Store building programs can either be infinitely customizable (and very complex to learn) or minimally customizable (and very easy to learn). iCat Commerce Online (http://www.icatmall.com/merchant/index.icl) is of the latter type (while their iCat Electronic Commerce Suite is definitely the former). Having seen the success of Viaweb (now Yahoo! Store), iCat turned its considerable experience to a similar product, and has sought to capture the public's eye with their offer of a free store. This places iCat in a strong position to capture both the higher end online stores with their established Electronic Commerce Publisher as well as the small to medium-side shops with Commerce Online. Pricing is quite reasonable.

iCat Commerce Online succeeds admirably in making it simple to set up an online store. It walks the neophyte merchant through a step-by-step process, with plenty of help screens available. The system also includes a Commerce Online Handbook as well as a Commerce Online Tutorial and uses JavaScript effectively to make setting up the system quite painless. The merchant can select from four layouts and a number of graphic/color combinations. In addition, merchants can substitute their own graphics for some of the elements (including the background).

Next, the merchant enters the name and a short description of each category in the store. Categories act as "shelves" in the online store. iCat Commerce Online is limited to only one level of categories, so larger stores will need a great many top-level categories to display their products. Product search and index features, however, provide alternate means of browsing through the store.

Merchants have their choice of entering data by hand, or using iCat-supplied Microsoft Excel templates to enter product data and then upload it directly to the store. Graphics, too, can be uploaded for each product, and the program allows a number of user-defined fields. Options are available for color, size, etc. Shipping can be calculated either on the amount of the total order or shipping costs can be designated for each individual product, though unfortunately shipping by weight (the obvious choice for many businesses) is not offered.

iCat Commerce Online can interface with CyberCash for real-time credit card authorization, but this is not a requirement. Even without a live connection to a credit card processor, the program runs a 10-mod check that will catch some credit card number entry errors (and a few stupid fraudsters). In fairly short order, a merchant can set up a functional online store,for business, and be listed in the iCat Mall. Merchants can also use their own domain name for their store.

But overall, I was disappointed. While all the pieces are here, iCat Commerce Online doesn't create a very customer friendly interface. The program explains how to order a product well enough (though on some color schemes the "add to cart" button is light and difficult to see). But once a product has been selected, there is no "check out now" button to induce the customer to complete the transaction. Instead, the customer must know to click on an icon named "Cart" to begin the check out process. Nor is the process straightforward. The shopper must transverse through a (1) register-as-a-shopper screen (and have to remember a password to be recognized at a later visit), (2) fill out a billing address form, (3) fill out a shipping address form (though a sharp-eyed shopper can select the "same as billing address" button). Now the shopper must (4) select a shipping method option on a separate screen, and then go to (5) select payment method on yet another screen. If the customer clicks through all five screens, he can complete an order -- and win a special award for shopper patience. But studies indicate that the more clicks required to place an order, the more shoppers drop out of the process. (iCat promises a two-screen ordering system will be available by late July.)

The order screen doesn't seem very friendly for International shoppers either. The program provides only one street address line, and allows only two characters for US and Canadian states or provinces.

From a marketing standpoint, iCat has done a lot of things right. Pricing is quite competitive with Yahoo! Shop, and the free offer is hard to ignore. But Yahoo! Store is a superior product, with much more customization possible, and Yahoo! Store's statistical analysis features are still the best available on any store building system I've seen. Some small merchants will find that iCat Commerce Online meets their needs quite adequately. But many will opt for the features of Yahoo! Store or wait for a more mature product from iCat.

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