Abandoned shopping carts – how to analyze them and win back customers?

One in three customers who add a product to their shopping cart do not complete the transaction. This is a striking statistic – the average shopping cart abandonment rate is 70-75%. Each such basket is not only lost revenue, but also a signal that something in the shopping process is not working as it should.

The main reasons for abandonment are hidden costs, a complicated order finalization process or the requirement to create an account. Understanding these barriers and implementing effective strategies is key to increasing conversions and building loyalty. From analyzing the path to purchase, to optimizing your site, to tools for recovering abandoned shopping carts, every action impacts sales.

The following article is a comprehensive guide to help you understand the causes of abandonment and implement proven solutions. Even a small change can make a huge difference to your e-business. How much money are you just running away with?

What will you learn from this article?

• How to define an abandoned shopping cart?
• Learn the most common causes of shopping cart abandonment, from hidden costs to lack of trust.
• You will discover tools and methods to analyze the problem, including Google Analytics 4.
• You will learn how to effectively prevent abandonment by optimizing the shopping process.
• You will learn proven strategies for recovering abandoned shopping carts, including email campaigns and remarketing.
• You will learn an overview of the most popular shopping cart recovery automation tools.

What is an abandoned shopping cart and why is it an important indicator in e-commerce?

A shopping cart abandonment is when a customer adds products to the cart but does not complete the transaction. It is one of the most important indicators in e-commerce, because it directly shows the scale of lost revenue and problems in the shopping process.

The average shopping cart abandonment rate is ok. 70%.This means that the majority of customers who were close to making a purchase end up splurging.

Imagine that in a stationary store, one in three customers puts down a full shopping cart right before checkout. It’s hard to ignore.

The impact of abandoned shopping carts on sales

Each abandoned cart is a real loss. The customer was ready to pay, but something discouraged them – hidden delivery costs, overly complex checkout, lack of convenient payment methods or lack of trust in the store. Analyzing these barriers allows you to gradually remove them and regain some of the lost sales.

Adiscard rate – why monitor it?

A high abandonment rate signals that the shopping process has weaknesses. Regular monitoring allows you to catch and improve them quickly.

With abandonment analysis, you can:

• improve UX optimization,
• adjust offer and delivery costs,
• improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Why do customers abandon shopping carts?

Customers abandon shopping carts most often because of unforeseen costs, a complex shopping process, lack of trust or limitations in payment and delivery options.

Let’s take a closer look.

Hidden costs – delivery, taxes and other additional fees

39% of shoppers abandon their shopping cart when additional costs – such as high delivery price, taxes or commissions – appear at the final stage of purchase. This is the most common reason for abandonment. Lack of price transparency frustrates customers and undermines trust.

Transparent information about the full cost of a purchase from the beginning, as well as offering free delivery from a certain amount, significantly reduces abandonment.

Too-long or complicated shopping process (checkout)

Too-long or complicated shopping process is a key cause of shopping cart abandonment because it frustrates shoppers and undermines trust. Customers expect a quick and intuitive transaction completion. Excessive steps, redundant fields or the need to reload the page are effectively discouraged. No one likes mazes, especially when they’re in a hurry.

Every extra step, inability to edit the shopping cart or unclear instructions lengthens the process and lowers conversions. Optimizing the payment process by minimizing the required data, clear order progress messages and no distractions significantly improves finalization. Time is money, right?

Requiring an account before finalizing a transaction

For 19% of customers, the need to create an account is the reason for cart abandonment. Fear of spam, the need to remember passwords and additional paperwork are effective deterrents.

The solution is allowing purchases without registration (as a guest) and logging in through popular accounts (Google, Facebook). This makes the shopping process faster and friendlier.

Lack of trust and concerns about data security

19% of buyers do not complete the transaction because they do not trust the store. Lack of an SSL certificate, outdated website design, lack of reviews or unclear return policies cause customers to abandon.

In contrast, professional design, visible security features, reviews from other shoppers and clear return terms build credibility and reduce abandonment.

Insufficient payment options or delivery methods

Lack of flexible payment and delivery options is one of the more common reasons for shopping cart abandonment. According to the Baymard Institute, 10% of customers abandon a purchase when a store does not offer a preferred payment method.

According to the reportE-commerce in Poland 2024 the most important role in the Polish market is played by:

• BLIK (68%) – the most popular method among online shoppers,
• fast transfers (64%) via PayU, Przelewy24 or Dotpay services,
• paying by card when ordering (43%),
• paying by cash on delivery (39%), still often chosen despite the growing popularity of digital forms.

Deferred payments (18%) and online installments (11%) are also increasingly important. On the other hand, mobile payments with QR code or less popular solutions have a marginal share (4%).

Similarly, the issue of delivery – the lack of Parcel Machines, courier or personal collection can discourage even the most determined customers. In Poland, InPost Parcel Machines are particularly highly anticipated, being the first choice for many shoppers.

How to analyze the problem of abandoned shopping carts in your store?

Analyzing abandoned shopping carts requires a comprehensive approach, using tools to track shopper behavior. This allows you to eliminate the causes of shopping cart abandonment and significantly increase the conversion rate, translating into higher sales.

Purchase Path Analysis in Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) allows you to track every step of the purchase path and pinpoint points where customers abandon to complete. With funnel reports and behavioral analysis, you’ll know whether the problem lies on the product page, in the shopping cart or in the order form.

GA4 shows not only the point at which a shopping cart is abandoned, but also allows you to precisely test solutions – such as simplifying the checkout or displaying delivery costs earlier.

Use of heatmaps and user session recordings

Heatmaps and session recordings provide visual insight into how customers navigate the store. You can see which elements of the page attract attention, where frustration arises and at what point users interrupt the process.

With these tools, it’s easy to identify barriers such as technical errors, poorly visible buttons or unintuitive navigation. Analyzing user experience allows you to precisely improve UX and reduce abandonment.

You can use tools such as Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity or Crazy Egg.

Direct feedback – surveys and contact forms

Surveys and contact forms provide data that no statistics will show. They allow you to ask customers directly why they didn’t complete the purchase.

The most common are short surveys displayed after leaving the shopping cart page or after a completed session. Questions can be about hidden costs, payment methods, the length of the checkout process or technical errors. The collected answers are valuable clues for optimization and removal of obstacles blocking sales.

Preventing abandonment – effective optimization strategies

Preventing shopping cart abandonment requires a holistic approach, including simplification of the checkout process, full cost transparency, UX optimization and trust building. Eliminating barriers is an investment that pays off in real terms.

Focus on site speed, responsiveness on mobile devices, and providing a variety of trusted payment and delivery methods. The simpler and more transparent the process, the greater the chance of a finalized transaction.

How to simplify and speed up the checkout process?

Each additional step is a potential barrier – the customer wants to buy quickly, without unnecessary paperwork. Therefore, checkout should be as simple and intuitive as possible.

What to pay attention to?

• Minimize the number of steps – the process should close in 2-3 screens instead of several separate pages.
• Limit form fields – only ask for the data necessary to complete the order.
• Enable autocomplete – make it easy to enter an address or contact information with browser features and integrations.
• Enable shopping without registration – the option to purchase as a guest significantly increases conversions.
• Add a progress bar – shows the customer how many steps are left to finalize and reduces frustration.
• Optimize loading speed – a slow page at a crucial moment is one of the most common reasons for abandonment.

Transparency of costs at every step – how to build trust?

Customers want to know exactly how much they will pay before they click „I buy.” If additional charges appear only at finalization, the effect is one – cart abandonment. Transparency of pricing at every stage of the process is the way to build trust and reduce frustration.

What’s worth implementing?

• Display full price – show gross cost including tax and any fees already on the product page.
• Inform about delivery costs right away – avoid the customer finding out about them only in the shopping cart.
• Add a delivery cost calculator – enable the customer to quickly check the charges before shopping.
• Promote free delivery from a certain amount – this is an effective way to increase the average order value and reduce abandonment.
• Communicate promotions and discounts directly – hiding them further down the checkout process reduces credibility.

Purchasing without registration – is this a solution for your store?

The need to create an account is an opt-out reason for many people. Shoppers want to act quickly and without additional paperwork – especially for one-time purchases. That’s why the option to purchase as a guest is one of the most effective solutions for reducing abandonment.

How to implement it well?

• Offer purchase without an account – don’t block the customer with the need to register before finalizing.
• Give post-purchase choice – offer to create an account as soon as the order is finalized.
• Stress the benefits of registration – discounts on future purchases, easier shipment tracking or order history.
• Minimize the number of fields in the visitor form – the less data required to start, the greater the chance of conversion.

Optimize the site for mobile devices

Online shopping is largely done on smartphones and tablets. If a store does not work well on small screens, it risks losing a huge portion of its customers. A responsive, fast and convenient mobile version is nowadays an obligation, not an add-on.

What to pay special attention to?

• Responsive design – the site must scale correctly to different screen resolutions.
• Loading speed – optimize graphics, scripts and server to avoid long waits.Large and readable buttons – clickable elements should be comfortable to use with your finger.
• Simple form – avoid too many fields and use autocomplete functions.
• Test on real devices – test how the shopping process looks on different smartphones and browsers.

Recovering abandoned shopping carts – proven methods

Recovering abandoned shopping carts is all about encouraging the customer to return and complete the initiated transaction, which directly translates into increased conversions and sales. How to achieve such an effect?

Automatic email campaigns – best practices and examples

E-mails reminding of unfinished purchases are one of the most effective methods of recovering abandoned shopping carts. What is important here is personalization and appropriate timing. Studies show that a message sent within an hour of abandonment has the best chance of being effective.

Best practices:

• send the first message within 1 hour, subsequent messages after 24 and 72 hours,
• add photos and product names from the shopping cart,
• use clear CTA (e.g. „Complete your shopping”),
• gradually increase the incentive – e.g. free delivery on the second email, discount on the third,
• test different versions of content and headlines (A/B testing).

👉 Also check out,how to create an effective email marketing strategy step-by-step.

Remarketing and push notifications as a way to remind customers of purchases

Not every customer will respond to an email. That’s when remarketing and push notifications come to the rescue. These are tools that re-engage shoppers and remind them of their shopping cart, no matter where they are currently online.

What to use:

• display remarketing and in social media channels – ads for products abandoned in the shopping cart on Facebook, Instagram or affiliate sites,
• web push and mobile push notifications – short messages on the phone or browser,
• personalization of content – e.g. product reminder along with a discount or free delivery,
• sense of urgency – a limited-time offer works better than a standard reminder.

When and how to use discount codes effectively?

Rebate can determine a purchase decision, but used too early, it lowers margins and gets customers used to „waiting for a discount.” That’s why discount codes are best treated as the last step in cart recovery.

Principles for effective use:

• don’t send the code in the first email – start with a simple reminder,
• use the discount on the second or third contact,
• limit its validity (e.g. 24h) to reinforce the sense of urgency,
• offer a simple and attractive form (e.g. -10%, free delivery),
• make the code work without problems and easy to enter.

Cart recovery automation tools – what to choose?

The choice of abandoned cart recovery automation tools depends on your store’s needs and budget, including built-in features of e-commerce platforms or third-party marketing automation systems

Solutions allow you to automatically send emails, SMS or push notifications with reminders about abandoned products, often with an additional incentive, such as a discount code. It is important that the chosen tool provides customer segmentation and detailed performance reporting, resulting in higher conversions and sales.

Built-in features of e-commerce platforms vs. external systems

Most popular e-commerce platforms (e.g. Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Shoper, Sky-Shop) offer basic shopping cart recovery tools. These usually boil down to automatic emails reminding you of an unfinished purchase.

Benefits:

• quick setup and easy to use,
• low cost – often built into a subscription plan,
• basic effectiveness reports (opens, clicks, orders recovered).

Limitations:

• no advanced content personalization,
• no customer segmentation,
• limited multi-channel communication capabilities (e.g. SMS, push).

This is a good choice for smaller stores that want to get up and running quickly without additional costs.

Review of popular marketing automation tools

Marketing automation tools are a solution for stores that want to squeeze the maximum from shopping cart recovery. Such systems allow you to create multi-step campaigns and reach customers through multiple channels – not just email, but also via SMS or push notifications.

Examples of tools:

• Klaviyo – heavily developed segmentation and integrations with e-commerce,
• Omnisend – omnichannel automation (email, SMS, push),
• ActiveCampaign – extensive marketing automation scenarios,
• Drip – focus on personalization and customer journey,
• GetResponse (popular in Poland) – marketing automation and email retargeting module,
• SalesManago – strong focus on AI and communication personalization.

Benefits:

• segmentation of customers (e.g. by shopping cart value or purchase history),
• ready templates for campaigns aimed at recovering abandoned shopping carts,
• possibility to test multiple message variants,
• detailed effectiveness reporting.

The disadvantages can be higher cost and more complicated setup, but in return you get full control and measurable results.

👉 Learn more about automation of marketing.

Summary – how to create a comprehensive strategy to fight abandoned shopping carts?

Accidental shopping carts are a problem that cannot be completely eliminated, but can be significantly reduced. An effective strategy requires a combination of three pillars:

• prevention – simplification of checkout, full cost transparency, a responsive mobile version and a rich selection of payment and delivery methods,
• recovery – automated email campaigns, remarketing, push notifications and discount codes applied at the right moment,
• analysis and optimization – continuous data monitoring in GA4, heat maps, session recordings and surveys to remove barriers step by step.

Remember that your goal is not only to recover some of the lost orders, but above all to create a shopping experience where the customer has no reason to give up. Every step brings you closer to higher sales and greater buyer loyalty.

.