Cart Abandonment: Why Shoppers Leave and How to Win Them Back
Roughly 7 in 10 online carts are abandoned. Learn why shoppers leave, how to measure the damage and the fixes and follow-ups that bring them back.
By IntentWave · Published · 3 min read
Key takeaways
- About 70 percent of online shopping carts are abandoned, according to the Baymard Institute's long-running average of published studies.
- Shoppers leave for reasons you can fix: surprise costs, forced accounts, slow pages and low trust.
- You cannot follow up with a shopper you cannot identify, so recovery starts with knowing who left.
- The strongest recovery pairs a better checkout with a timely, specific message.
What is cart abandonment?
Cart abandonment is when a shopper adds items to their cart and leaves without buying. Your cart abandonment rate is the share of carts that never turn into an order. A closely related problem is browse abandonment, where a shopper looks at products but never adds anything.
The Baymard Institute collects published studies on the topic and puts the average abandonment rate at around 70 percent, which you can read at baymard.com. Treat it as a benchmark, not a target: your own rate depends on your products, price and traffic.
How to calculate your cart abandonment rate
- Count carts created in a period.
- Count completed orders in the same period.
- Subtract orders from carts and divide by carts.
For example, if 1,000 carts were created and 300 orders completed, 700 carts were abandoned, a 70 percent rate. Track it by device and by traffic source, because mobile and paid traffic often behave differently from desktop and email.
Why shoppers abandon their carts
| Reason | What it looks like | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Unexpected costs | Shipping or tax appears late | Show the full price early, offer clear shipping thresholds |
| Forced account creation | A sign-up wall before checkout | Offer guest checkout |
| Slow or confusing checkout | Too many steps or fields | Cut fields, use accelerated payment options |
| Low trust | Unclear returns, unfamiliar brand | Show returns policy and reviews near checkout |
| Not ready to buy | Comparing or saving for later | Follow up with a reminder |
How to reduce cart abandonment
Fix the cause first. A recovery email cannot repair a checkout that surprises people with fees.
- Be upfront about the total. Show shipping and estimated taxes before the last step.
- Remove friction. Offer guest checkout and fewer form fields.
- Speed up the page. Slow mobile checkout loses shoppers quickly.
- Build trust. Put returns, delivery times and reviews where hesitation happens.
- Offer familiar payment options. Fewer typing steps means fewer exits.
How to win shoppers back
Some shoppers were never going to buy today, and that is fine. The goal is to reach them again with something useful.
- Identify who left. With consent, tie the visit to a profile so you can contact the shopper.
- Send a timely, specific message. Name the product they left and make coming back easy. See our guide to abandoned cart email flows in Klaviyo.
- Retarget on ads. Show the product again to shoppers who looked and left. Our guide to remarketing explains how.
- Measure the revenue. Credit orders to the flow or audience that produced them so you can see what is worth keeping.
The identification problem
Most abandoned cart tools only work on shoppers who already entered an email at checkout. Anyone who left earlier is invisible. Visitor identification widens the pool by identifying shoppers who consent, so more of the people who left can be followed up with. If you are new to the idea, start with identity resolution explained.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cart abandonment rate?
There is no single good number. The Baymard Institute's average is around 70 percent. Compare yourself against your own trend, by device and traffic source, and aim to improve it over time.
What causes the most cart abandonment?
Unexpected extra costs, forced account creation and a slow or complicated checkout are among the most commonly cited reasons. Start by checking those three on your own store.
How do you recover abandoned carts?
Fix checkout friction, identify shoppers who consent, send a specific follow-up that names the product, and retarget with ads. Measure recovered revenue so you can tune the flow.
Can you recover carts if the shopper never entered an email?
Not by email alone. With a visitor identification pixel and the shopper's consent, you can match the visit to a profile and reach them anyway.