Seven out of ten people who add something to their cart will leave without buying. That's the industry average. It's brutal. But it also means there's massive opportunity if you can improve even a little.
Here are seven things you can do right now to recover more of those abandoned carts.
1. Show Total Cost Early
The number one reason for cart abandonment is unexpected costs at checkout. Shipping. Taxes. Fees. When people see a surprise $15 added to their $40 order, they bail.
Show shipping costs on the product page. Or offer free shipping with a clear threshold. "Free shipping on orders over $50" works because people know what to expect.
2. Enable Guest Checkout
Forcing account creation is conversion suicide. 24% of shoppers abandon because they're forced to create an account. Let them buy first. Ask for the account after.
You can always follow up with an email offering account benefits. But get the sale first.
3. Simplify Your Checkout
Every extra step loses people. Every extra form field loses people. Audit your checkout flow. How many clicks from cart to confirmation? If it's more than three, you have work to do.
- Use address autocomplete
- Auto-detect card type
- Save information for returning customers
- Remove unnecessary fields
4. Add Trust Signals
People are nervous about buying online from brands they don't know. Ease that anxiety with visible trust signals throughout checkout.
- SSL badge and secure checkout messaging
- Payment method logos (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal)
- Money-back guarantee
- Customer service contact info
5. Set Up Abandoned Cart Emails
This is free money. Someone added to cart, gave you their email, and left. Send them a reminder. A simple three-email sequence can recover 5-15% of abandoned carts.
Email 1: 1 hour after. "Did you forget something?"
Email 2: 24 hours later. Show the product. Add social proof.
Email 3: 72 hours later. Offer an incentive if needed.
6. Offer Multiple Payment Options
Buy now, pay later options like Shop Pay, Klarna, or Afterpay can increase conversions by 20-30%. People want flexibility, especially on higher-priced items.
PayPal is still huge. Apple Pay and Google Pay reduce friction on mobile. More options means fewer excuses to leave.
7. Use Exit-Intent Offers (Carefully)
When someone moves to close the tab, show them an offer. 10% off. Free shipping. Something to keep them around.
Don't be annoying about it. One popup, one offer. If they close it, let them go. But that last-second save can work.
Measure What Matters
Track your cart abandonment rate over time. A/B test changes. What works for one store might not work for another. The seven strategies above are starting points, not gospel.
Even small improvements add up. Going from 70% abandonment to 65% on a $50,000/month store is an extra $7,500 in monthly revenue. That's real money from work you do once.