What is an abandoned cart, and how can you prevent it?

What is cart abandonment?

Cart abandonment is when a potential customer adds items to their cart in an ecommerce store but leaves before completing the transaction.

For example, say a user is browsing an online store that sells shoes. This is what their abandoned cart journey would look like:

Digital shopping cart abandonment is a serious issue that costs brands $18 billion on average in revenue loss annually. It represents a significant gap between the user intent and completed purchases, meaning customers are interested, but something in the buying journey is stopping them.

Cart abandonment vs. checkout abandonment

Although cart abandonment and checkout abandonment are sometimes used interchangeably, they denote two different areas in a customer's buying journey. Distinguishing between them is key to identifying where and why users drop off.

Both result in lost conversions, with the major difference between them being the stage at which the user exits.

How to calculate the cart abandonment rate?

To reduce cart abandonment rate actively, you first need a clear, data-backed understanding of your store’s current performance. Industry benchmarks indicate that the average cart abandonment rate is around 70.22%, making it a critical metric to monitor and optimize.

The standard formula to calculate your cart abandonment rate is:

For example, if your store recorded 1,000 shopping carts created, 300 of which were completed transactions, the calculation would be:

Cart Abandonment Rate = [1 – (300 ÷ 1,000)] × 100

= [1 – 0.3] × 100

= 0.7 × 100

= 70%

This means that 70% of users abandoned their carts before completing the checkout process.

Average ecommerce checkout completion rates range from 20% to 40%. While the checkout completion depends on product value, a good benchmark is considered 40%.

Why is cart abandonment bad for your business?

Online shopping cart abandonment is an important metric that gives a clear view of your immediate revenue loss and a customer's perception of your brand. Here are key reasons why shopping cart abandonment is bad.

Wastes customer acquisition costs

When a user abandons their cart, the money spent to acquire that customer, through paid ads, social campaigns, SEO, or affiliate channels, does not translate into revenue.

These high-intent users who were close to converting will lower your return on ad spend (ROAS) and increase your cost per acquisition (CPA).

Signals trust gaps in the buying experience

Cart abandonment often signals a customer's lack of trust. It creates friction and increases the number of users dropping off before completing their purchase.

Common trust gaps are usually created through hesitation in quality, unclear return or refund policies, unexpected or hidden costs, insecure payment process, or lack of payment options.

Implies poor user experience

Friction within your buying journey directly impacts your conversions. Even highly motivated buyers may abandon their purchase if the process feels difficult.

Lengthy or complicated checkout processes, slow-loading pages, confusing navigation, and poor mobile optimization are major disruptions to the customer experience.

Impacts overall growth of business

High cart abandonment rates can distort how you interpret demand, making it difficult to plan effectively across inventory, promotions, and pricing strategies.

When conversions remain low, even increased traffic is of no use. It may also push businesses to rely heavily on discounts to recover sales, which can erode margins over time.

Why do people abandon their carts?

Cart abandonment can happen for a variety of reasons, ranging from low purchase intent to fixable issues within the buying experience.

According to a study by Baymard Institute, nearly 43% of users abandon their carts simply because they’re browsing and are not ready to buy, similar to window shopping in a physical store.

However, beyond this segment, most abandonment drivers are directly tied to friction, trust, and usability issues within the checkout experience.

• Extra costs like shipping/taxes are too high (39%).

• Delivery was too slow (21%).

• Didn’t trust the site with credit card information (19%).

• Forced to create an account (19%).

• Checkout process was too long or complicated (18%).

• Unsatisfactory return policy (15%).

• Website errors or crashes (15%).

• Couldn’t see or calculate total order cost upfront (14%).

• Limited payment options (10%).

• Payment was declined (8%).

While there's limited opportunity to convert users who are simply browsing, the remaining causes of cart abandonment are largely within your control and can be addressed effectively.

How to prevent cart abandonment?

Simplify the checkout process

A complex or lengthy checkout can quickly drive users away. Reducing the number of steps required to complete a purchase can make the experience faster and more intuitive.

Eliminate unnecessary form fields and only collect essential information. Features like autofill and address detection can further speed up the process.

Commonly used checkout methods include one-page checkout and multi-step checkout.

Enable guest checkout

Around 24% of shoppers abandon their carts when forced to create an account, especially first-time buyers or if they just want to buy one product.

Allowing guest checkout is one of the best cart abandonment solutions that can drastically reduce friction and keep users focused on completing their purchase. You can always offer account creation as an optional step after checkout.

Be transparent with pricing

Unexpected costs are said to be the number one cause of cart abandonment. Clearly displaying all charges upfront, including shipping fees, taxes, and any additional costs, is important as users want to know exactly what to expect.

It is always important to avoid introducing extra fees at the final step. This often leads to immediate drop-offs and even builds hesitation around the brand.

Optimize for mobile users

Mobile traffic accounts for 70% of ecommerce traffic. Ignoring mobile optimization means you are missing out on a substantial, important chunk of potential buyers.

Use easy-to-tap buttons and simplified input fields to enhance usability. Reduce typing by enabling autofill, dropdowns, and saved information. Avoid intrusive pop-ups or design elements that disrupt the mobile experience.

Improve the user experience

A well-thought-out ecommerce website design has the potential to raise conversion rates of up to 400%. Make sure your pages load quickly and run smoothly; slow load times can frustrate users and increase abandonment rates.

You can also optimize performance by compressing images, reducing heavy scripts, and ensuring responsiveness across devices.

Build trust and credibility

Getting users to trust your brand, without any physical contact, can be the most difficult aspect of ecommerce stores. However, it is still entirely achievable.

You can reassure users by displaying customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials. Add visible security badges, such as SSL certificates and secure payment indicators, to build confidence during transactions.

Clearly communicate return and refund policies, and provide accessible customer support options in case users need assistance.

Provide multiple payment options

Several studies have proven that having multiple payment options directly increases sales for ecommerce businesses. Offer a wide range of payment methods, including credit/debit cards, UPI, digital wallets, and Buy-Now-Pay-Later options.

Along with that, handle payment failures clearly. Rather than a generic “Payment Failed” message, explain the issue and suggest solutions, such as trying another card or updating payment details.

Use strategies that reduce user exit

To decrease cart abandonment, a key strategy is to identify when users are about to leave your site and engage them with timely messages or offers. Use exit-intent pop-ups to highlight discounts, free shipping, or reminders about items left in their cart.

You can also capture email addresses or phone numbers for follow-up communication if users do not complete their purchase. These strategies help re-engage users and recover potential sales before they fully abandon the session.

Offer reliable customer support

Make it easy for users to access support by offering multiple options such as live chat, email, or phone. Prominently display these options so users do not have to search for help when they need it most.

Ensure quick response times or real-time assistance, especially during critical stages like payment and order confirmation, where users are more likely to face issues or hesitation. Even small delays at this stage can lead to abandonment.

You can also include FAQs or contextual help (such as tooltips and in-line guidance) within the checkout flow to proactively address common concerns.

Add urgency and motivate users

Encourage users to complete their purchase by introducing subtle urgency cues, such as low-stock alerts or limited-time offers. These signals create a sense of scarcity and prompt quicker decision-making without feeling overly aggressive.

Reinforce the value of the purchase by highlighting benefits like free returns, money-back guarantees, or limited-period discounts. This helps reduce perceived risk and builds confidence in moving forward.

When used thoughtfully, urgency and value-driven messaging can nudge users toward completing their purchase while minimizing hesitation and overthinking.

Conclusion

Cart abandonment is not just a lost sale, but rather a signal that something in your buying journey needs improvement. The good news is that most of the cart abandonment causes are easily addressable with just minimal effort.

Ultimately, reducing abandoned carts ensures you are offering a seamless shopping experience. When you make it easy for users to complete their purchase, you not only recover lost revenue but also build long-term customer loyalty.