The Complete Guide to Shopping Cart Abandonment: Causes, Solutions & Strategies
Be the Brand They Can Trust: Customers need assurance your brand is reliable. Show why you're worth their investment with trustworthy practices and transparent communication to alleviate concerns about the purchase.
Ease into the Checkout Process: Make checkout straightforward and stress-free. Simplifying the steps can reduce cart abandonment, ensuring that completing the purchase feels like the natural next step.
Cart Reminders Are Your Friendly Nudge: Use gentle reminders to encourage shoppers to finish their orders. Friendly, timely emails can prompt customers to return and complete their purchase without feeling pressured.
Offer Incentives, Sweeten the Deal: Entice hesitant shoppers with exclusive discounts or free shipping offers. These incentives can sway indecisive buyers and turn abandoned carts into completed sales.
Make It Mobile-User Friendly: Ensure your site provides a seamless experience on mobile devices. A user-friendly interface on smartphones can prevent cart abandonment from frustrated mobile shoppers.
Let’s face it—no one likes being abandoned. Shopping carts included.
But as much as these unpurchased items don’t deserve to linger in their baskets, you can’t blame your shoppers. They’re being cautious, as they should be.
It’s on you to make sure your brand is worth their business.
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So, what can you do to make completing the purchase feel like the easiest choice they’ve made all day?
The answers are here in this complete shopping cart abandonment guide.
Read on for actionable tips on preventing cart abandonment and pulling back those almost-customers before they walk away for good.
What is Shopping Cart Abandonment?
Shopping cart abandonment, or basket abandonment, occurs any time a shopper expresses interest—whether by adding products to their basket, configuring a custom order, or starting a subscription—only to leave without completing the checkout process.
According to the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is a hefty 70.19%.
If you’re able to get yours below 60%, you already outperform the majority of your competitors. Therefore, you need to keep tabs on how your carts are faring.
Calculating shopping cart abandonment rates
To calculate your cart abandonment rate, use this formula:
Cart Abandonment Rate = (1 - (Number of Successful Purchases ÷ Number of Opened Shopping Carts)) × 100
Let’s say you sell ultra-soft, cloud-like toilet paper.
If 1,000 shoppers added this ultimate bathroom break bestie to their carts and only 300 completed their purchases, the calculation would look like this:
Cart Abandonment Rate = (1 - (300 ÷ 1,000)) × 100 = 70%
That’s 700 people passing up on a gentle hug for their tush.
Tracking this metric helps pinpoint where exactly on the checkout process and why potential customers drop off.
Ecommerce platforms with built-in reporting can automate this calculation for you.
Or, you can employ other digital marketing software like email marketing platforms, abandoned cart software solution, CRM systems, and digital analytics and reporting tools.
Common Reasons for Shopping Cart Abandonment
Forty eight percent of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart in the last three months because they’re only browsing and not ready to buy.
But there’s more to it.
The Baymard Institute analyzed this data further with more in-depth cart abandonment statistics on why customers bail mid-purchase.
Let’s explore the common culprits:
- Unexpected shipping costs. Hidden extra costs cause 48% of drop-offs because prospects base their decision on the initial price. Without disclosing fees upfront, they might feel duped when shipping, handling, or taxes suddenly inflate the total at checkout.
- Trust issues. A full 25% of shoppers abandoned carts because they didn’t trust the site with their credit card information. Specific red flags include missing SSL certificates (i.e., no “lock” icon in the browser) and unprofessional, outdated website designs.
- Complicated checkout process. Creating an account, re-entering details multiple times, or navigating a poorly designed checkout page disrupts the buying momentum. These lengthy or confusing checkout flows cause 22% of cart abandonment as customers seek faster, simpler options elsewhere.
- Slow load times or technical issues. Unresponsive product pages, page load delays, or payment errors frustrate 17% of potential shoppers. They may worry about compromising payment information or facing further security issues if they proceed.
- Lack of payment options. If their preferred payment method isn’t accessible, 13% of casual browsers won’t complete the purchase. Those in a hurry or not fully committed to buying may forget the item altogether.
Abandoned carts don’t only mean lost revenue for retailers—they also mean untapped areas ripe for improvement.
Baymard Institute’s large-scale testing revealed that improving your checkout design can recover lost sales and boost conversion rates by 35.26%.
Here’s how to optimize friction points in the checkout experience and lower your abandonment rates.
How to Optimize Your Checkout Process for Higher Conversion Rates
Customers adding items to their carts but not following through with the purchase means two things:
The good? They like your offerings.
The bad? Something’s stopping them at checkout.
Shoppers who ghost their carts are silently telling you that your checkout experience has a friction point.
Use these tweaks to create a more pleasant process for them:
Simplify checkout with guest options
Guest checkout options allow shoppers to skip the registration process. These are particularly helpful in speeding up the process for first-time and one-off purchases.
A complicated checkout process can deter buyers from completing the purchase.
At one point, our checkout had too many steps, and we noticed a significant drop in the number of completed orders.
We simplified the process by reducing the steps involved from six to three. We also offered a guest checkout option, which reduced our abandonment rate by 23% in six months.
However, 47% of ecommerce sites featuring guest checkout need more visibility because…
- There’s no clear label.
- It’s only shown as a plain text link.
- It’s placed below account sign-in options.
- It’s found only after email input.
Skincare brand Futurewise cleared these roadblocks by placing the Express Checkout section prominently above account sign-in.
The bold, clickable buttons are already there before inputting your email:
It’s much easier to seal the deal when shoppers don’t have hurdles to jump through to finish a purchase.
Be transparent about shipping costs and delivery times
Don’t let surprise fees creep up at checkout.
Be upfront about shipping fees on the product page or cart to keep shoppers informed and prevent last-minute frustration.
I’ve seen cart abandonment primarily from unexpected costs and complex checkouts.
At Mercha, we addressed this by ensuring a transparent checkout process and clear cost visibility upfront.
Our data showed these changes reduced abandonment by 20%.
Here’s another example from Scuf Gaming—which doesn’t require the shopper to go all the way to checkout page before seeing the additional costs:
The checkout summary on the right automatically calculates an estimated shipping cost after you key in your zip code (coupon code too, if available).
The ecommerce gaming brand also includes a brief note detailing the ship date and estimated delivery window before customers finalize payment.
To top it off, Scuf Gaming promises to email tracking details once the order shipped. This clear, no-guesswork checkout process made the whole experience seamless and stress-free.
Offer multiple payment options
You risk losing customers who don’t use your limited payment methods or those whose payment fails for any reason.
A shopper who uses Apple Pay for online purchases can redirect to competitors if your site only supports credit card transactions.
Even loyal card users may encounter declines due to expired cards or security flags.
Worldpay’s Business Development Director Gordon Barclay shared that 54% of digital customers abandon a transaction after multiple failed attempts.
By offering digital wallets and BNPL services, you make it easier for everyone to complete their purchase.
We diversified our payment options to include credit cards, PayPal, and even AfterPay.
This initiative not only simplified the checkout process but has resulted in a 30% drop in cart abandonment rate.
Aside from these varied payment options, Eyeglasses.com works with Bolt to store shipping, delivery, and payment information, so the customers won’t have to input their details again.
Making your payment process more accessible helps customers finish their purchases, reducing friction and drop-offs at checkout.
Use checkout progress indicators
Every extra step, page load, or form field adds to the mental effort when shopping online. Manage customer expectations with checkout progress indicators.
Here’s how to make the most of this handy UI tool:
- Add visual cues. Use a simple bar or number system to show the checkout stages, such as “Shipping,” “Payment,” and “Review.”
- Highlight the current step. Make it clear which step they’re on by using bold text fonts, different colors, progress bars, or arrows to point it out.
- Shorten the journey. Limit the checkout process to 3 to 4 steps. If the process drags on, customers may lose interest. The fewer the hurdles, the better.
Take Scuf Gaming’s 2-step checkout process: you can input shipping details in the first step and payment info in the next.
Breaking the checkout process into smaller, manageable steps enhances the user experience—no more detours and dead ends.
Build trust with SSL badges and great reviews
SSL badges and customer testimonials help reassure and convert hesitant shoppers.
Tech shoppers are particularly deterred by a lack of trust in the platform’s security.
We also found customers often leave carts to compare prices on competitors’ websites.
To combat these issues, we implemented trust-building measures, such as secure payment badges and money-back guarantee.
GEEKOM PC also has a chatbot to handle FAQs and a list of shipping options to give shoppers the information they need to complete their purchase confidently.
Here’s a simpler version from Holabird Sports strategically placed a Trusted Site badge below the payment summary.
Trusted Site certifies the brand’s security against malware monitoring, phishing protection, and SSL certificate:
Even small hesitations—about security, product reliability, or the site’s trustworthiness—can derail the sale.
Beware, though: Plastering your site with badges and reviews can make you look more desperate than dependable.
Place these trust elements strategically to reinforce credibility without overwhelming ecommerce store visitors.
Optimize for mobile shoppers
Mobile cart abandonment rate has skyrocketed to 84% likely because mobile devices encounter sluggish load times, subpar displays on smaller screens, and clunky navigation.
Add to that the fact that mobile users juggle multiple tasks and can get distracted at any point in the checkout process.
Year & Day, a dinnerware and table-setting online store, confronted these with a mobile-first approach to their checkout experience.
The process features a mobile-friendly guest checkout, transparent shipping, multi-payment options, progress bars, and trust elements:
We ensure that the checkout experience is seamless across all devices, particularly mobile. Many users shop on their phones, so a responsive design is critical.
Cover these bases first. Then, close the loop on abandoned carts with the cart recovery strategies in the next section.
6 Advanced Strategies for Cart Recovery
Prevention is better than cure.
And while I 100% agree with the Dutch philosopher who immortalized this nugget of wisdom, sometimes, customers slip through the cracks even if you already have a fully-optimized checkout process.
Here are strategies that extend beyond the checkout flow to help you catch these capricious customers:
1. Leverage cart abandonment software
Adding cart abandonment software to your ecommerce tech stack should be the first order of business when dealing with idle baskets.
These dedicated tools employ multifaceted methods to track down on-the-fence shoppers, so you can reel them back in.
Here’s a quick sketch of how it saves the day—and those abandoned carts:
Abandoned cart software solution CartStack supports real-time abandonment activity notifications on different sales channels. It also features abandoned session replays to identify the root cause of the drop-off.
For online retailers running their website on Shopify or Wix, Privy is a suitable platform. This platform can help you craft effective cart-saving popups and cart recovery emails.
Then there’s Recart, which focuses on reclaiming lost revenue through SMS marketing. It has helped ecommerce brands like BulkSupplements boost subscriber count and revenue ($216k from their campaign).
Since these types of software offer different means to convince customers to complete their purchases, you’ll need to choose wisely based on your ecommerce business needs.
Check out this in-depth comparison of the best cart abandonment software available on the market:
2. Create an abandoned cart series
A cart recovery email campaign is an excellent ecommerce marketing strategy to get customers to pick up where they left off.
Subscribers engage with them well, proven by their higher-than-average open rate (50.5%).
More importantly, they work—automated abandoned cart emails have one of the highest conversion rates (2.56%), second only to welcome emails.
Even better, they generate the highest revenue per recipient at $3.65.
But here’s the clincher: One email works, but a series amps up the results.
By doing so, your abandoned cart email program could outperform up to 52% of your competitors and give you better ROI.
Klaviyo suggests sending a three-part sequence consisting of a simple reminder, discount email, and a final reminder within 48 hours.
Obviously, you do not have to follow this strategy to a T, since your audience likely has different attitudes and behaviors.
For instance, high-quality tactical equipment and armor brand Bulletproof Zone styles their three-email series as:
- a reminder email sent after an hour of abandonment;
- another one after 24 hours;
- and the third after 48 hours with an added incentive like a discount coupon.
CEO Kevin Lim shared that this email series increased their conversion rate by 18%.
To create an effective cart recovery flow, however, you need the help of an email marketing software. These tools support automation, which can help you deal with time-sensitivity and personalization more effectively.
For example, lifestyle brand minnow uses Klaviyo to customize customer experience based on drop-off behavior.
They created two different paths for returning customers and new prospects:
Old customers receive cart abandonment reminders, while new subscribers receive a reminder about the discount they’ve received upon signing up.
To prevent inundating subscribers with too many emails, they prioritized time-sensitive flows, such as abandoned cart sequences.
If a customer subscribes at checkout but doesn’t complete the purchase, they pause the welcome series and let the cart recovery one do its magic.
If you want this highly-tailored customer experience for your subscribers, check out the top email marketing software on our list:
You can take marketing automation to the next level, by adding SMS marketing to your cart recovery strategy.
SMS marketing alone showed a recovery rate of 20% in one month.
Fortunately for you, email marketing tools like Omnisend and Campaigner have rich SMS marketing features.
Beyond automated email follow-ups, which are common, I’ve found direct engagement solutions like personalized messages through SMS to be a game changer.
This approach acknowledges the person’s interest uniquely, and sometimes offering an insider tip or exclusive content has helped capture the sale.
3. Use incentives to drive action
Incentives are a well-known trick up every marketer’s sleeve.
The funny thing is: As a shopper, I know it’s a trick to get me to convert, but I welcome it as a treat, anyway.
And it's likely that most of your customers feel the same way, so use it as leverage whenever you want to re-engage a wayward shopper.
Learn from these smart DTC brands:
Free shipping: 62% of consumers will not shop at a retailer without free shipping offered. Explicitly telling them that it’s free (and express at that!) like Specialized Bicycle Components does can get them back on track.
Discount offers: In the US, 90% of customers use discount codes when shopping. Don't ignore the numbers—Awe Inspired here knows this technique works well:
Freebies: Everyone I know loves free stuff—I bet you do too. Giving customers a thoughtful gift like how Grove Collaborative does here can get them to click the purchase button.
Like the examples above, your subject lines can be catchy yet clear.
But make sure your incentive and their calls-to-action are simple, understandable, and easy to take advantage of—not something that shoppers will have to jump through hoops to get.
4. Trigger exit intent pop-ups
Well-timed pop-ups are lifesavers.
According to Summit Digital Marketing founder Roman Randall, this technique combined with incentives can “bring back potential customers, boosting recovery rates by 18%.”
You have three options when designing exit intent pop-ups to encourage customers to pick up where they left off:
- A simple reminder to nudge them into action
- An incentive (a discount offer or free shipping) to convince them that it’s a good deal
- Some product recommendations to increase average order value
We’ve had success with exit-intent popups offering limited-time discounts. For instance, customers abandoning a $500 PC received an immediate $25 coupon.
This tactic drove a 22% uplift in sales from previously lost carts.
Now, about proper timing. Wisepop estimates the ideal period to be between 5 and 15 seconds.
This gives shoppers plenty of time to decide on their own, but not so much that you lose the chance to reach them before they leave your website.
To set up exit intent to show up within this limited time frame, automation is key.
Cart abandonment software providers like Nosto can help. It features behavioral pop-ups and overlay banners to get customers to stay on track.
5. Take advantage of retargeting ads
If shoppers have ghosted you, you can haunt them across the internet with retargeting ads.
You can flash these constant reminders on websites and social media channels to drive them back into your arms.
They’re proven effective in recovering abandoned carts by 6.5% and boosting sales by about 20%.
Employing retargeting ads on social media reminds visitors of their unpurchased items.
This strategy, along with SMS and email marketing, has reduced our cart abandonment rate by 20% and boosting overall conversions.
For retargeting ads to take off, however, you should already have a solid audience segmentation strategy in place.
This way, you can tailor your message according to your customer’s behavior.
For instance, those with higher online shopping cart value could receive a more detailed advertisement.
You can also adjust the incentives to match the reason for their drop-off. If someone left their cart because they weren’t pleased with the extra costs like shipping fees, you can display your ad with a free shipping incentive to lure them back in.
Smart retargeting delivers highly targeted ads your shoppers will likely appreciate.
6. Add social proof and trust signals
I’ve mentioned trust signals can remove payment process concerns at checkout, but you can use them again, along with social proof, to win back customers that slipped away from your grasp due to uncertainty with your brand or products.
Emails are the best ways to do this:
If someone showed interest in a ready-to-assemble cabinet, we might include styling tips or complementary products in our follow-up communications.
Incorporating social proof, like customer reviews or photos from real-life installations, can instill confidence and motivate them to return.
This personalized approach has led to higher conversion rates and a stronger connection with our customers, encouraging them to revisit and complete their purchases.
Trust signals can come in different forms. Some examples are trust badges, social proof, star ratings, and money-back guarantees.
Hydrow turns hesitation into action with a promise of a 30-day risk-free trial:
Social proof, like testimonials/customer reviews and celebrity/influencer endorsements, works because it plays on your prospects’ need for validation when shopping.
It shows prospects how popular or useful a brand is among its customer base.
Combined, these two bring customers back with the needed confidence to move forward with their purchase.
Wheel Those Abandoned Carts Back In
The biggest lesson here is that abandoned carts don’t have to mean abandoned sales.
You can still reel those customers back in with the advanced car recovery strategies outlined in this blog post.
You can also learn from these abandoned carts and remove any obstacle that stands between your customers and fulfilling their purchase going forward.
All these are possible by having marketing software like cart abandonment tools and email marketing solutions in your ecommerce tech stack.
You can use these tools for everything from identifying friction points to automating personalized SMS or email follow-ups and retargeting ads.
Need more information ecommerce tips and software guides, these might interest you:
- The 24 Best Ecommerce Marketing Tools to Grow Your Store in 2025
- 20 Best Marketing Automation Software for Ecommerce Brands in 2025
- Omnichannel Marketing Strategy For Beginners & Useful Tools
- Ecommerce Marketing Tips: 13 Proven Strategies to Increase Sales & Reach
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