What is Shopping Cart Abandonment? Definition and Stakes
Shopping cart abandonment occurs when a customer adds products to their online cart but leaves the site without completing the purchase. It's one of the biggest challenges in ecommerce today.
This issue affects businesses of all sizes and across all sectors. An abandoned cart isn’t just a missed visit: it represents a customer who intended to buy but ran into a barrier that stopped them.
The Scale of the Problem
The statistics are clear: on average, nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before the transaction is complete. According to the Baymard Institute, this figure remains high across all industries.
This shows just how important it is to optimise every step of your purchase journey to convert more visitors into paying customers.
How to Calculate Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate?
The cart abandonment rate is a key performance indicator (KPI) for any ecommerce business. Here’s the formula:
Cart Abandonment Rate = (Number of abandoned carts / Total number of created carts) x 100
With global averages around 70%, most potential customers drop out before purchasing. The higher the rate, the more urgent it becomes to understand the root causes and fix them.
Comparative Analysis by Sector
- Fashion & accessories: 68-72% abandonment
- Electronics & Tech: 65-70% abandonment
- Food & Beverages: 60-65% abandonment
- Beauty & Cosmetics: 70-75% abandonment
- Sports & Leisure: 66-71% abandonment
Why Do Customers Abandon Their Carts? Main Reasons for Cart Abandonment
Understanding why customers abandon carts is critical to fixing the problem. The most common causes include:
1. High Shipping Costs & Hidden Fees
Unexpected delivery fees are the #1 reason for cart abandonment with 55% of customers leaving when shipping or taxes appear too late in the process.
2. Complicated Checkout Process
27% of users quit when the checkout is too long or confusing—especially on mobile.
3. Mandatory Account Creation
26% of shoppers abandon carts if forced to create an account. This extra step breaks the flow of the purchase.
4. Payment Security Concerns
18% of customers drop out if payment security seems unclear or insufficient.
5. Limited Payment Options
15% of customers abandon their purchase when their preferred payment method isn't available. Digital wallets, installment payments, instant transfers: payment option diversity has become a key deciding factor. To learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy, check out our analysis: "How Different Payment Methods Affect Conversion Rates"
6. Other Factors
- Long delivery times (12%)
- Price comparison (10%)
- Using cart as wishlist (8%)
- Technical bugs (5%)
The Real Cost of Cart Abandonment
When shoppers abandon their carts, the impact goes far beyond a single lost sale. It affects your entire ecommerce business:
Lost Revenue
Every abandoned cart represents money left on the table. For example, a site generating £100,000 per month could miss out on more than £230,000 in potential revenue with a 70% abandonment rate.
Reduced Marketing ROI
Attracting visitors who never complete a purchase drives up your customer acquisition costs and eats into your return on ad spend (ROAS).
Inventory Issues
Abandoned carts distort your sales data, leading to overstock or stock shortages that disrupt your operations.
Lower Customer Lifetime Value
A high abandonment rate often signals a poor shopping experience. This erodes trust and makes it harder to turn first-time buyers into loyal customers.
5 Proven Ways to Recover Abandoned Sales
The good news? There are five simple and effective strategies to help reduce cart abandonment and boost your conversions.
Want to dive deeper into optimising your payment experience? Check out our comprehensive guide on the 9 essential tips for improving payment UX.
1. Simplify Checkout and Streamline the Funnel
Limit Steps
Keep your checkout process to a maximum of 3-4 steps. Every additional click significantly increases the risk of abandonment.
Use Clear, Action-Oriented Buttons
Design intuitive call-to-action buttons with clear labels like "Confirm" or "Pay". They should be highly visible and guide users effortlessly through the process, reducing cognitive effort.
Offer Guest Checkout
Let customers complete their purchase without creating an account. Forced account creation is behind 26% of abandoned carts.
Speed Up Pages
40% of users leave if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load. Optimise your images, use a content delivery network (CDN), and clean up your code. Integrate dynamic features that automatically update the total amount based on selected options and validate form fields in real time, providing a seamless, frustration-free experience.
Prioritise Mobile UX
Over half of online purchases happen on mobile. Regularly test your mobile checkout to spot and fix issues quickly.
2. Be Upfront About Costs
Show All Fees Early
Clearly display shipping, taxes, and any additional costs as soon as possible — ideally on the product page. Lack of price transparency is a key driver of cart abandonment.
Add a Delivery Fee Estimator
Let customers calculate shipping costs directly from the cart, before they start the checkout process.
3. Offer Flexible Payment Options
Provide Choices
Display the most popular payment methods first to make the process quicker and more intuitive for your customers. Show easily recognisable logos, such as credit cards or digital wallets, to build trust at a glance.
Offer multiple payment options tailored to your audience. Accept all major payment methods, including:
- Credit/debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx)
- Digital wallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
- Installment options (Klarna, Alma, Oney)
- Instant bank transfers or even crypto if relevant
- Cryptocurrencies (depending on your target)
Offer Payment in Installments
Letting customers pay in installments can boost your average order value by 20% and reduce cart abandonment by up to 15%.
4. Build Trust and Reassure Customers
Show Security Badges
Display trusted security certifications like PCI DSS, 3D Secure 2, and SSL clearly throughout the checkout process. This reassures customers their personal data is protected.
Optimised Form Filling
Keep data entry simple by only asking for essential information to avoid discouraging users with long forms. Place labels such as "Name," "Address," or "Card Number" directly above the input fields to improve readability and prevent confusion.
Enable autocomplete and real-time field validation to help users spot and correct errors before submitting the form.
Be Clear About Your Policies
Clearly explain your return, refund, and customer service policies. 73% of shoppers look for this information before deciding to buy.
Show Social Proof
Real reviews, ratings, and customer testimonials help build trust and credibility with new visitors.
Continuous Testing and Optimisation
Every business and audience is unique. Regularly analyse the performance of your payment page using A/B testing tools to identify friction points. Based on user feedback, adjust design elements or streamline the process to improve the overall experience.
5. Use Smart Incentives
Personalised discounts
Offer promo codes based on a customer’s purchase history or the value of their cart to encourage completion.
Free Shipping Thresholds
Provide free shipping once the cart reaches a set amount — it’s a proven way to increase basket size and reduce abandonment.
Urgency Tactics
Use tactics like “limited stock” or “ending soon” to create urgency — but always do so transparently to avoid damaging trust.
Recovering Abandoned Sales with Email & Automation
Even after a cart is abandoned, the sale isn’t lost. Cart recovery campaigns can recover 10–15% of dropped sales.
Step 1: Set Up a Recovery Sequence
Timing Your Abandoned Cart Emails
- 1st Email — After 1 Hour: A friendly reminder. This email alone can reach a 45% open rate
- 2nd Email — After 24 Hours: Offer free shipping to encourage action
- 3rd Email — After 72 Hours: Include a discount to help close the sale
Each email should include:
- The customer’s name
- A list of all items left in the cart
- A strong call-to-action
- A mobile-friendly design
2. Best Practices for Abandoned Cart Emails
Product Images and Details
Show high-quality images and key information about the items left behind to remind customers exactly what they’re missing.
Progressive Incentives
Gradually increase your offers with each email to boost recovery rates:
- First Email: simple reminder
- Second Email: free shipping offer
- Third Email: 10% discount
Step 2: Use Multiple Channels
Email Marketing Automation
Don’t rely on email alone — combine your recovery efforts across channels for better results:
- Automated abandoned cart email campaigns
- SMS reminders (with open rates as high as 98%)
- Push notifications
- Retargeting ads
- Chatbots that engage directly with undecided shoppers
Step 3: Use the Right Tools
Integrated Ecommerce Platforms
Choose marketing tools that work seamlessly with your ecommerce setup to recover abandoned carts efficiently:
- Klaviyo: designed for ecommerce, with advanced segmentation to personalise cart recovery emails.
- Mailchimp: easy to use, with plenty of integrations and ready-made abandoned cart templates.
- ActiveCampaign: ideal for complex automation and behavioural tracking to optimise cart recovery.
- Sendinblue: a European solution that combines email and SMS to build a complete abandoned cart sequence.
Smart Chatbots for Cart Recovery
Use intelligent chatbots that detect cart abandonment in real time and instantly engage customers through on-site conversations to help recover lost sales.
Best Practices Summary: Cart Abandonment Checklist
Looking to increase conversions and reduce cart abandonment? This practical checklist walks you through each stage of the purchase journey to help you turn visitors into paying customers.
Follow each step to quickly identify where improvements are needed and apply proven strategies to recover lost sales and boost your revenue.
Before Checkout
- Show full costs upfront
- Add a shipping fee calculator
- Display verified customer reviews
During Checkout
- Limit to 3 steps
- Allow guest checkout
- Add a clear progress bar
- Show a persistent cart summary
- Let users easily change quantities
At Payment
- Offer a variety of payment methods
- Show security seals (SSL, PCI)
- Display return/refund policies
- Provide real-time support (chat or phone)
After Abandonment
- Use an automated email sequence
- Deploy multi-channel re-engagement
- Offer incentives progressively
Why Cart Abandonment Deserves Your Attention
Shopping cart abandonment is a major challenge for any business looking to grow online. Every abandoned cart means a missed opportunity to drive revenue, maximise your marketing investment, and build customer loyalty.
By optimising your entire conversion funnel, improving the user experience at every stage, and using smart automation to recover lost sales, you can significantly reduce cart abandonment and improve your ecommerce performance.
The winning approach to reduce cart abandonment rate combines:
- Prevention: Streamline your purchase funnel to prevent customers from dropping off.
- Recovery: Deploy automated abandoned cart emails and personalised recovery campaigns.
- Analysis: Continuously monitor conversion rates and use data to guide improvements.
Why Choose Monext?
After covering proven ways to limit cart abandonment, it’s worth highlighting how Monext can help. Trusted by leading ecommerce brands, Monext offers powerful solutions to maximise conversions and reduce lost sales.
Monext works effortlessly with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Magento. Its ecosystem brings together all the essential tools you need to reduce cart abandonment in one place.
Key Advantages of Monext
A Streamlined Payment Experience
Monext provides ergonomic, customisable payment interfaces designed to make the checkout process smooth and intuitive. Thanks to easy integration via plugins or APIs, the purchase journey is shortened, unnecessary steps are removed, and transaction processing is optimised — all helping to minimise abandonment at the final stage. Whether you're a small online store or a large retailer, Monext adapts to your needs.
A Wide Range of Payment Methods
With Monext’s solution, merchants can offer over 40 different payment options, including:
- Bank cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, CB)
- Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
- Local payment methods (iDEAL, SEPA, Alipay, WeChat Pay)
- Instant bank transfers
- Installment payment solutions with Klarna and Floa
This payment flexibility meets customer expectations and reduces abandonment caused by a lack of preferred options.
