Glossary/Retail Media & Commerce/Cart Abandonment Rate
Retail Media & Commerce
Cart Abandonment Rate
The percentage of shoppers who add items to an online cart but leave without completing the purchase.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Cart abandonment rate is the percentage of online shoppers who add items to a cart but leave without completing the purchase. It is calculated by dividing abandoned carts by all carts created. Common causes include unexpected shipping costs, forced account creation and complicated checkouts, and retailers often recover sales with reminder emails or retargeting.