Cart Abandonment Rate
The percentage of online shoppers who add items to their cart but leave without completing the purchase, calculated by dividing the number of abandoned carts by the number of carts created. The global average cart abandonment rate is approximately 70%, meaning seven out of every ten shopping sessions with cart activity do not result in a purchase. Top reasons for abandonment include unexpected shipping costs (48%), required account creation (24%), complicated checkout process (18%), and payment security concerns (17%). Cart abandonment rate varies by device: desktop averages 69%, tablet averages 72%, and mobile averages 85%, reflecting the friction of mobile checkout experiences.
Why It Matters
With average cart abandonment rates near 70%, recovering even a fraction of these lost sales represents significant revenue. Cart abandonment recovery campaigns through email and retargeting are among the highest-ROI marketing activities available, with abandonment emails generating average open rates of 40-45% and conversion rates of 10-15%. A well-structured recovery sequence typically includes three emails: a reminder within one hour, a follow-up with social proof at 24 hours, and a final incentive email at 72 hours. Beyond email, SMS recovery campaigns achieve 20-30% click-through rates for time-sensitive reminders. Addressing the root causes of abandonment through UX improvements — such as showing shipping costs upfront and offering guest checkout — delivers permanent reductions rather than relying solely on recovery tactics.
Example
An e-commerce store has 10,000 cart additions per month but only 3,000 completed purchases, giving a 70% abandonment rate. The team implements a three-email recovery sequence: the first email sends within 1 hour with a cart reminder and achieves a 42% open rate, the second sends at 24 hours with customer reviews of the abandoned products and achieves a 28% open rate, and the third sends at 72 hours with a 10% discount code and achieves a 22% open rate. The sequence recovers 500 additional orders per month, reducing effective abandonment to 65% and adding $25,000 in revenue. Combined with a site redesign that shows shipping costs on product pages and adds guest checkout, the base abandonment rate drops from 70% to 62%, recovering an additional 800 orders per month.
Related Terms
Average Order Value
The average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order, calculated by dividing total revenue by the number of orders. AOV is one of three fundamental e-commerce growth levers alongside traffic and conversion rate, and is expressed by the formula: Revenue = Traffic x Conversion Rate x AOV. Industry benchmarks vary by vertical: luxury goods average $150-$300, apparel averages $80-$120, and consumer electronics average $100-$200. AOV can be segmented by channel, device, customer type (new vs. returning), and time period. Mobile AOV is typically 15-20% lower than desktop, reflecting different browsing and purchasing behaviors.
Retargeting
A digital advertising strategy that serves ads to users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your content, using browser cookies, pixels, or platform-specific identifiers to build audience lists. Retargeting can be site-based (targeting all visitors), page-based (targeting visitors of specific product pages), or action-based (targeting users who added to cart but did not purchase). Common retargeting platforms include Google Display Network, Meta, and programmatic DSPs. The typical retargeting window ranges from 7 to 90 days depending on the purchase cycle, with most conversions occurring within the first 7 days of the initial visit.