Shopping online is convenient, but many customers leave their carts before buying. This is called cart abandonment, and it’s when someone adds items to their online shopping cart but doesn’t finish the purchase. For businesses, this means losing sales they almost had. The good news is that you can recover many of these lost carts with simple strategies. In this article, we’ll explain what cart abandonment is, why it happens, and how to fix it using real data and easy steps.
What Is Cart Abandonment?
Cart abandonment is like filling a cart at a store and then walking out without paying. Online, it happens when customers add products to their cart but leave the website before checking out. It’s a big issue for online stores because it means missed opportunities.
How common is it? The Baymard Institute found that the average cart abandonment rate is 70.19% (Baymard Institute, 2023). That means out of 100 people who add items to their carts, about 70 don’t buy. This adds up to billions of dollars in lost sales every year—some estimate $260 billion could be recovered with the right fixes (Baymard Institute, 2023). That’s a huge amount of money businesses can win back!
Why Do People Abandon Carts?
To recover carts, we need to know why people leave them. Here are the top reasons, supported by data:
- Extra Costs: Unexpected fees like shipping or taxes are the biggest problem. About 48% of shoppers abandon carts because of these surprises (Baymard Institute, 2024a).
- Complicated Checkout: A long or confusing checkout process drives people away. Around 17% of customers leave for this reason (Baymard Institute, 2023).
- No Guest Checkout: Forcing people to sign up for an account can stop them. Roughly 26% of shoppers abandon carts when they can’t check out as guests (Baymard Institute, 2024a).
- Slow Websites: If a site takes too long to load, people give up. About 13% of abandonments happen because of slow performance (Baymard Institute, 2023).
- Just Browsing: Some people aren’t ready to buy. Around 42.5% of U.S. shoppers say they abandon carts because they’re only looking (Baymard Institute, 2023).
These reasons show that while some abandonment is normal (like browsing), much of it can be fixed with better planning.
The Cost of Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment hurts businesses big time. Globally, it’s estimated that abandoned carts are worth $4 trillion annually (Swrve, 2021). For a small store earning $15,000 a month, recovering just 25% of abandoned carts could add $45,000 a year (Shopify, 2024). That’s extra money without much extra work!
Beyond lost sales, abandonment can mean customers are unhappy with your site. This might stop them from returning, lowering their customer lifetime value. Plus, you’ve already spent money on ads or marketing to get them there—losing them at the end wastes that effort.
How to Recover Abandoned Carts
Here’s how to bring customers back and turn lost carts into sales. These methods are proven to work.
1. Send Cart Recovery Emails
Emails are a top way to recover carts. When someone leaves their cart, send a friendly reminder. Data shows that 29.9% of people who get these emails click on them (SaleCycle, 2025). Even better, 50% of those who click end up buying (Shopify, 2024).
Tips for great emails:
- Send them fast—within 1 hour is best (Rejoiner, 2025).
- Show pictures of the items they left.
- Add a nudge, like “Limited stock!” or offer free shipping.
- Include a clear “Buy Now” button.
For example, White River saw 77% of purchases from recovery emails happen within an hour (Shopify, 2024). Tools like Mailmodo can help you set this up easily.
2. Use Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads remind customers about your store on sites like Facebook or Google. They show the exact items left in the cart. These ads keep your brand in their mind, and data suggests they boost recovery rates when paired with emails (Shopify, 2024).
3. Add Exit-Intent Popups
An exit-intent popup shows up when someone tries to leave your site. It might say, “Wait! Get 10% off now!” These grab attention at the last moment. Scott Wyden Imagery used OptinMonster for this and recovered 21% of abandoned carts (OptinMonster, 2024). It’s a simple fix with big results.
4. Simplify Your Checkout
A tricky checkout process is a major turn-off. The average checkout has 23.48 fields, but the best ones have just 12 (Baymard Institute, 2023). Cutting steps can increase completions by 35.26% (Baymard Institute, 2023). Try these:
- Offer a guest checkout option.
- Ask only for must-have info.
- Show all costs (like shipping) early.
5. Optimize for Mobile
More people shop on phones, but mobile abandonment is higher—85.65% compared to 73.07% on desktops (Barilliance, 2023). Make sure your site works well on small screens and loads fast. Use Google Analytics to track mobile issues and fix them.
Tools to Help You Recover Carts
You don’t need to do it all by hand. Here are some tools:
- Mailmodo: Sends smart recovery emails with live carts.
- OptinMonster: Makes exit-intent popups to catch leavers.
- Barilliance: Offers emails and ads tailored to customers.
- Google Analytics: Tracks your abandonment rate for free.
These tools save time and boost results. Pick one that fits your needs.
Real Success Stories
Real businesses show this works. JCPenney used AI to spot abandoning customers and sent offers, cutting their rate by 18% (Drip, 2023). Liquor Loot offered free shipping in emails and saw more completed sales (Shopify, 2024). Small changes can lead to big wins.
Tips for Long-Term Success
Recovering carts is great, but preventing abandonment is better. Try these:
- Be Clear: Show shipping costs upfront.
- Build Trust: Add security badges so people feel safe.
- Keep Testing: Try different emails or popups to find what works.
Use tools like Google Analytics to track progress and keep improving.
Note
Cart abandonment is a big problem, with 70.19% of carts left behind (Baymard Institute, 2023). But it’s also a chance to grow. Emails, ads, popups, and a better checkout can turn lost sales into profits. Start with one idea—like an email—and build from there. The tools and strategies are ready; now it’s your turn to act!
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References
Barilliance. (2023). Complete list of cart abandonment rate statistics: 2006-2023. https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/
Baymard Institute. (2023). 49 cart abandonment rate statistics 2025 – Cart & checkout. https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
Baymard Institute. (2024a). Reasons for cart abandonment – Why 68% of users abandon their cart (2024 data). https://baymard.com/blog/reasons-for-cart-abandonment
Drip. (2023). 21 cart abandonment statistics to help build your 2024 strategy. https://www.drip.com/blog/cart-abandonment-statistics
OptinMonster. (2024). 9+ cart abandonment rate stats to help you win more sales. https://optinmonster.com/cart-abandonment-statistics/
Rejoiner. (2025). Cart abandonment statistics in 2025 you should know. https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/cart-abandonment-statistics/
SaleCycle. (2025). Cart abandonment statistics in 2025 you should know. https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/cart-abandonment-statistics/
Shopify. (2024). How to reduce cart abandonment and close sales (2024). https://www.shopify.com/blog/cart-abandonment
Swrve. (2021). Decrease abandoned carts and increase conversion using Swrve and Shopify. https://www.swrve.com/decrease-abandoned-carts-and-increase-conversion-using-swrve-and-shopify
