Joomla E-commerce Integration

So you need an ecommerce solutions for your website? What options are the best to choose? There are basically 2 options to choose from:

I can integrate Oscommerce/ZenCart with Joomla/Mambo or do Oscommerce on
it's own. I recommend the integration.

Here is a basic comparison you can have a look at to make the appropriate
decision:

Joomla/Virtuemart Integration

- Effective and Adequate Ecommerce solution:yes
- Can be worked on offline*:yes
- Instant Checkout:yes
- Highly customizable:yes
- Highly versatile:yes
- Highly expandable:yes

Joomla/Oscommerce Integration

- Effective and Adequate Ecommerce solution:yes
- Can be worked on offline*:yes
- Instant Checkout:no(users must check email to confirm - can create lost
sales because of inconvenience)
- Highly customizable:yes
- Highly versatile:yes
- Highly expandable:yes

Oscommerce Alone

- Effective and Adequate Ecommerce solution:yes
- Can be worked on offline*:no
- Instant Checkout:no(users must check email to confirm - can create lost
sales because of inconvenience)
- Highly customizable:no
- Highly versatile:no
- Highly expandable:yes(for ecommerce related modules only)

When I say highly customizable I mean "easier to customize", customization
has it's limits just like the basic design of the family car has remained
the same for nearly 100 years, 4 wheels, engine and brakes. Content
management(CMS) websites don't offer the flexibility of let's say a
multimedia site like Disney where artistic value supersedes functionality.
CMS sites are commercial in nature and the emphasis is more on usability
than design.

*Joomla has an excellent offline virtual Apache server making it possible to
develop and maintain the website offline. Saves incredible amounts of time
for web maintenance versus internet connection. This feature also makes it
easier to auto populate the website with products or content items.