What is the difference between cart abandonment and checkout abandonment?

Cart abandonment counts every cart that does not become an order. Checkout abandonment only counts shoppers who started checkout and left before paying. Checkout abandonment is usually lower and points more directly at problems in the checkout itself.

Is a 70% cart abandonment rate bad?

Not necessarily. Large cross-industry studies, such as the Baymard Institute's, put the average around that level, so it is a common result. What matters more is whether your own rate is rising or falling, and how it differs between mobile and desktop.

Do abandoned-cart emails really work?

They recover part of the loss, which is why most stores use them. They work best when they are timely, show the products the shopper chose and link straight back to the cart. Fixing the cause in your checkout is still more valuable, because it prevents the abandonment in the first place.

Should I offer a discount to win back abandoned carts?

Use discounts carefully. If shoppers learn that leaving a cart triggers a coupon, some will abandon on purpose. Try a plain reminder first and keep discounts for later steps or for higher-value carts.

Why does my cart abandonment rate differ between tools?

Tools define carts differently - some count every cart created, others only carts with an email address or checkouts started. Pick one source for carts, keep using it, and compare like with like over time.

What Is Cart Abandonment Rate? Formula, Benchmarks and How to Track It

Cart abandonment rate is one minus completed orders divided by carts created, as a percentage. Some abandonment is browsing behaviour you cannot fix; the part worth working on is caused by surprise costs, forced account creation and slow or confusing checkout.

Cart abandonment rate is the share of shopping carts that never turn into orders. A shopper adds something to their cart, maybe even starts checkout, and then leaves. For most online stores, that happens far more often than a completed purchase.

Because so many carts are abandoned, even a small improvement - a clearer shipping message, one less form field - can add up to meaningful revenue without spending more on traffic.

What Is Cart Abandonment Rate?

Cart abandonment rate measures how many carts are created but never completed. Some stores also track checkout abandonment - the share of shoppers who start checkout and leave before paying - which zooms in on the final steps.

Not every abandoned cart is a lost sale. Many shoppers use the cart as a wishlist, compare prices across stores, or check the total including shipping before deciding. The abandonment worth working on is the part caused by friction: surprise costs, forced account creation, a slow or confusing checkout, or a missing payment option.

🧒 Explained simply Ten kids walk up to your lemonade stand and pick up a cup. Only three actually pay. Some were just curious, but a few put the cup down when they found out ice costs extra, and one left because the line was too long. Cart abandonment is the seven cups put back on the table - and the ones you can win back are the ones you scared off yourself.

How to Calculate Cart Abandonment Rate

Cart Abandonment Rate = (1 − Completed orders ÷ Carts created) × 100

Example: Say a store sees 2,000 carts created in a month and 600 completed orders.

(1 − 600 ÷ 2,000) × 100 = (1 − 0.30) × 100 = 70%

Seven in ten carts in this example never became an order.

A few things to watch when you calculate it:

Use the same period for both numbers. Carts and orders should come from the same date range.
Decide whether you mean carts or checkouts. Checkout abandonment uses checkouts started instead of carts created. It will usually be lower, because shoppers who reach checkout are further along.
Exclude test orders and cancelled orders so the completed side reflects real purchases.
Segment it. Mobile and desktop, new and returning shoppers, and different traffic sources often abandon at very different rates.

Why Cart Abandonment Rate Matters

It points straight at your checkout. Conversion rate tells you how many visits end in an order. Cart abandonment tells you where the ones that got close fell away, which makes it much easier to act on.

It is revenue you already paid for. You spent money and effort bringing those shoppers in, and they chose products. Recovering even a slice of them is cheaper than finding new visitors.

It reveals hidden costs and friction. A sudden rise often follows a change - new shipping rates, a checkout update, a payment option that stopped working. Watching the trend helps you catch problems quickly.

What Is a Good Cart Abandonment Rate?

Large cross-industry studies, such as the Baymard Institute's, put the average cart abandonment rate at around 70%. In other words, abandoning a cart is the normal outcome for most shoppers, not a sign that something is broken.

That figure is a rough reference point rather than a target. Your category, price point, device mix and traffic sources all move it. The more useful comparison is with yourself: track your rate by device and over time, and look for changes that line up with something you did to the store.

How to Reduce Cart Abandonment

1. Show the full cost early

Unexpected shipping costs are one of the most commonly reported reasons shoppers leave. Show shipping costs (or a free-shipping threshold) on product pages and in the cart, not just on the final checkout step.

2. Allow guest checkout

Forcing shoppers to create an account before buying is another commonly reported cause. Offer guest checkout and invite people to create an account after the order is placed, when it feels like a convenience rather than a hurdle.

3. Shorten and simplify checkout

Remove fields you do not need, use address autocomplete, and make the form easy to fill in on a phone. Every extra step is another chance to leave.

4. Offer the payment methods your customers expect

If a shopper's preferred wallet or payment option is missing, some will simply go elsewhere. Check what your customers use and make sure it is available and working on every device.

5. Send abandoned-cart emails

Abandoned-cart emails recover part of the loss. A simple sequence - a reminder within a few hours, a follow-up a day later - is usually enough. Lead with the products and a clear link back to the cart before reaching for a discount.

How to Track Cart Abandonment Rate

Chartsy for Ecommerce connects to your BigCommerce store and reports completed orders accurately, with hourly syncs and read-only access. Chartsy does not have cart data: cart and checkout-start counts come from your store platform's abandoned-cart reports or your analytics tool. Take carts from there, completed orders from Chartsy, and the formula above gives you the rate.

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What is Cart Abandonment Rate?

Key takeaways