How to calculate your cart abandonment rate
Your cart abandonment rate shows the share of carts that never turn into an order:
Two related rates often get mixed up. Cart abandonment starts at add to cart. Checkout abandonment starts only once the shopper opens checkout, so it runs lower and points at a different set of problems:
| Rate | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Cart abandonment | 1 − orders ÷ sessions with add to cart | how well product page, cart and checkout together close the sale |
| Checkout abandonment | 1 − orders ÷ sessions that reached checkout | how much friction sits inside checkout itself |
In Shopify you find both inputs in the conversion funnel report: sessions with cart additions, sessions that reached checkout and sessions that completed checkout.
Average cart abandonment rate: the Baymard benchmark
Baymard Institute averages 50 published studies on cart abandonment and lands on 70.22% (page updated September 22, 2025). The studies range in age and method, and the most recent entry in the list, from uptain in 2025, reports 71.72%.
Many statistic roundups relabel this figure as 2026 data, or attach device and region numbers to Baymard that come from other sources. When you quote the benchmark, quote it with its date.
Part of the 70% is unavoidable. According to Baymard, 42% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart because they were just browsing or not ready to buy. Those shoppers use the cart as a wish list. Your target is the rest.
Why shoppers abandon their carts
In Baymard's survey of US online shoppers, leaving out the just-browsing answers, these are the reasons for abandoning during checkout:
| Reason for abandonment | Share |
|---|---|
| Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees) | 40% |
| Delivery was too slow | 20% |
| Didn't trust site with credit card information | 19% |
| Site wanted me to create an account | 18% |
| Too long or complicated checkout process | 17% |
| Website had errors or crashed | 17% |
| Returns policy wasn't satisfactory | 13% |
| Couldn't see or calculate total order cost upfront | 12% |
| Credit card was declined | 10% |
| Not enough payment methods | 9% |
The shares add up to more than 100% because shoppers could name several reasons. The first and the eighth line both deal with cost, either too high or shown too late. That problem starts on the product page, long before checkout.
How long checkout costs you orders
Baymard counts 23.48 form elements shown by default in the average US checkout flow, or 14.88 if you count only form fields. An ideal checkout can get by with 12 to 14 form elements, or 7 to 8 form fields.
Baymard estimates that the average large-sized ecommerce site can gain a 35.26% increase in conversion rate through better checkout design. Across US and EU ecommerce, it puts the orders recoverable through a better checkout flow and design alone at $260 billion.
Count the fields in your own checkout on a phone. Every field above 8 is a question you ask a buyer who has already decided to pay.
What three points less abandonment are worth
Take a store with 6,000 carts a month, a $90 average order value and a 40% contribution margin. At 70% abandonment, 1,800 carts turn into orders and 4,200 carts stay behind, worth $378,000 at $90 per cart. Now lower abandonment by three points:
| Cart abandonment | Orders | Revenue | Contribution margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70% | 1,800 | $162,000 | $64,800 |
| 67% | 1,980 | $178,200 | $71,280 |
Three points bring 180 extra orders, $16,200 in revenue and $6,480 in contribution margin a month, or $77,760 a year. You already paid for the traffic behind those carts, so every recovered order improves your ROAS as well. To see how this feeds into your overall rate, compare it with the average ecommerce conversion rate.
How to lower your cart abandonment rate
| Reason | Fix | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Extra costs, total not visible | shipping cost or free-shipping threshold and tax note on the product page | product page, cart |
| Slow delivery | concrete delivery date instead of a range | product page, checkout |
| No trust with card details | known express payment methods, reviews, clear company details | checkout |
| Account required | guest checkout, account offer after the order | checkout |
| Long checkout | drop optional fields, address autocomplete, one-page layout | checkout |
| Returns policy | return window and cost in plain words next to the price | product page |
Work the list from the top: the cost reasons affect the most buyers. Change one thing at a time and track orders per session with add to cart, so you know which change worked.
Win back carts that are already gone
A shopper who leaves an email address in checkout can get an abandoned-cart email with the cart contents. A good email marketing agency sets up that flow with timing, content and a stop once the order comes in. Judge the flow by the orders it recovers in your shop backend.
Measuring cart abandonment correctly
Shopify changed how it counts sessions between September 21 and 23, 2026. Sessions without a pageview now count, such as a shopper going straight to checkout from a cart link, and identified bots are filtered out by default. Your funnel numbers can shift even though your orders don't, so compare periods on the same side of that change.
- Take carts and orders from the same tool.
- Report promotions like Black Friday separately.
- Split the rate by device: a gap between mobile and desktop points at the mobile checkout.
If you want outside help, pick a conversion optimization agency that reports recovered orders and revenue per session from your store. We work as an ecommerce marketing agency on checkout, ads and retention together, and we measure our 100k guarantee in the shop backend, net of returns.
Cart abandonment rate FAQ
What is the average cart abandonment rate?
70.22%, according to Baymard Institute, which averages 50 studies. The page was last updated on September 22, 2025.
How do you calculate cart abandonment rate?
Divide completed orders by carts created, subtract the result from 1 and multiply by 100. 1,450 orders from 5,000 carts means a 71% abandonment rate.
What is the difference between cart and checkout abandonment?
Cart abandonment counts every cart that doesn't become an order. Checkout abandonment counts only shoppers who opened checkout and then left, so it is lower and points at friction inside checkout.
Why do shoppers abandon their carts?
In Baymard's survey of US online shoppers, 40% named extra costs such as shipping, tax and fees. Slow delivery, distrust with card details and forced account creation follow.
What is a good cart abandonment rate?
Any rate below your own previous periods, measured the same way. Because 42% of US shoppers have abandoned carts while just browsing, no store reaches zero.
How much revenue do abandoned carts cost?
For a store with 6,000 carts a month and $90 order value, 70% abandonment leaves $378,000 in carts at $90 per cart. Three points less brings 180 extra orders and $16,200 in monthly revenue.
How many carts does your store lose?
On the intro call Tobias looks at your funnel and shows which step costs the most orders. 5 quick questions, then book straight with Tobias.
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