Cart abandonment rate
What is Cart Abandonment Rate?
Cart abandonment rate is the percentage of online shopping carts that are created but not converted into completed purchases. It is calculated by dividing the number of completed purchases by the total number of created shopping carts, then subtracting the result from 1, and multiplying by 100 to get the percentage. This metric provides important insight into the performance of an eCommerce store’s checkout process. A high cart abandonment rate often signals issues in user experience, pricing transparency, or trust.
What causes a high cart abandonment rate?
Customers abandon their carts for many reasons. Common issues include:
These friction points can deter even highly motivated shoppers from completing their orders.
How can your business reduce cart abandonment?
Improving conversion rates begins with identifying where users drop off in the checkout process. Through analytics, A/B testing and customer feedback, businesses can pinpoint problem areas and apply targeted fixes.
Some proven strategies include:
If a user provides their email before abandoning their cart, cart recovery emails can be an effective follow-up strategy. These emails include a direct link to the shopper’s cart and often contain time-limited promo codes or delivery discounts to encourage completion. Reducing cart abandonment not only improves your conversion rate but also boosts customer lifetime value and maximises the effectiveness of your acquisition efforts.
