Cart abandonment rate measures how often shoppers add items to a cart but don’t complete the purchase. This page provides a citable benchmark,
the most common abandonment reasons, and a clear definition so comparisons stay consistent across tools and reports.
Back to the hub:
E-commerce Statistics.
For a complete funnel view, compare abandonment with
conversion rate (CR) benchmarks
and revenue context from
average order value (AOV) benchmarks.
Key benchmark
A widely cited reference point for reporting and benchmarking.
Treat this as a benchmark reference, not a target. Abandonment rates can shift with category, device mix, traffic intent,
checkout UX, and payment friction. Keep the definition consistent when comparing across time or across stores.
If you need adjacent context metrics for reporting, use:
conversion rate (CR) benchmarks,
AOV benchmarks,
payment methods share,
and delivery methods share.
Top reasons shoppers abandon carts
These are the most frequently cited reasons in cart abandonment research. Use them as the “why” layer in articles and decks.
| Reason | Share | How to use this insight |
|---|---|---|
| Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees) | 39% | Report the impact of shipping/fees. Consider pricing transparency and threshold strategies. |
| Delivery was too slow | 21% |
Compare expectations with delivery benchmarks: delivery methods share and your own lead times. |
| Didn’t trust the site with credit card information | 19% | Emphasize trust signals, clear policies, and credible payment options. |
| The site wanted me to create an account | 19% | Explain guest checkout impact and checkout friction reduction. |
| Too long / complicated checkout process | 18% | Discuss checkout simplification, form reduction, and mobile-first UX. |
| Returns policy wasn’t satisfactory | 15% |
Use return benchmarks to contextualize expectations: return rate benchmarks. |
| Website had errors / crashed | 15% | Highlight operational reliability, monitoring, and error handling at checkout. |
| Couldn’t see / calculate total order cost up-front | 14% | Make total cost visible earlier in the funnel and reduce surprises. |
| Not enough payment methods | 10% |
Compare local payment needs with: payment methods share and, for Poland, BLIK share. |
| Credit card was declined | 8% | Describe fallback methods, retries, and clearer decline messaging. |
How this connects to conversion rate
Abandonment is one of the most common explanations for conversion rate differences between stores and devices.
When presenting abandonment, pair it with
CR benchmarks
and revenue context from AOV benchmarks.
How to benchmark cart abandonment correctly
A short checklist to prevent invalid comparisons in research and reporting.
- Fix the definition. Decide what “cart” means in your measurement (cart created vs add-to-cart events vs checkout started).
- Use consistent order logic. Count paid orders consistently (not created orders) if you compare across systems.
- Compare like-for-like segments. Device mix, category, and traffic intent can shift abandonment sharply.
- Include context metrics. Report abandonment alongside CR and AOV, and mention payment and delivery context.
Helpful context pages:
mobile share of traffic,
mobile share of revenue,
payment methods share,
delivery methods share.
Definition
Different tools define “cart” differently—keep your definition consistent when comparing.
Cart abandonment rate is commonly calculated as:
Abandonment = (Carts − Orders) ÷ Carts × 100
- Carts can mean carts created, add-to-cart events, or carts with contact captured.
- Orders should match your order definition (paid vs created vs fulfilled—pick one and stick with it).
- If you track checkout abandonment, keep it separate from cart abandonment to avoid mixing benchmarks.
Shared reference pages:
Glossary •
Methodology
Sources
Primary source for the benchmark and the reasons distribution.
-
Baymard Institute — Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics (average documented abandonment rate: 70.22%; reasons distribution):
baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
Hub-wide pages:
Sources •
Methodology •
Glossary
Suggested citation (APA style):
Best for Ecommerce. (2026). Cart abandonment rate benchmarks. Retrieved from
/ecommerce-statistics/conversion-funnel/cart-abandonment-rate/