Cart abandonment rate

What is the cart abandonment rate?

Cart abandonment rate measures the percentage of online shoppers who add products to their cart but leave the site without completing the purchase, what’s commonly called an abandoned cart in ecommerce. It’s a key metric that reflects lost sales and friction in the buying process, and rates tend to be high across ecommerce, driven by comparison shopping, unexpected costs, and checkout friction.

How to calculate cart abandonment rate

Cart Abandonment Rate = (1 – (Completed Orders ÷ Carts Created)) × 100

For example, if 100 people add items to their carts but only 30 complete checkout, your cart abandonment rate is 70%.

It’s also useful to break the rate down by device, traffic source, and customer segment (new vs returning), because the headline number can hide where the real friction is. Mobile abandonment, for example, is typically higher than desktop and often points to checkout UX issues.

Why does cart abandonment rate matter?

A high cart abandonment rate often points to friction in the buying process: unexpected shipping costs, a complex checkout, mandatory account creation, limited payment options, or a lack of trust on the page. Tracking this rate helps you identify where users drop off so you can fix those points and recover potential revenue.

It’s also the inverse of your checkout conversion rate: when one improves, the other moves with it. Reading them side by side gives a clearer picture of how well your store turns purchase intent into completed orders.

How to improve cart abandonment rate?

A few proven strategies consistently lower cart abandonment rate:

• Simplify your checkout process (fewer steps, guest checkout)
• Be transparent with shipping and taxes early in the journey
• Offer cart recovery emails or SMS reminders for shoppers who leave without buying
• Add trust signals like secure checkout badges and clear return policies
• Offer multiple payment options including digital wallets like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
• Provide live chat or support options during checkout

Example of cart abandonment rate in action

A Shopify store has 500 carts created in a week and 200 successful checkouts. Their cart abandonment rate is 60%. By optimizing the checkout flow, enabling Shop Pay, and sending recovery emails to shoppers who left, they could lower that rate and lift weekly revenue without driving a single extra visit.

Driftcharge Tip

Use automated cart recovery tools like emails or SMS reminders to re-engage shoppers who leave without purchasing. Test different checkout flows, copy, and timing, because even small changes in messaging or send delay can meaningfully shift recovery rates over time.

Ganesh Pawar

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Ganesh Pawar is the founder of Driftcharge, a subscription management app designed to help Shopify merchants streamline and scale their subscription businesses. With a deep focus on solving real-world pain points—like legacy account page support, flexible subscription options, and advanced analytics—Ganesh is passionate about building tools that drive growth and retention.