Quick answer: Cart abandonment happens when a shopper adds products to the basket but leaves before paying. Some abandonment is normal (people compare prices or save items for later), but much of it comes from surprise costs, forced account creation, long forms, slow pages, payment worries and missing payment options. Measure where people drop off, fix the biggest friction first, then use reminder emails to recover the rest.
Every online store loses carts. The question is how many of those losses come from problems you control. A shopper who adds a product to the cart has already shown strong intent. Losing them at the final steps is far more expensive than losing a casual visitor on a category page.
This guide covers the main causes, how to diagnose your own store, and the fixes that tend to help most.
Why shoppers abandon carts
The common reasons are well known to anyone who has watched shoppers use a checkout:
Unexpected costs. Shipping, taxes or fees appear only at the last step. This is the most familiar complaint.
Forced account creation. The shopper wanted to buy, not to register.
Long or confusing checkout. Too many fields, too many steps, unclear errors.
Trust concerns. The site looks dated, there is no padlock, or the payment page feels unfamiliar.
Missing payment options. No PayPal, no preferred card, no option the shopper trusts.
Slow or broken pages. Especially on mobile.
Delivery doubts. No clear delivery date, no tracking, unclear returns.
Just browsing. Using the cart as a wish list or price calculator. You cannot fix all of these, but you can remind them later.
Step 1: Measure where carts are lost
Before changing anything, find the leaks.
Set up a checkout funnel
In Google Analytics, use a goal funnel or Enhanced Ecommerce checkout steps to see how many people move from cart to shipping, to payment, to confirmation. Our enhanced ecommerce guide covers checkout step tracking.
Split by device
Compare mobile and desktop. A checkout that works fine on desktop but loses most mobile users points to a mobile usability problem, not a pricing problem.
Watch real sessions
Session recordings and heatmaps show where people hesitate, mis-tap or rage-click. Tools like Hotjar help here; see Hotjar vs Crazy Egg.
Ask
A one-question exit survey on the cart or checkout page (“Is anything stopping you from completing your order today?”) often surfaces issues you would never guess. Keep it short and optional. Our onsite surveys article explains how to run these without annoying buyers.
Step 2: Fix the biggest friction points
Show costs early
Display shipping costs, or at least a clear shipping policy, on product pages and in the cart. A shipping estimator in the cart helps. If you offer free shipping over a threshold, say so near the price and show progress in the cart (“Spend £12 more for free delivery”).
Offer guest checkout
Let people buy without creating an account. Offer account creation after the order, using the details they already entered. Returning customers can still log in for speed, but nobody should be forced to.
Shorten the form
- Remove fields you do not need (company name, second phone number)
- Use address lookup where available
- Default billing address to shipping address
- Use the right keyboard types on mobile (numeric for card and phone)
- Show errors inline and clearly, next to the field that needs fixing
Make the checkout feel safe
- Serve the entire site over HTTPS
- Show recognisable payment logos and security badges near the payment fields (only ones that apply)
- Keep the checkout design consistent with the rest of the site
- Show a phone number or live chat for questions
Offer the payment methods your customers use
Cards plus PayPal covers many stores. Depending on your market, Apple Pay, Android Pay, Amazon Pay or local options may matter. Faster payment options reduce typing on mobile.
Be clear about delivery and returns
- Estimated delivery dates, not only “3 to 5 working days”
- Tracking promise
- A link to a clear return policy near the payment button, written in plain language
Speed up the checkout
Cart and checkout pages are often slow because of heavy scripts, uncached dynamic content and third-party tags. Audit them separately from the homepage.
Step 3: Recover carts with reminder emails
Cart abandonment emails remind shoppers what they left behind. They work best when:
- The first email goes out within a few hours
- It shows the products, with images and a direct link back to the cart
- It is helpful rather than pushy (answer common questions, show reviews, mention returns)
- Any discount is used carefully, not in every first email, or shoppers learn to wait for it
A typical sequence is two or three emails over a few days. Most ecommerce platforms and email tools support this: WooCommerce extensions, Shopify’s built-in abandoned checkout emails, or email platforms like MailChimp and Klaviyo. Test timing and subject lines rather than assuming the defaults suit your shoppers.
Respect consent
You can only email shoppers who have entered an email address and where your privacy notice covers it. GDPR comes into force in May 2018 and will raise the bar for EU shoppers. Review how you collect emails at checkout and how you describe reminder emails now, rather than in May.
Step 4: Use retargeting carefully
Retargeting ads through AdWords or Facebook can bring back shoppers who left without leaving an email. Cap frequency so you do not follow people around the web for weeks, and exclude those who have already purchased.
Platform notes
WooCommerce
WooCommerce’s default checkout is a single page. Remove unneeded fields with a field editor or a little code, enable guest checkout in settings, and add an abandoned cart extension for reminders. Keep plugins lean; checkout pages suffer most from plugin bloat.
Shopify
Shopify includes abandoned checkout emails in many plans and handles checkout hosting. Your main levers are shipping clarity, payment options and the cart page before checkout. Apps can add features, but every extra script on the cart page should earn its place.
What not to do
- Pop-ups that block the checkout
- Upsells between payment and confirmation that confuse the order
- Hidden fees added at the last step
- Forcing newsletter sign-up to complete an order
- Constant discount codes that train buyers to abandon on purpose
FAQ
What is a normal cart abandonment rate?
It varies widely by industry, price point and device. Compare your own store over time and between devices rather than chasing an industry figure.
Should I offer a discount in the first reminder email?
Usually not. Start with a helpful reminder. Test a discount in a later email if margins allow.
Does free shipping fix abandonment?
It removes one big objection, but only if margins can carry it. A clear threshold is often a good compromise.
How many reminder emails should I send?
Two or three over a few days is common. More than that tends to annoy.
Recover the sales you almost had
Cart abandonment is a sign of intent that did not quite finish. Measure the funnel, remove surprise costs and friction, build trust at the payment step, and follow up with helpful reminders. If you want help finding and fixing checkout leaks in your store, see how we help shops turn visitors into customers.
