What is Cart Abandonment Rate?
Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate
Cart Abandonment Rate is the percentage of shoppers who add items to cart but do not complete checkout. Industry average is ~70%.
Cart Abandonment Rate = 1 − (Completed purchases ÷ Carts created)Desktop: 58-67% · Tablet: 67-72% · Mobile: 78-85%
Why Cart Abandonment Rate matters
Top causes: unexpected shipping costs, required account creation, slow checkout, payment options missing. Each percentage point recovered = direct revenue.
Worked example
Plug a real number into the formula to see Cart Abandonment Rate in action:
Numbers are illustrative. Try our Shopify Pricing Calculator for your real numbers.
Common mistakes with Cart Abandonment Rate
- 1
Treating gross revenue as success. Contribution margin per order is what determines viability.
- 2
Counting first-purchase ROAS as the KPI. 90-day LTV ROAS is the operational target.
- 3
Building Shopify theme on platform defaults. Custom blocks and progressive enhancement deliver 15-30% CVR lift typical.
How to improve Cart Abandonment Rate
Push toward 30%+ contribution margin on every SKU. Anything below subsidizes operations from elsewhere.
Build subscription or replenishment SKUs into 20%+ of revenue. Predictable revenue compounds.
Optimize for repeat-purchase rate as the operating metric. New-acquisition spend should follow LTV, not vanity revenue.
Common questions about Cart Abandonment Rate
What is Cart Abandonment Rate?▾
How is Cart Abandonment Rate calculated?▾
What is a good Cart Abandonment Rate benchmark?▾
Why does Cart Abandonment Rate matter for marketing teams?▾
Related terms
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