an e - commerce system , comprising a master console software application executing on a first network - connected server and accessible to a plurality of external systems used by merchants , a shopping cart software application executing on a second network - connected server and coupled to the first server , and interface software executing on the second server for interacting with content associated with a first user is disclosed , wherein a merchant interacts with the master console software application to load information about a product available for promotion and sale by the first user , the master console software application makes that information available to the shopping cart software application , and the interface software provides information and code related to the specific product to the content , the code compatible with the content , and upon the code being activated in the content by a second user , the second user is connected to the shopping cart software application , and is thereby enabled to buy the product .