Shopping Cart Abandonment: Reasons & 6 Proven Recovery Strategies

Shopping cart abandonment is silently bleeding your store’s revenue.

I understand that it must be frustrating. You’ve done everything right: great product, clean site, smooth checkout. Yet, 7 out of 10 shoppers abandon their carts, leaving sales unfinished.

But here’s the good news: abandoned carts aren’t the end of the story.

With the right cart abandonment recovery strategies, you can win back lost customers and reclaim thousands in revenue. 

In this guide, we’ll break down:

• What is shopping cart abandonment
• Real reasons why shoppers abandon carts
• The best abandoned cart recovery strategies used by brands
• Tips to reduce abandoned carts by 35% with discounts

What is a shopping cart abandonment?

Shopping cart abandonment is when a shopper adds items to their cart but leaves the online store without completing the purchase. 

The average shopping cart abandonment rate is 70% . Thus, e-Commerce cart abandonment is a major challenge affecting conversion rates and revenue.

Abandoned cart vs. Abandoned checkout: Key Differences

The difference between abandoned cart and checkout abandonment in eCommerce lies in the stage of abandonment.

An abandoned shopping cart occurs when shoppers add items but leave before checkout, while abandoned checkout happens after initiating checkout but failing to complete the purchase.

How to Calculate Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate?

The shopping cart abandonment rate helps measure how many shoppers leave their carts without completing a purchase. A high rate indicates lost revenue and friction in the buying process.

Abandoned Cart Rate Formula = (Total Carts Created − Completed Purchases)×100 / Total carts created.

The average eCommerce abandoned cart rate is 70%.

What is an Acceptable Cart Abandonment Rate?

An acceptable shopping cart abandonment rate is between 55% – 65%. If your rate is below 55%, you are performing better than the industry average.

When Should You Worry About a High Cart Abandonment Rate?

If your abandoned cart rate is above 75%, it’s a sign of serious checkout friction requiring immediate abandoned checkout optimization.

5 Must-Know Abandoned Cart Statistics

Here are the important shopping cart abandonment statistics:

1. Average Cart Abandonment Rate is 69.99%
2. Mobile Cart Abandonment Rate is 85.65%
3. 80% of Shoppers Never Return After Abandoning a Car
4. 70% of Businesses Do Not Have a Cart Recovery Strategy
5. 45% of Abandoned Carts Can Be Recovered via Emails

Here are the best cart abandonment statistics in detail.

1. Average Cart Abandonment Rate is 69.99%

Nearly 7 out of 10 shoppers abandon their carts before completing a purchase, causing major revenue loss for eCommerce stores. Optimizing checkout flow can significantly reduce this number.

2. Mobile Cart Abandonment Rate is 85.65%

Mobile users abandon checkouts at a higher rate than desktop users due to poor UX, slow loading times, and complex checkout processes. Ecommerce checkout optimization tips include making checkout mobile-friendly.

3. 80% of Shoppers Never Return After Abandoning a Cart

Once a customer abandons their checkout, only 20% return to complete their purchase. Effective abandoned cart email campaigns can recover lost sales.

4. 70% of Businesses Do Not Have a Cart Recovery Strategy

Despite high cart abandonment rates, most businesses don’t use cart recovery emails, SMS, or retargeting ads, missing out on potential revenue.

5. 45% of Abandoned Carts Can Be Recovered via Emails

Abandoned cart email reminders recover nearly half of lost sales. Sending multiple follow-ups with personalized offers improves abandoned cart recovery rate.

6 Reasons for Shopping Cart Abandonment (and How to Fix Them)

Here are the top reasons for shopping cart abandonment:

1. Unexpected Extra Costs (Shipping, Taxes, Fees)
2. Forced Account Creation
3. Lack of Express Checkout Options
4. Limited Payment Methods
5. Slow Website Speed
6. Coupon code issues

Let’s see common issues leading to cart abandonment in detail and how to reduce shopping cart abandonment by solving them in detail.

1. Unexpected Extra Costs (Shipping, Taxes, Fees)

48% of shoppers bounce when they see unexpected fees at checkout.

Unexpected costs break trust. The shopper starts second-guessing the purchase, comparing with competitors, or deciding they don’t need the product after all and results in abandoned shopping carts.

How to reduce cart abandonment due to unexpected extra costs:

• Show shipping costs early in the process (on product pages or in the cart).
• Use a sticky cart summary so they always see what they’re paying.
• Let customers enter their ZIP code to see shipping fees in real time.

Here is how Adidas reduce shopping cart abandonment by being upfront about costs before checkout:

2. Forced Account Creation

24% of users abandon the checkout because they’re forced to create an account. This is one of the key reasons why customers abandon carts.

Because, customers want speed and simplicity and they don’t want to waste time filling out unnecessary forms.

How to reduce abandoned checkkouts due to forced account creation:

• Shoppers should be able to checkout as a guest – no sign-ups, no friction.
• If users must sign up, don’t overwhelm them. Only ask for: Name, Email and Password.

Here is how Zappos reduces their abandoned checkouts with guest checkout option:

3. Lack of Express Checkout Options

When a customer encounters lengthy and confused checkouts, their excitement fades. Also, they get distracted, frustrated, or second-guess their decision.

Think about it: If Amazon forced customers to enter their details every time, they wouldn’t be the retail giant they are today. Instead, they introduced one-click checkout and it changed online shopping forever.

How to reduce cart abandonment in eCommerce with express checkout:

• Autofill shipping and payment details
• Allow returning customers to save payment methods
• Reduce the number of form fields
• Use progress indicators to reduce friction

Here is an ideal checkout process for eCommerce checkout optimization to reduce cart abandonment.

4. Limited Payment Methods

People are creatures of habit. They trust certain payment methods, and if they don’t see them, they won’t risk it.

So, offering multiple payment methods reduces shopping cart abandonment by 20%.

How to reduce abandoned shopping carts by giving multiple payment options:

• Offer multiple payment methods, not just credit cards
• Show accepted payment methods BEFORE checkout
• Enable Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

5. Slow Website Speed

53% of users abandon if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load.

In today’s “I want it now” economy, speed matters. If your checkout process is slow, you’re losing sales without even knowing it.

How to reduce abandoned shopping carts due to slow website speed:

• Compress images
• Optimize mobile checkout for speed
• Avoid pop-ups and unnecessary redirects that slow mobile performance.
• If using Shopify or BigCommerce, ensure your plan supports high-traffic loads.

Evaluate your hosting provider — sometimes switching to a faster, more reliable service makes a big difference. Cybernews regularly reviews cheap web hosting options that balance performance and affordability.

6. Coupon code issues

Coupons are meant to increase conversions, not kill them. But 36% of shoppers abandon their carts because of frustrating coupon-related issues like:

• The coupon doesn’t work.
• The discount isn’t applied automatically.
• Too many restrictions.

How to reduce cart abandonment with express checkout:

• Automatically apply discounts at checkout
• Show available coupons upfront
• Remove coupon code entry for first-time discounts
• Make oupon terms clear (No hidden rules)

Read more: Learn all about 15 ways to reduce cart abandonment in our complete guide: How to Reduce Cart Abandonment? – 12 Proven Ways.

6 Proven Abandoned Cart Recovery Strategies

You can recover a huge chunk of those sales, if you act fast.

The key? Smart abandoned cart recovery strategies.

Here are the 6 best abandoned cart recovery strategy that actually work – including real-world examples and actionable tactics.

1. Multi-Step Abandoned Cart Email Sequences

In ecommerce, every abandoned cart is a lost sale opportunity. But here’s the good news: Abandoned cart emails can recover 10-30% of lost revenue.

Abandoned cart emails are the best abandoned cart recovery strategy because unlike retargeting ads, abandoned cart emails land directly in your customer’s inbox – right when they’re still in buying mode.

Here is an abandoned cart email example:

Most brands only send one cart recovery email – but one email isn’t enough.

Why?

Why do customers abandon carts multiple times? Because people don’t always act on the first email. They:

• Forget to check their email
• Get distracted
• Need extra convincing

So the best cart abandonment solution is to send 3-5 personalized abandoned cart email series.

Here the best abandoned cart email flow example is:

• Email 1 – A gentle reminder + upselling (1 hour after cart abandonment)
• Email 2 – Evoking urgency ( 1 day after cart abandonment)
• Email 3 – Offer an incentive (2 days after cart abandonment)
• Email 4 – Personalized engagement (5-7 days after cart abandonment)
• Email 5 – The last chance offer ( 10 days after cart abandonment)

With abandoned cart email automation, you can set up an abandoned cart recovery workflow and send these emails in minutes.

2. Combine Email + SMS Cart recovery for Higher Conversions

When you combine abandoned cart emails with SMS reminders, your chances of abandoned shopping cart recovery increases.

• Step 1: Send the first cart abandonment email within an hour.
• Step 2: If no response, send an SMS reminder after 24 hours.
• Step 3: Follow up with a final email (or SMS) offering a discount.

SMS gets seen instantly – 98% open rate. But,

• SMS is short & direct, but it lacks depth.
• You can’t add product images, detailed descriptions, or multiple CTAs.

So, using both abandoned cart emails + SMS abandoned cart recovery strategy covers all bases:

• Email nurtures hesitant shoppers -> product details, reviews, brand trust.
• SMS grabs attention instantly -> urgency, direct checkout links, reminders.

3. Retargeting Ads to Win Back Shoppers

Most ads are cold traffic ads – targeting people who’ve never heard of your brand. 

Cart abandonment retargeting is different because it only shows ads to people who have already visited your site. 

Hence, you’re not convincing them to buy, you’re just reminding them to finish their purchase.

Also, once someone abandons their checkout, they start seeing your ads everywhere:

• On Facebook & Instagram
• In their Google Search results
• On other websites they browse (via Google Display Network)
• Even on YouTube and TikTok

Here is how to do cart abandonment retargeting:

• Install Facebook Pixel & Google Ads Retargeting Tag on your checkout page.
• Show dynamic retargeting ads featuring the exact items left in their cart.

So, here is an example of a cart abandonment retargeting ad by BestBuy to recover abandoned shopping carts.

4. Use Web & Mobile Push Notifications

Push notifications as a shopping cart abandonment solution deliver instant reminders, right on the user’s screen, without requiring them to check their inbox or open a text message.

Push notifications have a 15-25% click-through rate – 5x higher than retargeting ads. Unlike retargeting ads, push notifications don’t require an ad budget.

5. Offer Limited-Time Incentives (with Smart Timing)

Most shoppers abandon carts because they’re undecided, not because they don’t want the product.

So, how do you push them over the edge without immediately giving away profit?

That’s why offering limited-time incentives is the best cart abandonment solution.

Here is how:

• Don’t offer a discount immediately.
• Use urgency and persuasion first.
• Only discount when necessary at the right time.

Here is how to implement this abandoned cart recovery strategy:

• Step 1: First, send a simple reminder (no discount)
• Step 2: If no action, add urgency (no discount yet)
• Step 3: If they still haven’t purchased, offer a discount

6. Exit-Intent Popups to Prevent Abandonment

Exit-intent popups track mouse movement when a user tries to leave, the popup appears with a compelling offer.

These type of popups are one of the best cart abandonment solutions because emails and SMS work after cart abandonment, but popups work before they leave.

So, keep the popup short and actionable. Here is how:

• One clear sentence: “Wait! Your cart qualifies for free shipping – checkout now!”
• One strong CTA button: “Claim Free Shipping”
• Minimal distractions: No long paragraphs or multiple CTAs.

Learn how to segment abandoned cart customers in our blog:
Email Segmentation: 12 Strategies + Examples – Retainful.

Abandoned Cart Discount Best Practices

1. Use Scarcity Instead of Straight Discounts

Instead of cutting price, use limited-time offers as an abandoned cart discount to create urgency:

• “Your cart qualifies for free shipping – expires in 24 hours!”
• “Stock running low – only 3 left in your size!”
• “Exclusive deal for you: Free gift if you checkout today!”

2. Personalize Discounts Based on Customer History

Not every shopper deserves the same discount. Use dynamic offers as an abandoned cart discount based on:

• Cart value: Higher-value carts get bigger incentives.
• Purchase history: First-time buyers get a discount, repeat customers get VIP perks.

3. Test Percentage vs. Fixed Discountsixed Discounts

Should you offer 10% off or $10 off as abandoned cart discount?

• For low-priced products: A percentage discount (10%) feels bigger.
• For high-priced products: A fixed amount ($20 off) works better.

Wrapping up!!

Shopping cart abandonment isn’t just lost sales, it’s recoverable revenue.

So, by optimizing checkout flow, reducing friction, and having faster loading times, you can reduce shopping cart abandonment.

Cart abandonment emails, exit-intent popups, SMS can make a big impact in recovering abandoned shopping carts. Fix the leaks, reclaim lost sales, and turn abandoned carts into conversions. Every lost cart is an opportunity for conversion rate improvement in ecommerce.

Frequently Asked Questions