E-Commerce Software Used by the Top 400 E-Tailers

E-commerce (shopping cart) software is listed for many e-tailers included in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide (2005 Edition). The largest online retailers use substantially different e-commerce software due primarily to price, scale, support, features, and the problems created by the need to integrate with legacy retail software systems. In all, 60 different e-commerce programs were mentioned. In addition, many retailers had in-house programmed systems or extensively modified licensed software purchased from vendors. In this brief article I display a bar graph showing relative use of the top 27 e-commerce programs. Additional pie-graphs compare the e-commerce programs selected by the top 100 e-tailers compared with those ranked 101 to 400.

The largest online merchants are using software that facilitates custom searches, merchandizing, cross-selling, up-selling, and presentation of products based on what a shopper has looked at. This kind of software is quite expensive, but powerful, and helps raise conversion rates for the stores that use it.

My biggest surprise was that Yahoo Merchant Solutions -- a program used by many small e-tailers -- was used by eight of those in the 101 to 400 group of top e-tailers. Several e-tailers mentioned more than one program in this category. Clearly Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions/ecommerce.mspx) was the leader with the various types of e-commerce software they have offered for many years. Other leaders were GSI Commerce (www.gsicommerce.com), ATG (www.atg.com), and IBM (www-306.ibm.com/software/websphere/).

Internet Retailer 2005 Top 400 E-Commerce Software http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmtp8/images/400_ecom_top400.gif

Internet Retailer 2005 Top 100 E-Commerce Software
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Internet Retailer 2005 Top 101-400 E-Commerce Software
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