I found for me new alternative for Zen Cart shopping Cart - it is PrestaShop. PrestaShop is new and easy maintain shopping cart. It doesn’t have all features, what I need, but I get promise, that these features coming soon.

I have tested also osCommerce, Magento, Zen Cart (what I am using right now at my shops) and other smaller open source carts. But PrestaShop is one of the best.

After playing with PrestaShop some days, I can give now some information about PrestaShop.

What I like in PrestaShop

• Nice look - both front office and back office. And also easy to use template system. All Zen Cart and osCommerce shops looks similar. Its hard to make absolutley new look for beginner.
• Easy Catalog and product management - I am testing Magento also - and after half day - I still have no sucsess to add new product to front page :). With PrestaShop it was very easy.
• Speed - PrestaShop speed is much better than Magento has and also I feel, that speed is better than ZenCart or osCommerce
• Development - I like this new project and their conception. Also how I see - PrestaShop is developed mainly for EU market. This is one reason, why with ZenCart or osCommerce is little bit hard to start I think (but when you understanding all things, then there is no problem to use ZenCart or osCommerce in EU also)
• One best methods for translations - I want translate PrestaShop to Estonian, and it is very important to me, that this process is as easy as it can. And in PrestaShop translating is very easy. You can make new translation inside Your shop and translate everything online. And also - it gives You possibility to fix translations also. No more mess with hundreds of files like in ZenCart or osCommerce.
• Easy installation - Installation of PrestaShop is fast and easy - no special requirements for webserver or hunderds premission changes. Installation was fast and easy - like WordPress installation for me
• PDF Invoices to costumers - impossible thing in ZenCart right now. You need to install extra modules, made modifications to files etc. But in PrestaShop it works out of the box!
• Payment by bank wire - this module is mostly used in EU. In Zen Cart or osCommerce You need to add extra module for this
• Merchandise return (RMAs) & credit slips - also nice feature. Lucky me - I dont need any RMA-s or credit slips in my Zen Cart store until now, but newer knows, when you need that feature. In Estonia and EU You have right send back all staff, what you order from internet, within 14 days
• Unlimited Images - at ZenCart I have lot of problems to add additional images for product and also for attributes. At PrestaShop it is very easy to maintain images and you can add as many images to product, as You want
• Friendly URLs / Permalinks - very nice feature
  

Some things, that I think needs to improve in PrestaShop

• Better product Attribute handling - it is easy right now, but it needs some new features and more documentation. In this area Magento, ZenCart and osCommerce are right now at better situation. At Magento You can make special combined products from other products also
• Customized Products (text and images) - I am selling my own made Mugs, T-Shirts and other things. So I need possibility to attributes, that costumer can upload its picture or add text. Something is planned to next release in PrestaShop - let see.
• Updates notification - I think it is not so hard to add small information box to shop back end, what gives information, when You are running outdated version of PrestaShop.
• Packaging slips - this feature is missing - Why not to add that to PrestaShop, so that manager can print packaging slips. Very useful in ZenCart and other Cart systems.
• No manual - this is one worst thing for PrestaShop right now - there is no official English book or something.  So I am trying to add some Howtos to my other site - HowtoMatrix soon.
• Newsletter managment - right now is only possibility to export user list to CVS file and use some external mailinglist program. ZenCart and Magento have build in Newsletter manager. So You can send Newsletter directly from administration area
• Discounts - right now is possible to add vouchers to costumers and also add quantity discounts. But what is missing - user groups pricing. So that you can add costumer to group “Reseller” and he get evry time 20% discount. Right now You can only make special Voucher for this costumer.
• Page manager - You need to modify Your pages (Delivery, Terms, etc) by hand in code files. At Zen Cart You can modyfy them directly from administration area.

Even PrestaShop has some minuses for me (right now biggest minus is missing customized product attribute), I am still want to take it use in my shops.

Spott

PS: Sorry about bad English - I am not native English speaker.