Abandoned carts and lost checkouts
Every abandoned checkout carries the full acquisition cost of the visit and none of the revenue. That makes it the most expensive kind of 'no'.
The problem
Cart abandonment is usually treated as a conversion metric. Priced properly it is a profit metric: traffic cost was already spent, so the loss is the contribution the basket would have produced.
Unexpected shipping cost at the last step, limited payment methods and forced account creation account for a large share of it.
How to measure it
Value abandoned baskets at contribution, not at basket revenue — otherwise recovery looks more valuable than it is.
Split abandonment by step, device and whether shipping cost appeared late in the flow.
What to change
- ◆Show shipping cost and delivery time before the final step.
- ◆Test a threshold that is profitable rather than a blanket free-shipping promise.
- ◆Reduce required fields and add the payment methods your market expects.
- ◆Sequence recovery messages by basket contribution instead of treating every cart the same.
Estimates, not your numbers. Everything on this page is based on public ecommerce benchmarks and the signals a public storefront exposes. It is an indication of where profit typically leaks — not a measurement of your finances. Connect your store to replace estimates with your actual numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is a high abandonment rate always a problem?+
No. Some browsing behaviour looks like abandonment. What matters is the contribution lost at the payment step specifically, where intent was clear.
Does the free scan measure my abandonment?+
No. A public storefront does not expose checkout data. The scan estimates typical checkout leakage for your category, country and sales area.