Too Many Abandoned Carts on Shopify? Here Are Ways to Prevent It

Exit-intent popups offering a discount can prevent up to 13,5% of abandoned carts on Shopify, according to Getsitecontrol’s research. However, they are most efficient when paired with an incentive: a discount, free shipping coupon, or any other perk that can nudge visitors to complete their purchase.

How brands use this tactic

Yakushi Knives, a premium-quality knife brand, uses exit popups to prevent shopping cart abandonment in their store. The discount offer pops up for those who have changed their minds after adding products to the cart and nudges them to complete checkout.

MANC, a luxury accessory brand, follows the same practice by offering 10% off the order price. It’s noteworthy that in both cases, the CTA button applies the discount to the cart automatically and takes customers straight to checkout.

Best practices

To make your last-minute offers efficient, follow the recommendations below.

• Offer a compelling incentive, such as “Get 15% off if you complete your purchase now” or “Enjoy free shipping when you checkout today”

• Address common concerns by highlighting your easy return policy, offering live chat assistance, or showcasing product ratings and reviews.

• Set up the targeting rules properly to trigger the popup only when there are products in the cart and ensure your offer is displayed to the right audience.

That said, Shopify allows you to display popups up until a customer starts checkout. So, if they initiate checkout and change their mind after that, you can only reach them via email marketing or retargeting ads.

Let’s first talk about the former.

2. Bring them back with abandoned checkout emails

Even with all the right strategies in place, some customers will still leave without completing checkout. However, if they initiated the process and typed their email address before exiting – or if they were logged into their account with your store – you can send them an email reminder.

Abandoned cart emails aren’t just another promo — they’re a subtle nudge reminding customers of what they already wanted. And when an email features the exact product left in the cart, you make it easy for customers to pick up where they left off.

On top of that, abandoned cart emails drive impressive results, according to the research by Moosend. Their open rate reaches a soaring 45%, their click-to-open rate is 21%, on average, and half of those who click through an abandonment email complete their purchase.

How brands use this tactic

Huel, a nutrition brand, uses emotional appeal in its email (”We saw you looking”) to remind customers about the product's key features and benefits.

The example by Studs, a jewelry brand, follows a personalized approach, reminding shoppers about the specific products they considered buying.

Best practices

Your workflow can consist of 1 to 3 emails, typically sent over a week. Each email should be designed to engage the customer in different ways:

• Simplicity: Send the first email shortly after abandonment, reminding them of the items in their cart. Example: “You left something behind! Your favorite items are waiting.”

• Urgency: In the second email, emphasize urgency with phrases like “Stock is running low!” or “You cart is reserved for 24 hours”

• Incentive: Offer a discount or free shipping in the final email to close the deal. Example: “Here’s 10% off to complete your order today.”

By using a well-structured abandoned cart email workflow, you can recover a significant portion of lost sales while building stronger relationships with your customers.

3. Remain on their minds with retargeting ads

The second way to recover abandoned carts on Shopify is retargeting ads. This tactic can be slightly more challenging if you’ve never run social media ads before, yet it’s highly efficient. Retargeting ads help re-engage shoppers who have left your store by reminding them of the items they abandoned.

Image source: Brandbastion

Personalized ads based on the cart content are probably the most effective in converting hesitant buyers. However, you can also tap into the product benefits, use customer testimonials, or other kinds of user-generated content (UGC) to build the connection with the customer and convince them to reconsider.

Brand using this tactic

This ad by Pura, a home scent brand, leverages user-generated content by featuring a real person speaking about their experience with the Pura device.

Best practices

Retargeting ads work in two ways: reminders and reassurance. Some focus on the abandoned product, while others highlight customer reviews, benefits, or special incentives to overcome doubts.

Regardless of the strategy you choose, here are some of the best practices to follow:

• Incentivize return visits: Include a compelling offer in the ad copy, such as “Come back and get 10% off your order today!”

• Segment audiences: consider retargeting customers based on behavior, cart value, and product type.

• Dynamic retargeting: Use dynamic features to show customers the exact products they left in their carts.

With personalized retargeting ads, you can recapture customers' attention and bring them back to complete their purchase.

4. Get rid of hidden fees and shipping cost surprises

Unless you ask your customers directly, you may never know exactly why they leave your store without buying.

But guess what? Thanks to the yearly report by the Baymard Institute, we know why the average online buyer abandons a cart.

Almost half of the 1,012 respondents said that the main reason why they abandon shopping carts is due to high unexpected costs. That includes shipping and return fees or taxes.

The solution? Make purchase-associated costs – primarily, the cost of shipping and returns – clear before they visit the checkout page.

How brands use this tactic

The biggest challenge in making shipping cost transparent is the fact that delivery costs indeed vary depending on the customer’s location. That’s why, instead of explaining shipping calculations, most brands emphasize the minimum order amount required to get free shipping.

For example, Glowstore dedicated space on product pages to highlight the minimum order amount for free shipping, the money-back guarantee window, and even the expected shipping timeframe.

Sixth June goes even further and adds a collapsible “Payment, Shipping, Return” slide-in to provide clear expectations for the customers. This is as transparent as it gets.

Another great approach is to display a slide-in cart progress bar showing how much more a shopper needs to spend to unlock free shipping. Here is how Blated, a supplement brand, does it in their store:

Best practices

There are multiple ways to ensure customers are aware of shipping costs before reaching checkout. Below are the key recommendations.

• Display costs early: Mention shipping costs or the minimum order requirement to get free shipping to prevent surprises at checkout.

• Highlight your returns policy: If you’re offering free, stress-free returns within a certain time frame, it’s worth highlighting, too.

• Clarify complex fees: For US companies, the VAT will become a surprise during the checkout, as it varies by state. While customers may expect this, transparency can still ease concerns and prevent surprises.

💡 If you’re selling internationally, some Shopify themes offer a shipping calculator allowing customers to get an estimate of the shipping costs.

5. Make checkout effortless

The research from the Baymard Institute shows that 26% of shoppers abandon carts because they are forced to create an account, and another 22% leave due to a long or complex checkout process.

Having customers create an account can be highly beneficial for your store, there’s no question about it. However, from the perspective of the shopping experience, it’s a hurdle that can cost you a sale.

Solution? Allow customers to checkout fast and easily and invite them to create an account in your store afterward.

How brands use this tactic

Chubbies, a men’s underwear brand, kills two birds with one stone by incentivizing customers to create an account with an instant bonus and offering the guest checkout option at the same time.

Another feature that can help prevent shopping cart abandonment on Shopify is the express checkout buttons you can feature in the shopping cart as well as at checkout.

Best practices

• Combine steps: Consolidate shipping and payment information into one page to streamline the process.

• Optimize for speed: Ensure your shopping cart and checkout load quickly and work seamlessly on mobile devices.

• Provide clear navigation: Guide users through each step with intuitive instructions and visible progress indicators.

A faster, simpler checkout reduces friction and increases the likelihood of conversions.

6. Earn customers’ trust

Online shoppers are cautious about sharing their payment information. In fact, 25% of shoppers abandon carts because they don’t trust the store, according to the Baymard Institute.

This is especially important for new single-product brands that haven’t had enough time to gain a lot of recognition.

To overcome this customer objection, consider adding trust badges and ensuring your social proof – whether it’s customer reviews or media coverage – is visible at different steps of the shopping journey.

The research conducted by CXL has revealed that “Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Norton, and Google were the most trusted seals”, so if your store accepts these payment methods, these are the badges you should consider.

How brands use this tactic

Beatropes, a jump rope brand, displays trust seals on product pages in a subtle yet noticeable manner – enough to invoke recognition in customers.

Social proof, on the other hand, can be displayed in a large variety of ways – from TrustPilot star ratings to embedded customer reviews. On top of that, you can also embed social media posts to your website using free apps like GSC Instagram feed, and show your products in action, like Reverie did.

Best practices

• Add trust badges: Include recognizable security seals on your product and checkout pages.

• Showcase third-party endorsements: Display badges from Better Business Bureau, Google Customer Reviews, or Trustpilot ratings to establish credibility.

• Feature real customers: Leverage user-generated content and showcase real-life stories from happy buyers.

Adding trust signals fosters confidence and can help you prevent cart abandonment.

7. Enable multiple payment options

Payment issues aren’t the most common reasons for cart abandonment on Shopify, yet, 13% of the respondents in the Baymard survey indicated that it could prevent them from completing a purchase.

Today, payment options don’t just imply common payment methods, such as MasterCard and Apple Pay. They also imply that your store offers the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) plan, provided via services like Klarna, Afterpay, and others.

How brands use this tactic

It’s no challenge to find Shopify stores offering installment payments to customers. Just like Velocity in the example below, you can highlight this option on product pages, especially if you know that the price of your product is a common objection.

Alternatively, you can show this option at checkout among primary or alternative payment methods, as Bananced8 did below.

Best practices

• Expand your payment methods if you only offer few of them: Include widely-used options like credit/debit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, and BNPL.

• Optimize for mobile payments: Ensure that payment options work seamlessly on mobile devices, where a growing percentage of transactions take place.

By making checkout more convenient with multiple payment options, you can reduce friction and appeal to a broader range of customers.

Bonus: Ask abandoning customers why they’re leaving

Some of the tactics we’ve shared are quick to implement, but the best way to tackle cart abandonment is to understand why it happens in your store specifically. While research shows that unexpected costs and a complicated checkout process are common reasons, every business is different.

So, before implementing major changes in your store, you can start asking abandoning customers why they’re leaving.

You can display a pop-up survey to those who’ve added products to the cart and started heading to exit before purchasing.

How brands use this tactic

Ashluxury’s exit-intent survey is a great example of keeping feedback concise and actionable. It covers common reasons for abandonment, such as pricing, size availability, and payment options. Notably, the ”I’ll be back” option helps distinguish between hesitant shoppers and those who simply need more time.

Mordeco’s survey follows a similar approach but focuses more on website usability and pricing concerns. For example the inclusion of “High shipping fee” highlights a pain point that brands can address with clearer pricing or incentives we discussed earlier.

By asking specific questions, you can eliminate guesswork and focus on the solutions that matter most. These insights can help you fine-tune your pricing strategy, checkout experience, or shipping policies to recover more sales over time.

Reduce abandonment in your store using a three-stage approach

Preventing cart abandonment isn’t just about boosting conversions — it’s about crafting a smoother shopping experience that keeps customers engaged.

At its core, it all comes down to three key stages:

1. Optimizing the shopping experience – A well-designed store, trust signals, and a frictionless checkout process help minimize initial drop-offs.

2. Capturing hesitant buyers – Some shoppers reconsider when presented with a last-minute incentive, such as a discount or free shipping offer.

3. Re-engaging lost customers – Those who still leave might just need an extra nudge, which is where abandoned checkout emails and retargeting ads play a crucial role.

Now’s the time to implement these strategies and start recovering lost sales!