Definition
Abandonment is the discontinuance of a marketed product. It is also called product deletion or product elimination. Abandonment may occur at any time from shortly after launch (a new product failure) to many years later. [1]
This term is also used to describe when customers shop online, but fail to complete a purchase. [1]
Weak product is a term used (rarely) in reference to a product in the decline stage of the product life cycle or otherwise so short of market value that it is destined for early abandonment. [1]
Abandonment Rate
Abandonment rate is a term associated with the use of virtual shopping carts. Although shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores rarely abandon their carts, abandonment of virtual shopping carts is quite common. Marketers can count how many of the shopping carts used in a specified time period result in completed sales versus how many are abandoned. This helps marketers understand website user behavior. [1]
The shopping cart abandonment rate is the ratio of the number of abandoned shopping carts to the number of initiated transactions. [1]
E-commerce shopping cart abandonment rates are tracked regularly by the Baymard Institute. [2]
Construction
As an example, an online comics retailer found that of the 25,000 customers who loaded items into their electronic baskets, only 5,000 actually purchased:
Purchases not completed = Purchases initiated less purchases completed
$25,000 – $5,000 = $20,000
Abandonment rate = Purchases not completed / Purchases initiated
$20,000 / $25,000 = 80% abandonment rate
References
- American Marketing Association, AMA Dictionary.
- Baymard Institute, 50 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics 2026.