What is a Cart Abandonment Rate?

To calculate this metric, you need to divide the number of completed purchases by the total number of shopping carts created and multiply the result by 100, which results in the cart conversion rate. Once you have this number you deduct it from 1, resulting in your cart abandonment rate.

Let’s look at an example. Assuming you had 50 purchases in October and 300 abandoned carts, the cart abandonment rate will be:

1 - (50/300) * 100 = 83.4%

This online shopping metric helps retailers to better comprehend the purchasing behavior of users in their online shops. This KPI can often indicate how easy and trustworthy the checkout process is, helping you to understand where an increase or decrease in your revenue might come from. The lower the cart abandonment rate, the higher your revenue will be.

• Let shoppers check out without creating an account if they so wish and feature progress indicators on the checkout page;
• Be transparent about shipping costs or offer free shipping;
• Show the amount customers save at checkout to make them feel they are getting a good deal and create a sense of urgency with time-limited sales and countdowns;
• Diversify the payment methods accepted;
• Include powerful calls to action (CTAs) on checkout pages;
• Build trust with a solid refund and return policy and user-generated content;
• Set up exit-intent pop-ups;
• Use retargeting ads;
• Follow up with personalized email campaigns.