Conversion
Why shoppers abandon their carts: the reasons in numbers
About 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. Baymard Institute's average across 50 studies is 70.22%. Many shoppers were only browsing, but among the rest the top 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%).
By the MoraLab team · Updated · 2 min read
The average rate, and how to calculate yours
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 minus orders divided by carts created. Track it separately for phones and computers, and for the cart and the checkout, because the causes differ.
Much of it is not a problem. People use carts to save items, compare prices and check delivery costs, and 42% of the US shoppers in Baymard's survey said they were just browsing. The ones to win back are the shoppers who wanted to buy and were stopped.
The reasons shoppers give
Leaving out those who were just browsing, these are the reasons US online shoppers gave Baymard. They 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 |
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. A fall after a checkout change is the signal that matters.
Is cart abandonment the same as checkout abandonment?
No. Cart abandonment counts everyone who added an item and didn't order. Checkout abandonment counts only those who started the checkout. A high checkout abandonment rate points to problems in the checkout itself.