29 Insightful Shopping Cart Abandonment Stats & Facts

What is an abandoned cart? An abandoned cart is simply a term in e-commerce referring to what happens when prospective buyers fail to complete an online purchase, thereby abandoning the items they’ve already put in their e-cart. Essentially, the rate of cart abandonment is the percentage of buyers who place products in the shopping cart but don’t complete the check-out process.

Despite all the tools the internet offers for customers to buy in a comfortable, easy, and safe way, more than half of users abandon their shopping cart, according to most shopping cart abandonment stats. It’s one of the main challenges faced by nearly every online business’s sales and marketing teams.

This article will cover some interesting facts and figures about the following:

  • General online abandonment rate data 
  • How this applies to online conversion rates
  • Why buyers don’t complete the purchase process
  • The best ways to reduce your cart abandonment rates

Shopping Cart Abandonment Statistics for 2021: Editor’s Choice

  • The average abandonment rate is 65.23%.
  • Customers will most likely abandon their carts between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
  • Just 2.58% of online store visits end in a purchase.
  • The shopping cart abandonment rate was at 75.71% prior to the 2020 lockdown. 
  • The Pet Care and Veterinary services industry has a cart abandonment rate of 52.23%, the lowest in 2021.
  • The abandonment rate on mobile devices is 85.65%.
  • 73% of customers will buy products that offer free shipping.
  • 22% of shopping cart abandonment occurs because customers are asked to create a user account.
  • 45% of customers will open emails sent to recover an abandoned purchase.
  • Customers leave a website when it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics

1. Customers will most likely abandon their carts between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

(Source: CreditDonkey)

Researchers have revealed that from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., as well as from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., you’ll see the highest cart abandonment rates. Moreover, additional data shows that Thursdays and weekends witness the highest cart abandonment rates throughout the week. 

2. The average cart abandonment rate is 65.23%.

(Source: Invesp)

Abandonment rates are becoming more and more of a problem for e-commerce businesses. And while the typical cart abandonment rate ranges between 60–80%, the desirable number would be around 20%.

3. Just 2.58% of online store visits end in a purchase. 

(Source: Sleeknote / VWO)

The competition is fierce in the e-commerce sector, and there are always other stores specializing in the same products. According to the shopping cart abandonment statistics from 2019, only 2.86% of website visits turned into a conversion during that year. In 2020, the percentage was even lower, as the recent e-commerce statistics show it was only 2.58%. 

4. Brands lost nearly $4.6 trillion worth of merchandise in 2016 due to shopping cart abandonment. 

(Source: Business Insider)

According to shopping cart abandonment stats, the e-commerce sector lost $4.6 trillion in just one year. Fortunately, more than half of the merchandise left in these carts can be recovered ($2.75 trillion) through retargeting and remarketing strategies.

5. E-commerce sites lose $18 billion a year in revenue due to cart abandonment.

(Source: DesignAdvisor)

Shopping cart abandonment leaves a hole in a brand’s annual revenue. Forrester Research studied shopping cart abandonment and found that companies selling products or services online lose around $18 billion in revenue every year—which means these companies could sell even more if they chose to retarget and recover abandoned carts.

6. The shopping cart abandonment rate before the coronavirus lockdowns was 75%. 

(Source: WVO)

The shopping cart abandonment rate dropped to 59.76% from the average of 75.7% before the lockdowns. Needless to say, if there’s any industry that benefited from people staying home, it was e-commerce.

7. December has the highest shopping cart abandonment rates.

(Source: Barclaycard)

November and January follow as these are the months surrounding Christmas and Black Friday. 

8. People between 25–34 abandon their carts the most.

(Source: Barclaycard)

The abandonment statistics show that the Millennial shoppers aged 25–34 are the most indecisive, followed by 18–24-year-old shoppers.

9. The pet care and veterinary services industry has the lowest cart abandonment rate in 2021, at 52.23%.

(Source: XP2)

As of February 2021, the industry with the lowest abandonment rate is pet care and veterinary services, at only 52.23%. The next in line is the food and beverage industry, at 55.31%.

10. Consumers visit 3 websites on average before making a purchase.

(Source: Marketing Land)

The average consumer compares prices. Based on the shopping cart abandonment case studies, an average consumer visits around three sites to compare prices on a product they’re interested in. Considering the wide selection and great offers that they can find all over the internet, it’s now easier for consumers to see what they want on competitor sites—especially with the help of price comparison sites and apps.

The average consumer also reads online reviews, with 92% of them not feeling comfortable buying a product or service if it has no customer reviews.

11. The shopping cart abandonment rate on mobile devices is 85.65% on average.

(Source: Barilliance)

As we can see, cart abandonment in mobile e-commerce is a big concern. While mobile drives over 50% of global internet traffic, mobile cart abandonment shows a disturbing upward trend. Some of the reasons for this are longer checkout processes, low website loading speeds, and unclear charges such as shipping fees and taxes.

12. 73% of customers will buy products that offer a free shipping service.

(Source: Barilliance)

One of the shopping cart abandonment hacks you should try is including your product’s extra costs, such as taxes and shipping, within the product’s original price so that you can offer “free” shipping to your customers. Studies conclude that free shipping is considered critical for as much as 73% of consumers. It will even encourage 93% of them to buy more online.

13. Multi-brand retail industry has the highest cart abandonment rate as of February 2021.

(Source: XP2)

According to the statistics, the multi-brand retail industry has the highest shopping cart abandonment rate, at 75.67%. The luxury and jewelry sector comes next with a rate of 73.18%, while fashion, accessories, and apparel follow with 71.78%.

14. Up to 66% of buyers say they’d spend more money on sites that offer a generous return policy.

(Source: Barilliance)

Unfortunately, many stores limit how customers can make returns, either through policies that put a strong restriction on time or policies that charge for the return—or worse, both. To see how to reduce shopping cart abandonment, you might want to offer free returns within 30 days.

15. 55% of the consumers who abandon their carts do so because they’re asked to re-enter credit card and shipping info.

(Source: Statista)

E-commerce shoppers have no patience and get frustrated at the slightest issue. According to Statista, 55% of customers who abandoned an e-commerce site just before making a purchase did so because they were asked to enter their shipping or credit card information again. People abandon their carts for many other reasons, which we’ll explore in the next section.

Shopping Cart Abandonment: Reasons and Underlying Causes

16. 83% of customers need help while trying to complete an online purchase.

(Source: Econsultancy)

It’s essential to know how detrimental the absence of customer support can be for a business. With 83% of shoppers wanting online assistance while making a purchase, poor customer support may just convince them to give up.

17. Over 60% of e-commerce websites lack HTTPS.

(Source: Detectify)

Digital buyers distrust stores that don’t seem secure. This may be due to blank images in the order process or design flaws that make the site appear outdated. According to this e-commerce cart abandonment data, 60% of e-commerce websites run on an ordinary HTTP, which means customers’ sensitive information, like their credit card number, isn’t encrypted. Customers will always be wary of revealing vital information on sites like this.

18. 42% of online shoppers will abandon their cart because of their order’s delivery date.

(Source: Tyche Softwares)

Just as shipping costs are a fundamental reason for cart abandonment, the delivery time poses a significant threat to large purchases, shopping cart abandonment statistics have shown. Usually, important purchases for events such as birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, or emergencies have an expiration date. If your store isn’t able to ship products when customers need them, they’ll be forced to abandon their cart.

19. 28% of users abandoning a site do so because of a long, confusing checkout process.

(Source: Barilliance)

A time-consuming, complex checkout is annoying. Often, asking for unnecessary data can make this process even more frustrating. All this contributes to a poor experience for the user, leading to a 28% checkout abandonment rate for this very reason. To solve this, you’ll need to speed up the site’s navigation and reduce the number of pages the customer goes through during checkout.

20. 55% of customers would spend more if there was a customer support service available.

(Source: Salesforce)

More than half of online customers say they’d be more likely to make a purchase if they had access to customer service, such as live chat, during their shopping session. Customers expect service and convenience. Experimenting with a live chat could be worth it, as 71% of consumers prefer using it over other options for getting support.

21. 25% of customers leave a site because of shipping costs.

(Source: Barilliance)

Hidden fees such as unexpected shipping costs are among the leading causes of both desktop and mobile shopping cart abandonment. Transparency is a value much appreciated by digital buyers and is crucial to an online store’s success. To reduce your abandonment rate, clearly and completely break down these costs for your customers.

22. 22% of customers abandoning a site do so because they’re asked to create a user account.

(Source: Barilliance)

Clients expect comfort. In e-commerce, this means immediacy—customers want to accomplish things fast and get instant results. Requiring more time or effort from them than they expect is a significant source of friction. According to these shopping cart abandonment stats, 22% of the customers who’ve abandoned a cart chose to do so because they didn’t want to create a new user account.

23. Customers will leave a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

(Source: Marketing Dive)

Keeping your page’s loading speed from being too high is a great way to start converting sales. The website design industry statistics confirm that 47% of visitors will abandon a website that doesn’t load in two seconds. 

A case study on the importance of online shopping cart abandonment made by the popular tech giant Google showed that sites with a loading time of five seconds or less earned 25% more advertising viewability than others. They also enjoyed a 35% lower bounce rate and 70% longer sessions on average.

24. Around 46% of customers leave because they couldn’t find a discount coupon.

(Source: Sleeknote)

Many consumers are attracted to special offers. If they don’t find a discount code, there’s a good chance they’ll see if your competitor has one. According to these shopping cart abandonment statistics, 46% of consumers abandon a cart if they can’t find a discount. They often opt to wait until one appears, or they’ll try to find a better offer elsewhere.

25. More than 25% of prospective clients leave because of the payment options.

(Source: SecurionPay)

Customers are creatures of habit. We tend to have established preferences for the tasks we do, including online purchases. According to SecurionPay, more than 25% of buyers won’t complete a purchase if the site doesn’t allow their preferred payment option.

Shopping Cart Abandonment Solutions

With such high cart abandonment rates, it’s vital to consider the methods that the leading e-commerce stores use to convince customers to make a purchase. If you implement cart emails, ad retargeting, or other strategies, you might be able to plug this revenue leak. 

While it may not be possible to persuade everyone who leaves a cart to complete their purchase, the shopping cart abandonment retargeting stats show that it’s worth the attempt. Even though some customers never intended to buy something in the first place, others may have left due to one of the reasons we’ve already brought up. So if you want to reopen this potential income stream, here are some helpful solutions to bring your customers back. 

26. 45% of customers will open an abandoned cart email.

(Source: Moosend)

What are abandoned cart emails? They’re sent to a customer whenever the system discovers that a customer has abandoned a cart without making the purchase. And the stats supporting this recovery method are more than positive. Nearly half of these emails are opened, and 50% of the customers who open the email will complete their purchase. Plus, it’s good to know that three abandoned cart emails generate 69% more orders than a single email.

27. The travel industry has the highest recovery email open rate, at 49.3%.

(Source: BloggingX)

According to the shopping cart abandonment statistics for 2021, the travel industry has the highest recovery email open rate. The data shows that the rate is nearly 10% higher in this industry than in other sectors. The fashion and retail industries follow with 44.1% and 41.1%, respectively.

28. Recovery emails help companies achieve conversion rates of 4.64% on average. 

(Source: Oberlo)

According to the latest shopping cart abandonment statistics, there’s no reason why your company shouldn’t set automated abandoned cart recovery emails. Aside from seeing a 4.64% conversion rate, you could acquire 70% more orders by sending more than one email aimed at recovering a sale.

29. Brands can reduce the shopping cart abandonment rate by as much as 31% by streamlining the checkout process.

(Source: Barilliance)

As much as 28% of consumers abandon their carts because of a long and confusing checkout process. However, streamlining it will reduce the abandonment rates by around 31%.

Conclusion

The high cart abandonment rates cited here are mind-boggling, and the metrics clearly demonstrate the importance of online shopping cart abandonment to a business’s bottom line. By incorporating the right strategy to counter it, reports show that your online business will see a sales increase of approximately 6%.

While you can’t force anyone to complete the purchase process, there are ways to persuade a sizable number of customers to come back and buy your product. The shopping cart abandonment stats show you can achieve this by sending abandoned cart recovery emails, retargeting ads, streamlining the checkout process, and creating more appealing purchase policies. 

Finally, be transparent, build trust, speed up your site’s load time, optimize your products’ delivery times, offer a favorable return policy, and provide multiple payment methods. All of these are just what a store needs to make an online sale.

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