
Customer service goes a long way, especially if you think you’ll need some help along the way when running your online store. To determine who has the best customer service, the ZippyCart panel of experts took several factors into account including customer reviews, technical support tools, ability to contact an actual person instead of a recording, and of course a 3 month period of secret shopping during Q4, the busiest time of the year for ecommerce.

With a 93% customer approval rating, a great merchant review score, and an abundance of help tools at anyone’s disposal, CoreCommerce easily won first place for best customer service. Through CoreCommerce, you can connect with in-house U.S.-based help via LiveChat, telephone, 24/7 ticketing, Twitter, Facebook, and even GetSatisfaction (which they interact with regularly). Customers rave about CoreCommerce and feel like their needs matter, which makes CoreCommerce a must if customer service is your number one requirement.

Winners in the Category of Most Innovative, CoreCommerce: 1st Place
In the world of ecommerce software, some companies pave the way while others have a more “wait and see” attitude when it comes to adding new features. The most innovative ecommerce solutions are thought leaders in their industry that are often the first to market with new features and tools. Merchants using these solutions always have an edge over their competition, as they can dive into the newest ecommerce trend before the rest of the world even knows it’s a trend. If you’re an early adopter, then consider one of these ecommerce solutions.

While most ecommerce solutions release updates a few times each year, CoreCommerce updates their software on an almost monthly basis. They let their merchants help prioritize what features to roll out next and are often the first shopping cart on the market with new and competitive features.

We have extended our phone support hours effective January 3, 2011. Our new phone and live chat hours are 9am to 9pm EST Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday will remain 9am-6pm EST.

This moves CoreCommerce one step closer to 24/7 phone support. We look forward to continuing our legendary support throughout 2011.