Conversion
Cart abandonment: why shoppers leave and 12 ways to reduce it
About 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. Baymard Institute's average across 50 studies is 70.22%. Many of those shoppers were only browsing, but among the rest the main reasons are extra costs that appear late (40%), slow delivery (20%), distrust of the site with card details (19%), forced account creation (18%) and a long or complicated checkout (17%). Show the total cost early, offer guest checkout, cut form fields, offer familiar payment methods and fix errors first.
By the MoraLab team · Updated · 5 min read
What is the average cart abandonment rate?
Baymard Institute's running average across 50 studies is 70.22%: roughly seven in ten shoppers who add something to a cart leave without ordering. Your own rate is 1 − (orders ÷ carts created). Track it separately for phones and desktop and for the cart and checkout steps, because the causes differ.
A large part of abandonment is not a problem. People use carts to save items, compare prices and check delivery costs. Baymard's survey found 42% of US shoppers who abandoned were “just browsing”. Those carts are research, not lost orders. The goal is to recover the shoppers who wanted to buy and were stopped.
Source: Baymard Institute: Cart abandonment rate statistics (updated Sept 2025)
Why shoppers abandon their carts
Excluding shoppers who were just browsing, these are the reasons US online shoppers gave Baymard for abandoning an order. Shoppers could pick more than one, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
| Reason | Share of shoppers | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees) | 40% | Show costs early; free-shipping threshold |
| Delivery was too slow | 20% | Show a delivery date; offer a faster option |
| Didn't trust the site with card details | 19% | Familiar payment methods; visible company details |
| Had to create an account | 18% | Guest checkout |
| Checkout too long or complicated | 17% | Fewer fields; fewer steps |
| Website had errors or crashed | 17% | Monitor and fix checkout errors first |
| Return policy unsatisfactory | 13% | Clear, fair returns shown before checkout |
| Couldn't see total order cost up front | 12% | Total cost on product page and cart |
| Credit card was declined | 10% | Clear errors; alternative methods |
| Not enough payment methods | 9% | Add the methods your market uses |
Source: Baymard Institute: Cart abandonment rate statistics (updated Sept 2025)
12 ways to reduce cart abandonment
Grouped by the reason they address. Start with whatever your own exit surveys and support tickets mention most.
Show shipping costs before the cart
Put delivery costs (or “free delivery over €50”) on the product page and in the header. A cost the shopper discovers at checkout feels like a trick even when it is fair.
Show the total near the buy button
Baymard found 67% of sites do not show the total order cost near the product page's buy section. Show what the shopper will actually pay, including delivery to their country.
Use a free-shipping threshold, not a blanket fee
Set it just above your average order value so it lifts order size instead of giving margin away, and show progress towards it in the cart.
Promise a date, not a range
“Arrives Thursday 23 October if you order in the next 3 hours” answers the question “will it arrive in time?” A range of business days makes the shopper do the maths.
Offer guest checkout
Make the account optional. After the order, offer to save the details with just a password. The shopper has already given everything else.
Cut form fields
Baymard's 2024 benchmark found the average checkout has 11.3 form fields, while most sites need only 8. Remove optional fields, use address lookup, and default the billing address to the delivery address.
Keep the checkout focused
Remove the main navigation and promotional banners from checkout, and keep a single, visible order summary. Every exit you offer is a reason to leave.
Offer the payment methods your market uses
Cards are not enough. In Denmark that means MobilePay, in the Netherlands iDEAL, and in many markets wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay or invoice and instalment options. Familiar methods also address the trust problem.
Write helpful error messages
Validate fields as the shopper types, say exactly what to correct, and never clear a form after an error. For declined cards, suggest another method instead of a generic failure.
Show the returns policy before checkout
A one-line summary (“Free returns within 30 days”) beside the buy button and in the cart is enough. Baymard found 44% of sites do not show the return policy on the product page.
Make the discount-code field quiet
A prominent empty code field sends shoppers to search engines looking for codes. Collapse it behind a link.
Monitor the checkout like a payment terminal
Set alerts for drops in checkout completion by browser and device. Errors were cited by 17% of shoppers, and they are the one reason you can fully eliminate.
Sources: Baymard Institute: Cart abandonment rate statistics (updated Sept 2025); Baymard Institute: Checkout optimization and minimizing form fields (2024); Baymard Institute: Product page UX pitfalls and best practices (updated Mar 2026)
How to recover abandoned carts
Some shoppers will leave whatever you do. Save their cart (across devices if they are logged in) and send a reminder for those who gave an email address. A short sequence works best: one reminder within hours with the products pictured, and at most one follow-up a day or two later.
Be careful with discounts. A discount in every recovery email teaches customers to abandon on purpose to get it. Use reminders for service, such as answering a question, showing reviews or confirming delivery dates, and keep discounts for exceptions. In the EU, check that your consent and marketing rules allow the reminders you send; requirements differ by country.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cart abandonment rate?
There is no universal good rate, because product type and traffic change it. Compare your rate with your own history by device. Falling abandonment after a checkout change is the signal that matters, not being under an industry figure.
Is cart abandonment the same as checkout abandonment?
No. Cart abandonment counts everyone who added an item and did not order. Checkout abandonment counts only those who started the checkout and did not finish. A high checkout abandonment rate points more directly to problems in the checkout itself.
Does a one-page checkout convert better than a multi-step one?
Not by default. Baymard's research finds the number of form fields matters far more than the number of steps. A clear, short multi-step checkout can outperform a crowded single page.
Should I require phone numbers at checkout?
Only if the carrier needs one, and then say why next to the field (“for delivery updates only”). Unexplained requests for personal data are a common reason for hesitation.
Sources
- Baymard Institute: Cart abandonment rate statistics (updated Sept 2025)
- Baymard Institute: Checkout optimization and minimizing form fields (2024)
- Baymard Institute: Product page UX pitfalls and best practices (updated Mar 2026)
Sources checked 20 October 2026. Figures are reported as the publishers state them; where sources disagree, the article says so.