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SamCart, an online shopping cart software, was created by Scott Moran and Brian Moran in 2013. It’s been around for a while, but lately, it seems to be everywhere.
It is being praised by many business owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs as the best shopping cart software on the market today.
But, does it really live up to the hype?
In this SamCart review, I am going to share my experience with this software: who it’s good for, it’s pros and cons, and whether or not it’s worth it for your business.
Is SamCart Worth it?
SamCart demo available. Click Here to get a FREE demo
In my opinion, SamCart is absolutely worth the investment because compared to the majority of other shopping cart platforms, it offers tons of useful features and is optimized to help you increase conversions which ultimately boosts your bottom line.
Marketers know how important it is to test your pages in order to maximize conversions. SamCart has taken care of all the details so you can make the most of every sale.
If you sell a $47 PDF and you use a standard checkout page, you might not be allowed to add an extra sale. But, with an upsell to the same offer (using SamCart, of course), you may be able to sell an additional $60 product to 30% of your customers.
What does this mean for you?
This means more revenue per sale, as well as a higher average order size, which ultimately leads to more money in your pocket.
Sidenote: If you do purchase SamCart, I’d be grateful if you supported me by clicking on this link to purchase.
The countless reviews and testimonials from happy customers speak for themselves:
SamCart is Good for Who?
SamCart is perfect for anyone who sells stuff online. From physical products to digital products like courses, events, books, and seminars. You can even use it to sell services, such as consulting services on your website.
However, unlike other shopping cart software, it is specifically designed for a specific user. This means it will not be suitable for all.
Depending on whether you are selling information products, software, or memberships, you will find out the various features and functionality of SamCart to help you decide if it is the right shopping cart for your needs.
SamCart Pros & Cons
SamCart, like all other software, comes with its own set of pros and cons. These are the pros and cons of SamCart. I’ve listed them below to help you understand what to expect from this shopping basket.
SamCart Pros
- User-Friendly Platform: SamCart is a user-friendly platform for selling both physical and digital products online.
- Integrations The software can be integrated with many marketing tools and services via Zapier.
- Flexible Payment models: SamCart offers flexible payment options, including subscriptions and payment plans.
- Supports One-Click Upsells: You can use one-click upsells, downsells, and even “bumps” to boost your revenue.
- Granular Coupons and Discounts Control: You have granular control over how you use coupons and discounts for your products.
- Affiliate Management – SamCart offers an integrated affiliate program management system that is comparable to other shopping carts. This will make it easy to manage your affiliate program.
- Great Support: SamCart has a vast knowledge base to help you with all types of issues. You can also get support through email, Facebook group, and live chat.
- Reporting and Analytics: The platform has an impressive reporting dashboard that provides you with useful insights from your data..
SamCart demo available. Click Here to get a FREE demo
SamCart Cons
- Not Great for Services: SamCart isn’t well-suited for selling services. However, you can still do so by being creative with how you name your offer.
- Limited Design Options: SamCart’s checkout templates design options are not as extensive as other shopping cart software within the same price range.
- No Cryptocurrency Payments: When using SamCart, you need to find a different method for accepting cryptocurrency payments. It also doesn’t have Apple Pay.
- Very Few Payment Integrations: Although SamCart offers a lot of payment options, it only integrates with a few payment processors like Stripe and PayPal.
- High Price: SamCart does offer an impressive range of features, but the pricing is still a bit high for small business owners and individual marketers. This is especially true when compared with platforms such as ThriveCart which offer their services for a one time payment.
Top SamCart Functionality
The one thing that might make you choose SamCart over other types of shopping cart software is its functionality. This is where its true strengths lie.
We take a look below at each function of SamCart, to give you a better understanding of what makes SamCart different and how it can benefit your business.
One-Click Upsells
This is what makes SamCart stand out from other platforms. You can maximize your profit from every sale with the platform’s one-click upsells
You’re wasting a lot of money if you don’t use upsells in your sales funnel. The world’s biggest retailer, Amazon, reports that SamCart makes it easy to upsell. According to their website, it will increase customer value up to 68%.
Bump Offers
SamCart offers cross-selling order bumps. This strategy is also known as “bundling”, which involves combining the main product with other products in order to increase profits.
An example of this concept at work is when McDonald’s offers you fries and drinks with your burgers. Or, if you purchase sports equipment, you might also get an offer for half price gym membership or something like that.
So, for instance, if you sell laptops using SamCart shopping cart software, you might also offer bump offers of laptop bags, antivirus packages (Avast could really use this) , etc. This is a great way to increase customer value.
SamCart makes this extremely easy to do with just a click of a button. It’s easy to set up and customers will make purchases through the optimized checkout process.
Checkout Pages
Samcart’s checkout platform currently has 18 professionally-designed shopping cart templates. All of these have been proven to convert.
All the pages are mobile responsive and they have a unique “sandbox” mode that allows you to check that everything is working perfectly before going live. This is unlike other shopping cart software where you have to publish your page, then test it.
A lot of well-known marketers use SamCart which means that you will be able to avoid having to spend countless hours designing and testing checkout pages on your own. Take the advice of others and use their experience to see immediate results in your sales and marketing campaigns.
All the checkout page templates on SamCart also come with built-in testimonials, security reassurances, guarantees, and various other trust elements designed to boost conversion rates.
Want to see a demo of SamCart in action? Click Here for a free demo
All you have to do is pick a template to use, and then customize it to match your brand colors and style.
One-page Checkout
This unique feature allows you to add multiple payment options on one checkout page.
Here’s an example:
SamCart can be used to sell an online course at $447. On other shopping cart pages you may have to use separate checkout pages.
SamCart’s one-page checkout keeps visitors on the page as they decide on the best way to pay for your product.
You, as an online marketer, know how important it is to keep your visitors on your site. If they leave, you could lose them all together.
Affiliate Center
SamCart makes it easy for you to not only sell your products online but also to enlist a whole army of affiliates who will promote your stuff and increase your revenue.
In fact, the platform’s affiliate management feature is so robust that you don’t even have to spend any time promoting your products or services.
Affiliates are a great way to promote your product or service without having to spend money on advertising or other marketing. You only pay them once you make a sale.
Subscription Saver
If you sell subscription products online, this is one SamCart feature that you will find extremely appealing.
You know that not everyone pays their bills on time. Some missed payments might be due to credit cards that simply expired, or it might be unscrupulous people who decline charges or cancel their cards to avoid honoring their obligations.
It doesn’t matter what the reason is, it’s bad for the marketer. Often times you won’t be able to get your money, unless you take legal action against the customer.
SamCart protects you from expired credit cards or declined payments. SamCart sends your customers an email whenever a payment is not received.
Customers will receive an email with a link to update their payment information. This will save you time and prevent you from spending valuable time trying to find customers who have not paid their bills.
SamCart will automatically cancel a customer’s subscription if they fail to update their payment information. After receiving multiple emails, SamCart marks them as “delinquent”. This allows you to identify the person and contact them if necessary.
You can keep tabs on what’s going on in Subscription Saver via SamCart’s simple and effective dunning report.
A/B Testing
All marketers have a good idea of how important it is to split test everything. Split testing is especially useful if your cart abandonment rate is high. A small increase can make a big difference in your revenue.
This applies to your blog headlines, opt in pages, email subject lines and sales pages.
But, few marketers ever really bother testing their checkout pages. When you consider just how much money you stand to make by optimizing your pages, it makes no sense that someone would knowingly ignore such an important part of their sales funnel.
Luckily, SamCart makes this part easy, as well. You can even run live A/B tests on your pages, a feature that is unique as far as shopping cart pages go.
There are tons of different things you can test on SamCart, such as changing the template, trying out a different guarantee/testimonial, etc., removing fields (tests have shown that the fewer fields you have, the better), and much more.
Want to see a demo of SamCart in action? Click Here for a free demo
SamCart Integrations
SamCart has many integrations that allow you to connect your shopping cart with the rest of your marketing strategy.
These are the major integrations available on the platform:
Payment Providers: One of the first things you’re prompted to do once you log into SamCart is to set up your payment processor. So far, there are only two options available, but SamCart is working on adding new integrations to the shopping cart platform. It’s also important to note that there are no cryptocurrency payments, such as bitcoin, or mobile payments, such as Apple Pay on the platform.
Email Marketing Providers Email marketing is a key integration for most marketers before choosing a shopping cart. SamCart supports many email marketing solutions including iContact and HubSpot, Ontraport. Active Campaign, MailChimp and Drip.
Membership Platforms: SamCart supports a wide range of membership platforms, including Thinkific, Post Affiliate Pro, WishList Member, Digital Access Pass, Optimize Member, and Membermouse.
Webinar platforms: SamCart’s check-out software can be used to help you sell your products and services if you host webinars . Although there currently aren’t any native integrations for webinar platforms on SamCart, the software easily integrates with Zapier which allows you to connect to a wide range of webinar platforms, including GoToWebinar and WebinarJam.
Fulfillment services: If you are selling physical products with SamCart shopping cart software you only have one option for fulfillment: ShipStation. However, with Zapier, you can link out to a variety of other fulfillment systems to suit your business needs.
SamCart Alternatives
There are many shopping cart options available today, as we have already mentioned.
SamCart is just one of many, and although it has amazing features and functionality, there are a few others that can give this platform a run for its money.
Listed below are four SamCart alternatives, and depending on the specific features you need for your business, these may prove to be a better (or worse) option. This post has more alternatives.
SamCart vs. ThriveCart
Note: You can read my full SamCart vs ThriveCart Review here.
ThriveCart is an online shopping cart software designed for e-commerce sites. It has many of the same features that SamCart has, including one-click upsells, affiliate management center, etc.
But, SamCart does have significantly more features than ThriveCart. SamCart’s only advantage over ThriveCart is in price.
SamCart can be purchased at a monthly cost, but you can also get ThriveCart by paying a $495 one-time fee.
This is just one reason why many digital marketers prefer SamCart over the other.
Also worth mentioning is the fact that ThriveCart integrates with most of the major payment processing systems available right now, whereas SamCart only integrates with PayPal and Stripe.
SamCart vs. PayKickStart
PayKickStart allows you to easily manage your online business with a flexible shopping cart.
The software includes features like a page builder for sales funnels, powerful page editors, and pop-ups for checkout forms. PayKickstart can be integrated with Braintree and Stripe, PayPal and Authorize.net.
This is the main difference between SamCart and PayKickStart. All other aspects are the same.
Both platforms support multiple languages and currencies. Both platforms provide deep, actionable insights via a robust reporting dashboard. They also make it easy to set up shopping carts. They each come with a smart dashboard, conversion tools, affiliate center, and robust apps integration.
When it comes to pricing, PayKickStart offers four different subscription plans: Basic $99/month, Growth $199/month, Scale $299/month, and a custom plan that will be tailored to suit your business.
SamCart’s monthly price is only $49/month. It’s easy to see why marketers prefer SamCart to PayKickStart.
SamCart vs. Shift4Shop, formerly 3D Cart
Shift4Shop, a well-known e-commerce platform, was founded over 20 years ago. The software comes with a lot of features that make it easy to create optimized checkout pages for higher conversions.
It is a great alternative to SamCart for those who want a greater selection of templates for their checkout pages. Shift4Shop has over 50 free templates, each of which contains all the features and elements required to boost your conversions.
You will get more templates if you select a higher-level plan. Premium templates are responsive to mobile devices, which will ensure excellent viewing experience for your customers on mobile.
Shift4Shop also allows you to promote your products on social media, and all the plans come with $50 ad credits to get you started reaching a wider audience on different social media platforms.
Prices for Shift4Shop range from $19/month for “Startup” stores to $229/month for “Pro” stores.
SamCart vs. Clickfunnels
You can read my in-depth SamCart vs. Clickfunnels comparison here.
You can also use Clickfunnels to create beautiful checkout pages.
It comes with support for a variety of payment processors, including PayPal and Stripe among many others. It supports many email marketing and automation tools such as Ontraport, Infusionsoft, and NMI.
Compared to other shopping cart software, Clickfunnels is a more complete system as it allows you to build landing pages as well as shopping cart pages.
This means, in essence, that it’s a lot more than just a shopping cart. It’s an A-Z sales funnel that removes the need for a ton of other marketing tools for anyone who wants to sell services or products online.
I’ve also written this SamCart vs. Shopify Comparison.
Truth be told, Samcart has a lot of competitors because many systems add checkout functionality. Kajabi, Convertkit and Aweber are just a few of the many systems that offer checkout functionality. As good as these platforms can be for their intending purpose, they aren’t nearly as focused as Samcart is.
Pricing
SamCart offers four plans:
- Launch: $49/month
- Grow $99/month
- Scale – $199/month
- Enterprise: 399/month
Pricing is straightforward, and each plan has the same features as the one before.
For instance, when you get the Grow plan, you get all the features of the Launch, plus a few advanced features, such as customer management, subscription charge reminders, advanced subscription cancellations, and so on.
You get the same if you choose to go with the Scale plan. You get all the features available in the Grow plan, as well as additional features like the dunning tool, affiliate center, CRM integrations, and A/B testing.
Each plan comes with a 14-day free trial, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee. Additional discounts are available if you pay annually.
Product Support
SamCart offers support in a variety of ways, including email, live chat, and a Facebook group. The site also has detailed documentation. It also features an intuitive interface that makes it easy to navigate.
Want to see a demo of SamCart in action? Click Here to get a FREE demo
Here is a more detailed look at the support offered by SamCart.
Intuitive Interface From the moment you log in to the platform, you’ll be guided through the steps necessary to get you set up as quickly and easily as possible.
Help Center: SamCart has a thorough knowledge base with written posts and video tutorials to help you solve any type of potential issues you might come up against.
Live Chat: If you have a pressing problem, SamCart offers support via live chat. SamCart support is responsive to all requests, despite the fact that the response time may vary.
Facebook Group:SamCart boasts a large Facebook community with over 24,000 members. It also has a support team who will gladly answer any questions you may have on Facebook.
Email Support: Although SamCart doesn’t offer direct contact to the support team, they do offer email support during business hours (that is, 9 AM to 5 PM ET weekdays).
FAQ
What’s Samcart?
Samcart is an online shopping cart that allows you to sell both digital products, online services, and can even be used to sell physical products. You can create sales pages, marketing channels, run an affiliate programme, and much more with Samcart. Samcart is the most popular online shopping cart due to its excellent marketing and wide adoption by business owners all over the world.
What is Samcart used for?
Samcart can be used across many industries. Samcart is a tool that can be used to help individuals sell products or services online. They have solutions for course creators, authors, coaches/consultants, agencies, side hustlers, amazon and Etsy sellers, Physical product sellers, entrepreneurs, and even non-profits.
Can You Integrate SamCart with Zapier?
You can integrate SamCart with Zapier, which will then allow you to instantly connect with over 3,000 marketing automation tools and apps to help you automate your work, supercharge your productivity, and boost your bottom line.
Can SamCart Handle VAT?
SamCart makes it easy to manage your online taxes. SamCart automatically calculates the correct tax rates for your customers and charges sales tax accordingly.
Does SamCart Allow Coupon Codes?
SamCart allows you to use coupons. It also offers one of the most precise control features (compared with other shopping cart software) over how coupons are used for products and services.
Instead of one coupon being applied to all your products, you can apply a coupon to a specific product and a differentcoupon for other products within the same sales funnel.
SamCart:
SamCart offers a powerful A/B testing tool that will help you increase your conversions. To find the best version for your customers, you can test all aspects of your checkout page. You can also find detailed tutorials and a step by step process for split testing on the platform.
Does SamCart have a Money Back Guarantee?
SamCart offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you decide that the software is not for you. Just make sure you cancel your subscription a few days before the payment is due to go off in order to avoid having to needlessly pay for an additional month. The platform also offers a free 14-day trial, which will make it less likely that you will need a refund since you’ll have the chance to get to know the platform in-depth before opting for any of the premium plans.
How Does SamCart Pay You?
With regards to affiliate commissions, SamCart doesn’t pay you. Rather, you get your payments directly from the vendor or your affiliate manager on the platform. All supported payment methods are accepted, including Stripe and PayPal.
Is SamCart Legit?
SamCart is definitely legit for digital marketers who want to sell services or products (both physical and digital) online.
It is an affordable shopping cart software which allows you to optimize your sales by using various payment models, discounts and coupons.
SamCart is a valuable tool that is easy to set up and makes a great addition to any online business.
If you do decide to try SamCart, I’d be greatly appreciative if you use this link to suppo