Cart Abandonment Rate Calculator
Cart abandonment rate measures the proportion of online shopping sessions where a customer adds items to their cart but does not complete the purchase. It is one of the most closely watched ecommerce metrics because even a small improvement, say reducing abandonment from 75% to 70%, can materially increase revenue without any additional traffic cost. The formula computes the share of checkouts that were initiated but not completed, expressed as a percentage. Enter the number of checkouts initiated (carts started) and checkouts completed (orders placed) for any period to calculate your abandonment rate.
Cart abandonment rate formula
Abandonment Rate = (1 - Completed / Initiated) * 100
Completion Rate = Completed / Initiated * 100. The two rates always sum to 100%.
Using cart abandonment data
- Track abandonment rate by device: mobile typically runs 10 to 15 percentage points higher than desktop.
- Segment by traffic source: paid traffic often abandons at higher rates than organic search visitors.
- Track abandonment at each checkout step to pinpoint where customers drop off.
- Abandoned cart email sequences typically recover 5 to 15% of abandoned carts when sent within 1 hour.
Cart abandonment rate: frequently asked questions
What is a typical cart abandonment rate?
Industry studies consistently report average cart abandonment rates of 70 to 75 percent across ecommerce. Rates vary by device, sector, and price point, with mobile showing higher abandonment than desktop.
How is cart abandonment rate calculated?
Cart Abandonment Rate = 1 minus (Completed Checkouts divided by Initiated Checkouts), expressed as a percentage. If 1,000 carts are initiated and 250 complete, the abandonment rate is 75%.
What causes high cart abandonment?
Common causes include unexpected shipping costs shown late in checkout, forced account creation, complex multi-step checkout flows, payment security concerns, and customers using the cart as a wishlist.
How can I reduce cart abandonment?
Strategies include displaying total cost including shipping early, offering guest checkout, simplifying the checkout flow to one page, adding trust badges, and sending abandoned cart email sequences.
What counts as an initiated checkout?
An initiated checkout is any session where a user begins the checkout process (typically clicking Checkout or Proceed to Payment). Some analytics tools count adding an item to cart; ensure you use the same definition consistently.
Official sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey: census.gov/retail.
- Federal Trade Commission, Online Shopping: ftc.gov.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 June 2026. See our methodology.