Exciting New Storefront Widget by Paypal
Posted by admin | 
February 4th, 2008
Paypal has a new storefront widget, still in beta but fully operational, that enables you to create an online store complete with shopping cart via your own account on the Paypal site.
This is the link you will need to use to set up your own Paypal Storefront, as the Storefront Widget is still in Beta at Paypal Labs. You login with your current Paypal information.
This is a tremendous new service!
What this means is that customers can now purchase products directly from your website or blog. You no longer need to install a shopping cart on your website, or hire a programmer to create an online store for you.
You can also offer your customers the opportunity to purchase an online Gift Certificate or Discount Coupon using the Paypal Store feature.
You need to host your images elsewhere in order to have pictures show up in your listings. I recommend Image Cave as an excellent, basic image hosting service.
One of the things I really like about this storefront is how easy it is to customize. You can change colors and make other changes that will help the storefront blend in to the look of your current website. Another nice thing is that this little storefront looks very much like a mobile phone interface. I think it will have a lot of potential if you are targeting the .mobi crowd!
Note that that the storefront is viral via the ‘Help Sell These Products’ link, meaning someone else can sell your products on their website. (Why they would want to do this, I’m not sure, but it is an interesting concept that has great potential for enterprising online entreprenuers!)
Here’s what the storefront looks like in a blog post or website:
Take some time to click anything and everything that is clickable to see how versatile this widget really is. (Don’t overlook the little i in the top right-hand corner!)
When you click the ‘buy’ button, the item is added to your shopping cart. When you click the ‘Checkout’ link you are taken to your Paypal account login page. (Which means you can have fun clicking the links without having to worry about making an accidental purchase. Purchases can only be completed via your Paypal account.)
Please note that this storefront is still in beta and is available on the Paypal Labs site only. (PayPal Labs is PayPal’s showcase site which allows you to take Paypal’s experimental products for a spin.)
