How to Track Abandoned Carts in Shopify Analytics

Learn how to effectively track and recover abandoned carts in Shopify to boost your sales and improve customer retention.

70% of online shoppers abandon their carts, costing businesses billions annually. Shopify provides tools to track and analyze this data so you can recover lost sales. Here’s how:

  • Find Abandoned Cart Data: Go to Shopify Admin > Orders > Abandoned Checkouts. View customer details, cart value, and recovery status.
  • Key Metrics: Monitor abandonment rate, recovery rate (aim for 10%+), and average cart value to identify trends.
  • Recovery Emails: Set up automated emails within 24 hours, reminding customers of their cart and offering incentives.
  • Advanced Tools: Use Google Analytics to track behavior, pinpoint exit pages, and optimize checkout flow.

Pro Tip: Focus on mobile checkout optimization, as mobile users abandon carts more often.

Shopify Cart Abandonment Report with Google Analytics & Looker Studio

Accessing Abandoned Cart Data in Shopify

To start tracking abandoned carts, you need to know where to find the data. This allows you to take specific actions to recover lost sales. Log into your Shopify Admin dashboard and head to the Orders section. From there, select Abandoned Checkouts. This area provides detailed insights like cart contents and recovery progress.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the key data points you’ll find in the Abandoned Checkouts section:

Abandoned Cart Data Point Information Provided
Customer Details Name, Email, and Cart Contents
Recovery Status Email Engagement and Success Rate
Cart Value Total Amount and Individual Items
Abandonment Timing Date and Time of Exit

Shopify retains abandoned checkout data for up to three months [2]. For a deeper dive into customer behavior, you can pair Shopify’s analytics with tools like Google Analytics. This combo gives you a more complete view of patterns and helps you fine-tune your recovery strategies [1].

"Regular monitoring can help you spot problems in the checkout process and make necessary adjustments to reduce cart abandonment" [1].

Once you’ve accessed this data, the next step is to analyze it to identify actionable steps for improving your recovery efforts.

Analyzing Abandoned Cart Metrics

After identifying your abandoned cart data, the next step is to break it down for insights that can drive improvements.

Key Metrics to Watch

One of the most important metrics is the cart abandonment rate, which you calculate by comparing the number of carts created to the number of purchases completed. For example, if 994 carts were created and 430 purchases were finalized, the abandonment rate would be 57% [3]. With the industry average at 70.19%, keeping your rate below this benchmark is a good goal [1].

Other metrics to monitor include:

  • Average cart value: Compare this to the average value of completed orders to understand lost revenue.
  • Time to checkout: Look at how long it takes customers to complete the process and identify areas to streamline.
  • Recovery rate: This reflects how many abandoned carts you successfully convert into purchases. Aim for a recovery rate above 10%.

Finding patterns in your abandoned cart data can reveal specific areas for improvement. Here are some key areas to focus on:

Device and Browser Analysis
Look at which devices or browsers show higher abandonment rates. For example, if mobile users are abandoning carts more often, it could point to issues with your mobile checkout experience [1].

Exit Page Patterns
Determine where customers are leaving the checkout process. If you notice a spike in drop-offs on the shipping information page, it might mean your delivery options or costs need rethinking [1].

Customer Behavior Insights
Dig into trends like frequently abandoned products, peak abandonment times, or geographic differences. These insights can help you refine pricing, adjust checkout flows, and optimize payment or shipping methods.

For more detailed behavior tracking, tools like enhanced e-commerce tracking in Google Analytics can provide deeper insights into what’s causing customers to leave [1].

Recovering Abandoned Carts with Shopify

After analyzing your abandoned cart data, the next step is to take action and recover those lost sales. Shopify offers built-in tools that make it easier to reconnect with potential customers who left items in their cart.

Setting Up Recovery Emails

Shopify allows you to set up automated email campaigns to target abandoned checkouts. Head to Marketing > Automation > Abandoned checkout in your Shopify dashboard to configure these emails.

Here’s how to structure them:

  • Start with a personalized greeting.
  • Include a reminder of the items left in the cart.
  • Add an offer or incentive to encourage the purchase.
  • End with a clear call-to-action (e.g., "Complete Your Purchase Now").

Timing is crucial. Send the first email within 24 hours, a follow-up after 48 hours, and, if necessary, a third email. Keep it to three emails to avoid overwhelming your audience.

Measuring Recovery Success

Shopify Analytics can help you measure how well your recovery efforts are working. Focus on these key metrics:

Metric Benchmark Description
Email Open Rate 41.18% Percentage of recipients who open your emails
Click Rate 9.50% Percentage of recipients clicking through to your site
Recovery Rate 10%+ Percentage of abandoned carts that result in a purchase

To improve your results:

  • Run A/B tests on subject lines or offers to see what works best.
  • Segment your emails based on cart value or customer behavior.
  • Regularly review your recovery rates to spot trends and refine your approach.

Once you’ve established a solid email recovery strategy, you can explore advanced methods to further reduce cart abandonment and boost sales.

Advanced Techniques for Reducing Cart Abandonment

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) brings improved tracking features, smarter insights, and stronger data privacy controls to Shopify, helping you get the most out of third-party analytics tools [1].

Analytics Focus Area Key Metrics to Track Action Steps
Traffic Sources Abandonment rate by channel Focus marketing efforts on top-performing channels
Customer Behavior Exit points in checkout Pinpoint and resolve areas causing friction
Recovery Performance Average order value of recovered carts Tailor recovery strategies based on cart value

Once you’ve identified problem areas using analytics, A/B testing can fine-tune your checkout process even more.

A/B Testing for Checkout

A/B testing goes beyond analytics by uncovering specific changes that can improve your checkout experience. Concentrate your testing on these key areas:

  • Payment options: Try offering different combinations of payment methods.
  • Form fields: Adjust the order or number of required fields to see what works best.
  • Layout design: Compare single-page checkouts with multi-step versions.
  • Mobile optimization: Test layouts designed specifically for mobile users.

Key Tips for Effective A/B Testing:

  • Test one variable at a time to isolate its impact.
  • Ensure your sample size is large enough for reliable results.
  • Run tests long enough to gather data from a wide range of customer behaviors.

Pro Tip: Use AI tools to predict when a customer might abandon their cart and trigger personalized actions to keep them engaged [1].

E-commerce Dev Group: Shopify Store Improvements

E-commerce Dev Group

Analytics and A/B testing can reveal a lot about customer behavior, but turning those insights into action often requires expert help. That’s where E-commerce Dev Group steps in, offering tailored technical solutions to tackle cart abandonment at its core.

Custom Design and Checkout Tweaks

A smooth shopping experience is key to reducing cart abandonment. E-commerce Dev Group focuses on improving checkout flows, mobile usability, page speed, and payment options. Their custom design work emphasizes user-friendly features like clear progress indicators, streamlined form fields, and upfront shipping details – all proven to keep customers moving through the checkout process.

Performance Checks and Data Analysis

E-commerce Dev Group also dives deep into performance audits to uncover issues like slow loading pages or server delays. By analyzing user behavior, they identify exactly where shoppers drop off. Using this data, they implement precise fixes and monitor results in real time. Their system ensures consistently low cart abandonment rates while spotting areas for further improvement.

Conclusion: Tracking Abandoned Carts

Key Points to Remember

Check the Abandoned Checkouts section in Shopify Admin to review incomplete purchases. This data includes cart values, timestamps, and other insights. On average, 70.19% of carts are abandoned, with mobile users leaving their carts more often than desktop users.

Focusing on mobile optimization is crucial, as smartphones consistently show higher abandonment rates compared to desktops.

Once you’ve analyzed the data, the next step is to apply strategies that help retain customers and recover lost sales.

Strategies for Retaining Customers

Klaviyo reports that merchants recovered over $60 million in just three months using cart abandonment email campaigns. While email remains effective, combining it with other channels can improve results.

"Regular monitoring and quick follow-up with abandoned carts helps you recover revenue that would otherwise be lost." – CartBoss Author

To boost your recovery efforts:

  • Use Shopify’s email automation alongside SMS messaging, which has an impressive 98% open rate.
  • Customize recovery strategies based on cart value and customer behavior.
  • Focus on high-value abandoned carts first to maximize impact.
  • Regularly analyze abandonment patterns to fix recurring checkout issues.

FAQs

Is there a way to see abandoned carts on Shopify?

Yes, you can view abandoned cart data in the ‘Abandoned Checkouts’ section of your Shopify Admin. This section shows details like customer information, cart value, and recovery status. Shopify keeps this data for up to three months, giving you time to analyze patterns and work on recovering lost sales [2].

For more detailed insights, you can connect Google Analytics to your Shopify store. This integration helps track customer behavior and break down abandonment data effectively [1]. Pay attention to metrics like abandonment rates, recovery success, and email campaign performance to improve your recovery strategy.

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