Baymard Institute puts the average documented cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, an unweighted average of 50 studies. Among US shoppers who abandoned for reasons other than browsing, 40% blamed extra costs such as shipping, tax and fees, a question a store can answer before checkout. Returns data comes from NRF and Narvar surveys, and market size from the US Census Bureau.
How to read these numbers
- 01
Four of Baymard’s top ten abandonment reasons are questions a store can answer before checkout: extra costs (40%), slow delivery (20%), the returns policy (13%) and not seeing the total cost up front (12%). Those answers belong in your help content and FAQ first.
- 02
Shoppers could name several reasons: Baymard’s full list, including 7% who answered “I don’t know”, adds up to 182%. Read each figure as the share of abandoning shoppers who named it, not as a slice of a whole.
- 03
Returns shape the decision before purchase. 82% of Narvar’s 2024 holiday respondents check the return policy before buying, and 82% of NRF’s 2025 online returners call free returns a major consideration. These are separate surveys that happen to share a figure.
- 04
Returns weigh more on online stores: retailers estimated that 19.3% of online sales would be returned in 2025, against 15.8% of all sales. Plan for more return questions per online order than in-store sales would suggest.
- 05
Online sales were 17.1% of US retail in the second quarter of 2026, so benchmarks from online-only stores may not fit a retailer that also sells in person.
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Cart Abandonment
| Figure | Statistic | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70.22% | The average documented online cart abandonment rate is 70.22%.Unweighted average of 50 studies published 2006 to 2025; page updated October 28, 2026.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
Checkout Friction
| Figure | Statistic | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 40% of US shoppers who abandoned a cart said extra costs such as shipping, tax or fees were too high.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 20% | 20% abandoned because delivery was too slow.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 19% | 19% did not trust the site with their credit card information.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 18% | 18% abandoned because the site wanted them to create an account.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 17% | 17% abandoned because checkout was too long or complicated.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 17% | 17% abandoned because the website had errors or crashed.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 13% | 13% abandoned because the returns policy was not satisfactory.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 12% | 12% could not see or calculate the total order cost up front.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 10% | 10% abandoned because their credit card was declined.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
| 9% | 9% abandoned because there were not enough payment methods.US online shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard’s latest abandonment survey, excluding the 42% who were just browsing. Shoppers could name several reasons. Survey year and sample are not stated on the page.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
Returns
| Figure | Statistic | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82% | 82% of shoppers sometimes (31%) or always (51%) check a retailer’s return policy before making a purchase.Narvar and Reshop survey of shoppers during the 2024 holiday season. Sample and geography are not stated on the page.Narvar · 2024 | Narvar | 2024 |
| 82% | 82% of online returners cite free returns as a major consideration when buying, up from 76% a year earlier.NRF and Happy Returns survey of 2,006 US consumers who returned an online purchase in the past 12 months, summer 2025.NRF and Happy Returns · 2025 | NRF and Happy Returns | 2025 |
Market Context
| Figure | Statistic | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.1% | E-commerce accounted for 17.1% of total US retail sales in the second quarter of 2026.US Census Bureau quarterly retail e-commerce estimate for the second quarter of 2026, released August 18, 2026.US Census Bureau · 2026 | US Census Bureau | 2026 |
Estimates & Projections
| Figure | Statistic | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19.3% | Forecast, not an observed resultRetailers estimated that 19.3% of online sales would be returned in 2025.NRF and Happy Returns survey of 358 ecommerce professionals at large US merchants, summer 2025. Retailers’ estimates for the full year, published October 15, 2025.NRF and Happy Returns · 2025 | NRF and Happy Returns | 2025 |
| 15.8% | Forecast, not an observed resultRetailers estimated that 15.8% of all annual sales, $849.9 billion, would be returned in 2025.NRF and Happy Returns survey of 358 ecommerce professionals at large US merchants, summer 2025. Retailers’ estimates for the full year, published October 15, 2025.NRF and Happy Returns · 2025 | NRF and Happy Returns | 2025 |
| 35.26% | Forecast, not an observed resultBaymard estimates that the average large e-commerce site could raise its conversion rate by 35.26% with a better checkout design.Baymard modelled estimate from its checkout usability benchmark; page updated June 2026. A potential, not an observed result.Baymard Institute · 2026 | Baymard Institute | 2026 |
Methodology
Sources checked November 12, 2026. Each row links to the page we opened and names who ran the study, on whom and when. The year is when the data was collected, or when it was published if the collection date is not stated. Projections and modelled estimates are marked as forecasts and kept apart from observed results. Figures we could not trace to a source we could open were removed.
Data limitations
- Baymard’s reasons list does not state its survey year or sample size, and the 70.22% average combines studies from 2006 to 2025.
- The NRF return rates are retailers’ estimates for 2025, published in October 2025, not measured totals.
- Narvar’s survey ran with Reshop during the 2024 holiday season; its sample is not published on the page.