About the Cart Abandonment Rate Calculator
This cart abandonment rate calculator shows what share of shopping carts never turn into orders and how much money that represents. Enter the number of carts created and orders completed over a period, plus your average order value, to see the abandonment rate and the value of the carts left behind.
It then estimates what a recovery program could bring back. Enter the share of abandoned carts you can reach (for example shoppers who left an email address), the recovery rate you expect from reminder emails or SMS, and what the tool costs, and you get recovered orders, recovered revenue and the net return. Ecommerce managers use it to size the opportunity before buying a recovery app or redesigning checkout.
For context, the Baymard Institute’s documented average cart abandonment rate across 50 studies is 70.22%, so most stores lose more carts than they convert. Abandoned carts are valued at your average order value, which assumes abandoned carts are similar in size to completed ones.
With the default inputs, the cart abandonment rate is 72%. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the cart abandonment rate calculator
- 1Enter the carts created and orders completed over the same period.
- 2Enter your average order value.
- 3Estimate how many abandoners you can contact and what share you expect to recover.
- 4Add your gross margin and the recovery tool’s cost.
- 5Read the abandonment rate, lost revenue and net profit from recovery.
Formula and method
The abandonment rate is the share of carts created that never became a completed order. Multiplying the abandoned carts by your average order value estimates the revenue left behind, assuming abandoned carts are about the same size as completed ones.
Recovery is modeled in two steps: only the share of abandoners you can contact (because they entered an email or phone number) receive reminders, and a percentage of those come back and buy. Recovered revenue is valued at gross margin, not full revenue, before subtracting the recovery tool’s cost, so the net figure reflects real profit. The value of one percentage point shows what a checkout improvement is worth.
- carts
- Carts created in the period
- orders
- Orders completed in the period
- AOV
- Average order value
- reach
- Share of abandoned carts you can contact
Worked examples
Store with 10,000 carts and 2,800 orders
7,200 of 10,000 carts were abandoned, a 72% rate worth $612,000 at an $85 AOV. Contacting 40% (2,880 carts) and recovering 10% of them brings back 288 orders, or $24,480. At a 40% margin that is $9,792 of gross profit, or $9,492 after the $300 tool.
Smaller shop with a better checkout
1,240 of 2,000 carts were abandoned (62%). Reaching half of them and recovering 8% wins back about 50 orders worth $2,976. At a 40% margin that is $1,190 gross profit, or $1,090 after the $100 tool.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate cart abandonment rate?+
Divide the number of abandoned carts by the number of carts created and multiply by 100. Abandoned carts are carts created minus completed purchases, so 10,000 carts and 2,800 orders gives (10,000 − 2,800) ÷ 10,000 = 72%.
What is a good cart abandonment rate?+
The Baymard Institute’s documented average across 50 studies is about 70%, so a rate noticeably below that is better than typical. Rates vary by device, industry and how carts are counted, so trend your own rate over time.
Why do shoppers abandon their carts?+
Common reasons include unexpected extra costs such as shipping and tax, being forced to create an account, a long or confusing checkout, slow delivery, and lack of trust in payment security. Many shoppers are also just browsing or comparing prices.
What is the difference between cart and checkout abandonment?+
Cart abandonment counts everyone who added an item but did not buy. Checkout abandonment only counts people who started the checkout flow and left, so it is lower and more directly reflects checkout problems.
How much revenue can abandoned cart emails recover?+
It depends on how many abandoners you can contact and how compelling your reminders are. Enter your own reach and recovery rate from past campaigns; the calculator values recovered orders at your margin so you can judge whether a tool pays for itself.