Articles
Those of you in charge of managing an e-commerce site probably have the following concerns when it comes to daily measures to increase sales.
"Even though we're focusing on customer acquisition measures, conversions (purchases) aren't increasing." "Rising advertising costs are worsening CPA (cost per acquisition)."
As it becomes more difficult to acquire new customers every year, what is important to pay attention to is the existence of "customers who visit the website but leave without making a purchase."
CART RECOVERY CART RECOVERY, an abandoned cart prevention tool provided by E-Agency Co., Ltd., has compiled a survey report on usage trends in 2025. In this Articles, we will explain the current state of abandoned carts as revealed by data from over 4,000 sites, and the effectiveness of abandoned cart emails, which are different from general email newsletters.
1. The cart abandonment rate in 2025 will be 62.9%. Six in ten people will leave without buying anything.
On an e-commerce site, the phenomenon of a user adding an item to their shopping cart but then leaving without completing the payment is called "cart abandonment."
A survey was conducted over the course of 2025 on 4,374 e-commerce sites with monthly sales of over 5 million yen that use CART RECOVERY, and the average cart abandonment rate was found to be 62.9%.
Although there was a slight decrease of 0.4 points compared to the previous year, the situation remains the same: "more than six out of ten customers who added items to their cart abandon them." This is not limited to a specific site, but can be said to be a universal issue across the entire e-commerce industry.
Can you prevent abandoned carts?
While users may abandon a website due to usability issues such as "the input form is difficult to use" or "shipping costs are high," many users temporarily abandon their shopping cart for reasons such as "putting it in their cart and keeping it" or "comparing it to other stores." In other words, no matter how much you improve your website, a certain number of abandoned carts will naturally occur as part of user purchasing behavior .
2. "Hidden sales" are approximately 2.6 times the monthly sales. Huge opportunity losses occur.
What is more noteworthy than the 62.9% cart abandonment rate is the "opportunity loss" in monetary terms.
As can be seen from the graph above, cart abandonment occurs consistently throughout the year, but the highest amount of lost opportunity is recorded in December, which is the peak sales season. It is especially important to prevent "missed opportunities" due to cart abandonment during times of increased sales.
According to this survey, the amount of opportunity loss caused by abandoned carts (the total value of items left in the cart but not purchased) is approximately 2.6 times the actual sales amount .
Let's simulate this with some concrete numbers.
- Monthly sales: 50 million yen
- Opportunity loss amount: Approximately 130 million yen
In this way, behind the recorded sales lies more than twice the amount that would have been purchased. Doubling sales by attracting new customers requires a great deal of cost and effort, but approaching this demographic that is already interested in the product may be the greatest potential for increasing sales.
3. Trends seen from data by industry: Approximately 70% of apparel and miscellaneous goods customers have left
Are there differences in cart abandonment trends depending on the product?
CART RECOVERY is used on a variety of e-commerce sites, with the most popular categories being "apparel and miscellaneous goods," followed by "food" and "cosmetics."
The table below shows the results of compiling data by industry, including these major categories.
[Cart abandonment rate and opportunity loss ratio by industry]
The more popular a product is, the higher the cart abandonment rate is.
In addition to the popular category of "Apparel & Miscellaneous Goods," categories such as "Accessories & Jewelry" have a cart abandonment rate of nearly 70%. This is thought to be because these are highly selective items, and customers tend to carefully compare designs and prices with other stores.
However, a high cart abandonment rate is not necessarily a negative thing. The fact that customers are "comparing" products can also mean that they have a very high desire to buy . With apparel, jewelry, and other products in particular, there is a high chance of bringing them back if you give them a push at the right time.
4. Open rates of over 40% are commonplace. The effectiveness of "abandoned cart emails"
So, what kind of response will you get if you approach users who have actually left?
When we calculated the average delivery effectiveness per store for "abandoned cart emails (recovery emails)," one of the features of "CART RECOVERY," we found that the figures were significantly higher than those of general email newsletters.
- Open rate: 42.6%
- Click-through rate: 9.6%
- Conversion rate: 2.3%
While the general open rate in the e-commerce industry is said to be around 15% to 20% , abandoned cart emails have an open rate that is more than twice that. This is because the information is highly relevant, as it contains information about products that users themselves were interested in and added to their cart.
Delivery effectiveness by category
Looking at more detailed distribution data by category reveals the user psychology for each product.
[Email delivery effect by category]
- High open rate for "Hobbies & Entertainment": The open rate was the highest at approximately 49%, indicating high user enthusiasm. It can be said that the reminder functioned effectively for those who had a strong desire to purchase the item but were hesitant for some reason.
- High conversion rate for "Food": Click rates and conversion rates are higher than other categories. It is possible that emails acted as a strong trigger for purchases for users who had "forgot to buy" or "planned to buy later."
5. Generate over 6.5 billion yen in annual sales through "Recovery"
How much actual sales have been achieved through measures such as the "abandoned cart emails" that boast a high response rate as mentioned above?
During the survey period, the total amount recovered via CART RECOVERY for the sites surveyed reached approximately 6.5 billion yen .
If no measures had been taken, this 6.5 billion yen would have been zero sales. The quickest route to maximizing sales is not just to take defensive measures to "prevent cart abandonment," but also to adopt "aggressive recovery measures" that remind users who have abandoned their cart at the appropriate time, based on the premise that "cart abandonment is inevitable."
6. Summary: Turning opportunity losses into sales
The 2025 survey results revealed that e-commerce sites still face a major challenge with abandoned carts, but at the same time, this also represents a huge sales potential.
- The cart abandonment rate is about 63%. It is an unavoidable issue.
- The opportunity loss is approximately 2.6 times the sales.
- "Abandoned cart emails" are expected to be highly effective, with an open rate of over 40% and a conversion rate of over 2%.
- With the right measures, you can definitely regain your sales.
Measures to combat abandoned carts do not require the development of new products or an increase in advertising budget. They are a highly effective measure that can be started simply by re-approaching "customers who are currently undecided about whether to purchase."
■ Survey Overview
- Aggregation period: January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025
- Survey subjects: 4,374 e-commerce sites using CART RECOVERY with monthly sales of 5 million yen or more *Aggregated monthly usage figures (if the same site uses the service for multiple months, the total number will be counted for each month)
- Survey method: Data collection based on service usage logs
- Calculation definition:
- Sales amount: The amount measured by the tag of this service (excluding shipping fees, payment fees, etc.)
- Opportunity loss: The total amount of items added to the cart but not purchased
Why not start taking action to prevent abandoned carts with CART RECOVERY right away?
CART RECOVERY, provided by E-Agency Co., Ltd., is a dedicated tool that helps minimize opportunity loss due to abandoned carts and maximize sales.
- Automatic linking of abandoned cart emails and ads: Combining emails and ads to automatically deliver the optimal approach tailored to the user's situation
- High reach and response rates: As the survey data shows, you can expect results that far exceed those of typical marketing strategies.
- Simply attach a tag to your website: No complex system development is required. Simply attach a tag to your website and you can start measuring and taking measures immediately.
- Low cost starting from 42,900 yen (tax included) per month: Considering the sales effect of recovery, high cost-effectiveness can be expected
For customers who want to know how many abandoned carts are occurring on their website, we offer a free trial that allows you to visualize your current abandoned cart situation. Why not start by checking the "hidden sales" of your website?
