Every year, billions of dollars are lost in e-commerce not because customers don’t want the products, but because they don’t complete their purchases. This phenomenon, known as cart abandonment, happens when shoppers add items to their online basket but leave before paying.

It’s a problem that affects nearly every industry, and while marketing, delivery, and product availability all play a role, the checkout and payment experience is often the deciding factor.

1. Cart Abandonment by the Numbers

The scale is eye-opening:

• The average global cart abandonment rate is 70.19 %, according to a 49-study analysis by Baymard Institute (Baymard).

• $18 billion in potential sales are lost annually because of abandoned carts (ConvertCart).

• A 2024 benchmark from Dynamic Yield placed the worldwide rate even higher at 73.9 % (eMarketer).

In simple terms: for every $100 worth of goods placed in carts, businesses only capture about $26–30.

2. Industry, Device, and Regional Trends

Not all sectors suffer equally from abandonment:

• Luxury & Jewelry: 81 % abandonment

• Home & Furniture: 79 %

• Fashion & Apparel: 76 %

• Food & Beverage: 58 %
  (SellersCommerce, 2024)

Luxury items are abandoned more frequently because they’re aspirational purchases, shoppers browse, compare, and revisit multiple times before committing. Essentials like food and beverage see fewer drop-offs because urgency drives completion.

By device, the picture is even clearer:

• Mobile: 85.65 %

• Tablet: 80.74 %

• Desktop: 73.07 %
  (Hotjar, 2024)

Mobile shoppers face smaller screens, more distractions, and clunkier checkouts, making optimization critical.

Regionally, abandonment is highest in emerging e-commerce markets:

• Middle East & Africa: 93 %

• Asia Pacific & Latin America: 87 %

• Nordics: 80 %

• North America: 76 %
  (SellersCommerce, 2025)

3. Why Do Shoppers Abandon Carts?

The top reasons are surprisingly consistent across studies:

• Unexpected costs (shipping, tax, fees): 48 %

• Forced account creation: 26 %

• Payment security concerns: 25 %

• Slow delivery timelines: 23 %

• Complicated checkout process: 22 %

• Not seeing total price upfront: 21 %
  (SellersCommerce, 2024)

Other factors include using the cart as a wishlist, lack of preferred payment methods, or distractions on mobile. But what’s striking is that nearly a third of abandonments come from payment-related issues.

4. The Hidden Cost of Abandonment

With global e-commerce sales projected to reach $7.9 trillion by 2030 (Statista), even small improvements in cart recovery have massive financial impact.

• An online store with $1M annual cart value loses about $700K to abandonment.

• Cutting abandonment by just 10 % would recover $100K, without any extra ad spend.

That’s why businesses are shifting focus from just traffic acquisition to checkout conversion.

5. Real-World Success Stories

Unific Case Study
One merchant used segmentation and personalized email flows to recover:

• 15 % of abandoned carts without discounts

• Up to 30 % recovery with personalized offers
  (Unific)

YETI’s Mobile Transformation
Outdoor brand YETI redesigned its mobile checkout, speeding up pages and making the experience more intuitive. The result: 63 % YoY increase in mobile conversions (Salesforce).

Both examples prove recovery isn’t just about discounts; user experience and payment simplicity matter just as much.

6. Payment Solutions That Reduce Abandonment

The checkout stage is where most drop-offs occur. Optimizing payment flow directly reduces abandonment.

a) Offer Multiple Payment Options

• Accept credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, and BNPL.

• 49 % of global shoppers prefer digital wallets over cards (Statista).

b) Enable One-Click Checkout

• Returning users hate retyping details.

• Shop Pay boosts conversion 1.72x higher on mobile than guest checkout (Shopify).

c) Prioritize Mobile-Friendly Payments

• Mobile wallets, Face ID, and auto-fill make checkout seamless.

• TCB Pay’s new mobile app, launching September 2025, is an example of a payment portal built around speed, security, and mobile-first design.

d) Show Costs Upfront

• 48 % of shoppers leave when surprised by fees (Baymard).

• Real-time tax/shipping calculators and currency conversion build trust.

e) Build Trust with Secure Gateways

• Use PCI DSS-compliant processors with visible SSL certificates.

• 58 % of buyers feel safer when recognizable payment logos (Visa, PayPal, Mastercard) are displayed (LexisNexis).

f) Add Flexible Payment Plans (BNPL)

• BNPL is projected to hit $744 billion in transaction value by 2030 (Allied Market Research).

• For higher-ticket products, installments reduce sticker shock.

g) Provide Instant Confirmation

• Real-time receipts, email confirmations, and app push notifications reassure buyers and prevent duplicate attempts.

7. Strategies Beyond Payments

Payments are critical, but other proven tactics help too:

• Cart abandonment emails: 10–20 % recovery rates, with 69 % of shoppers finding them helpful (Wikipedia).

• Exit-intent popups: Capture leaving users with incentives.

• Retargeting ads: Bring back lost customers on social media.

• SMS reminders: High open rates for quick nudges.

8. The Future of Cart Recovery

By 2025, AI and personalization will make cart recovery smarter:

• Predictive AI to identify “at-risk” shoppers in real time.

• Chatbots guiding checkout and answering objections instantly.

• Biometric authentication making mobile payments secure yet frictionless.

Cart abandonment will never disappear entirely, some shoppers will always browse without buying, but technology can reduce the rate dramatically.

Cart abandonment is one of the biggest hidden costs in e-commerce. With nearly 70–74 % of carts abandoned globally, businesses lose billions in potential sales. The reasons are clear: hidden fees, slow checkout, lack of trust, and limited payment options.

The solution lies in a mix of better payment experiences (multiple options, mobile-first design, BNPL, instant confirmation) and smart recovery tactics (emails, retargeting, personalized offers). Even modest improvements can generate huge returns, turning abandoned carts into one of the most profitable opportunities in online retail.