Cart Abandonment Rate Formula: The Complete
Ecommerce Cart & Checkout Guide
Master the cart abandonment rate formula: calculate abandonment and completion, reduce checkout friction, and recover lost sales.
The Cart Abandonment Rate Formula
Completion Rate = 100 − Abandonment Rate
Carts where items were added but no order was completed in your defined window (e.g. session or 24–48 hours).
Total carts with at least one add-to-cart in the period. Same denominator for completion rate.
Percentage of carts that did not convert. Lower is better. Track by device and source to prioritize fixes.
Quick Example
500 carts created, 350 abandoned (no order).
Abandonment = (350 ÷ 500) × 100 = 70% · Completion = 30%
Reducing abandonment to 65% would yield 25 more orders (150 vs 125 completed) from the same cart volume.
See Where Carts Abandon
StoreRadar shows your full funnel from visit to cart to order by source and device—so you can fix abandonment where it hurts most.
Cart Abandonment Formula Variations
Abandonment, completion, checkout, and recovery
Abandoned = carts with no order in the period or within your window.
Abandonment Rate = 100 − Completion Rate.
Only counts people who started checkout. Higher completion here, lower overall abandonment.
Use for prioritization; recovery emails often recover 5–15% of this.
Requires attribution (e.g. order came from recovery email).
Worked Examples
Step-by-step cart abandonment calculations
Basic Cart Abandonment Rate
Last month 2,500 visitors added to cart. 750 completed a purchase. The rest abandoned.
- 1 Carts created = 2,500
- 2 Orders (completed carts) = 750
- 3 Abandoned carts = 2,500 − 750 = 1,750
- 4 Abandonment rate = (1,750 ÷ 2,500) × 100 = 70%
- 5 Completion rate = 30%
Cart abandonment rate is 70%; 30% of carts convert to orders.
Industry average is ~70%. Improving to 65% would mean 125 more orders from the same cart volume.
Checkout vs Cart Abandonment
1,000 carts created. 400 started checkout. 260 completed purchase.
- 1 Cart abandonment (no order) = 1,000 − 260 = 740 → (740 ÷ 1,000) × 100 = 74%
- 2 Cart to checkout rate = 400 ÷ 1,000 = 40%
- 3 Checkout completion = 260 ÷ 400 = 65%
- 4 Checkout abandonment = 100 − 65 = 35%
74% abandon before or at checkout; of those who start checkout, 35% abandon.
Two levers: get more carts to checkout (40% is low if many drop at cart), and improve checkout completion (65% is reasonable; aim for 70%+).
Abandoned Cart Value
300 abandoned carts this week. Your average cart value for completed orders is $92. You run recovery emails that typically recover 8% of abandoned value.
- 1 Abandoned carts = 300
- 2 Average cart value ≈ $92 (use completed order AOV as proxy)
- 3 Abandoned value ≈ 300 × $92 = $27,600
- 4 Recoverable at 8% ≈ $2,208
About $27,600 in abandoned value; recovery could bring back ~$2,208.
Use this to justify investment in cart recovery and checkout optimization. Small % improvements in abandonment or recovery add up.
Cart Abandonment Benchmarks
Typical ranges by segment (your results will vary)
| Segment | Typical Abandonment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All Ecommerce | ~70% | Industry average |
| Desktop | 65–75% | Lower than mobile |
| Mobile | 75–85% | Higher friction |
| Fashion | 68–75% | Sizing and comparison |
| Electronics | 72–78% | Research-heavy |
| Health & Beauty | 65–72% | Often higher completion |
How to Reduce Cart Abandonment
Strategies that improve completion and recovery
Abandoned Cart Emails
Send 1–3 emails (e.g. 1h, 24h, 72h) with cart reminder and incentive. Typically recover 5–15% of abandoned carts.
Simplify Checkout
Fewer fields, guest checkout, progress indicator, and saved payment methods reduce friction.
Transparent Shipping & Costs
Show shipping and taxes early. Surprise costs at checkout are a top abandonment reason.
Exit-Intent & On-Site Messaging
Offer help or a small discount when users are about to leave with items in cart.
Trust & Security Signals
Badges, secure payment icons, and clear return policy reduce anxiety.
Mobile Optimization
Large buttons, autofill, and fast load on mobile improve completion.
Common Cart Abandonment Mistakes
Errors that distort or mislead
Inconsistent Definition of 'Cart Created'
Some tools count any add-to-cart; others only carts that reached checkout or had a minimum value.
Define 'cart created' once (e.g. at least one add-to-cart event) and use the same definition for abandonment and completion. Document it.
Wrong Time Window
Counting a cart as abandoned after 10 minutes when most purchases happen within 2 hours, or using session-only so returning buyers are double-counted.
Use a window that matches behavior (e.g. 24–48 hours). For session-based, ensure you're not counting same cart across sessions as multiple abandons.
Ignoring Device and Source
One overall rate hides that mobile might be 80% and desktop 60%.
Segment abandonment by device, traffic source, and new vs return. Fix the worst segments first.
Comparing to Wrong Benchmarks
Comparing your rate to a different industry or a different definition (e.g. checkout abandonment vs cart).
Compare apples to apples. Track your own trend over time and segment.
How to Track Cart Abandonment in WooCommerce
Ways to measure cart and checkout abandonment
Option 1: WooCommerce + Plugins
Use WooCommerce reports plus an abandoned cart plugin to see cart sessions and recovery. Setup and attribution can be fragmented.
- Native to WooCommerce
- Some recovery tools
- Varying definitions
- Limited funnel view
- Plugin-dependent
Option 2: Google Analytics
GA4 can track add-to-cart and purchase. Build funnel for cart abandonment. Requires Enhanced Ecommerce and consistent event tagging.
- Free
- Flexible segments
- Setup complexity
- Cookie/session limits
- No built-in recovery
Option 3: StoreRadar
StoreRadar tracks the full funnel from visit to cart to order, so you see cart abandonment and completion by source and device—and can act on it.
- Full funnel
- By source and device
- Real-time
- WooCommerce-native
- Monthly subscription
Related Formulas
Abandonment ties to conversion and revenue
| Formula | Calculation | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion Rate | (Orders ÷ Visitors) × 100 | Abandonment affects conversion; improve one to improve the other |
| Cart Completion Rate | 100 − Abandonment Rate | Inverse of cart abandonment |
| Checkout Conversion | (Orders ÷ Checkout Starts) × 100 | Subset of funnel; checkout abandoners are part of cart abandoners |
| AOV | Revenue ÷ Orders | Used to estimate value of recovered carts |
| Revenue Per Visitor | Revenue ÷ Visitors | Lower abandonment raises RPV |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about cart abandonment rate
Cart Abandonment Rate = (Number of Abandoned Carts ÷ Number of Carts Created) × 100. Or: 100 − Cart Completion Rate. For example, 400 carts created and 280 abandoned: (280 ÷ 400) × 100 = 70% abandonment rate. The inverse is the percentage of carts that became orders.
A cart is typically considered abandoned when a visitor adds items to cart but does not complete purchase within a defined window (e.g. 24 hours or session end). Some definitions only count carts where checkout was started; others count any cart with items and no order. Be consistent.
Industry average is around 70% (so 30% completion). Good ecommerce stores often see 60–70% abandonment; top performers can be in the 55–65% range. Mobile usually has higher abandonment than desktop. Focus on improving your own rate over time.
Cart abandonment = didn't complete purchase (from add-to-cart). Checkout abandonment = started checkout but didn't complete. Checkout abandonment is a subset and indicates friction in the checkout flow (forms, payment, shipping). Track both to know where to fix.
Abandoned Cart Value = Sum of (value of abandoned carts) or Average Cart Value × Number of Abandoned Carts. Recoverable value is often estimated as Abandoned Value × Recovery Rate (e.g. 10–15% with email). Use it to justify cart recovery and checkout improvements.
Session-based is most common: carts created in a session vs orders in that session. User-based (same person across sessions) is harder to track without login. Use sessions for consistency with conversion rate and funnel reports; ensure your tool defines 'cart created' the same way.
See Your Full Funnel—Cart to Order
StoreRadar tracks visits, carts, and orders by source and device so you can lower abandonment and recover more sales.
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