Subject areaMetrics and measurement
Also known asabandoned cart
Cart abandonment refers to visits in which a user adds products to an e-commerce cart and leaves the site without completing the purchase.
It is measured as a rate: abandoned carts over carts created. The most frequently cited causes are shipping costs discovered at the last step, mandatory registration and a complicated checkout.
A high rate does not always point to a flaw in the site; on closer analysis it can reveal a different use of the cart, for example as a reminder to buy later in a store. That is why the figure should be cross-referenced with the other channels before acting.
An example
An e-commerce site has many full carts and few sales. Cross-referencing its data with the stores' data shows that abandoned carts come mostly from people living near a store, where they complete the purchase.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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