Cart Abandonment Rate (CAR) shows the share of shopping carts that were created but never converted into an order. In plain English: users put items into the cart, then disappear before paying. It’s a core signal in an e-commerce conversion funnel and pairs naturally with metrics like Conversion Rate, Ecommerce Conversion Rate, and Bounce Rate. Unlike a Pageview or a Session, CAR is event-driven and tied to checkout intent, so it’s your first red flag that something in the path to purchase—UX, price, fees, trust, or performance—is leaking value.
How to calculate Cart Abandonment Rate
Formula
Cart Abandonment Rate = (Carts − Orders) / Carts × 100%Equivalent and handy:
Cart Abandonment Rate = (1 − Orders / Carts) × 100%Mini-example
- Carts created: 1,200
- Orders completed: 360
- CAR = (1,200 − 360) / 1,200 × 100% = 70%
That 70% doesn’t mean “bad site” by itself—it means 7 out of 10 high-intent users bailed somewhere between cart and payment. Segment before you diagnose: device, traffic source, country, and step (cart → shipping → payment → confirmation). Stitching this with Landing Page quality, Engagement Rate, and step-level drop-offs makes patterns obvious.
Tiny diagnostic snapshot
| Segment | Carts | Orders | Cart Abandonment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop | 600 | 270 | 55% |
| Mobile | 600 | 90 | 85% |
Mobile screaming at 85%? Start with speed, form UX, wallet options, and autofill.
Measurement notes & troubleshooting
- Count “cart” once per intended purchase. Multiple add/remove actions in a single cart shouldn’t inflate Carts.
- De-dupe orders (no partials or retries).
- Track the funnel steps as discrete events to find the exact cliff. Pair with Exit Rate on checkout pages.
- Compare cohorts across releases and promos—see Cohort Analysis.
- Watch order economics. A higher CAR often drags down Revenue and Transaction counts, even when top-funnel traffic grows.