No shopping possible in the Starter version?

I have been evaluating various e-commerce options. So far I have looked at virtuemart (too complex), simplecaddy (too buggy and simplistic), and joomshopping (poor support), and hikashop. Hikashop seems to fit the bill many ways and clearly this forum is vibrant and alive. The product looks professionally designed and well received.

To evaluate hikashop, I installed the Starter version. But, I can't see how a customer can place an order! After adding items to the cart, the user is asked to either log in or register (disabled for starter version). Without registering, one can not log in either. And, I did not see an option for the user to place an order without registering or logging in! The comparison table at www.hikashop.com/en/hikashop.html does not seem to indicate anywhere that in this edition, a customer can not complete the ordering. So, how does one place an order in this version? Am I missing something?

Nicolas, many thanks for a prompt reply. You are right -- new user account registration was turned off in Joomla configuration. So, this means that hikashop is using Joomla's built-in user creation mechanism.

I do see in your documentation that the business edition of hikashop allows you to fine-tune registration option. However, if I did purchase the business edition and enabled the registration option, would hikashop still use Joomla's user registration mechanism or would it do it via its own mechanism perhaps in a separate database? The reason I ask this is that I would rather not pollute Joomla's own user id set with hikashop users.

Nicolas, I had read those three possibilities in your documentation. So, I think you are confirming that hiksahop relies on Joomla's user id creation and modification mechanism when the option in business edition is set to "Registration". Is this something that I should be worried about from a security point of view?

I commend your efforts in maintaining such a lively and responsive forum. It is a pleasure to be here.