Let’s start with a scenario you’ve probably lived through.

You’ve spent months optimizing your ad campaigns. Traffic to your store is solid. Your product pages are sleek. Customers are adding items to their carts. And then—nothing.

They leave.

No sale. No explanation. Just another entry in your abandoned cart report.

This isn’t a fluke. It’s a pattern.

More than 7 out of 10 online shopping carts are abandoned—a statistic that should stop any eCommerce brand in their tracks.

Baymard Institute

But here’s the real kicker: most of these customers wanted to buy. They had the intent. They found the product. They clicked “Add to Cart.” So what changed?

As someone who conducts deep performance audits for eCommerce brands, I can tell you: cart abandonment is rarely a marketing issue—it’s an experience problem.

In this post, I’ll unpack what your abandoned carts are really trying to tell you (more of a cart abandonment audit), how a sales audit reveals hidden friction, and what you can do to turn that silent churn into consistent conversions.

eCommerce Cart Abandonment—Not Just a Marketing Problem

Well, it’s easy to blame the shopper, but harder to look at the system.

You’ve probably heard it before:

  • “They must have gotten distracted.”
  • “They were just browsing.”
  • “They’ll come back later.”

Sure, some shoppers do abandon carts because they’re not ready to buy. But when cart abandonment hits 70% or higher, it’s not just casual behavior—it’s a systemic issue.

Your checkout process might be unintentionally pushing customers away.

Abandonment Is a Symptom of Experience Breakdown.

Every time a shopper leaves during checkout, they're silently pointing to something broken:

  • Confusion about shipping costs
  • A lack of trust in payment security
  • A tedious, multi-step form
  • Missing payment options
  • Site speed lags or technical bugs

This isn't guesswork. This is consistently proven in audits I run for brands across industries.

In fact, a Deloitte study found that customer-centric design can increase conversion rates by 400%. That’s not an ad campaign. That’s the power of experience.

Retargeting Without Repairing? It’s a Leaky Bucket.

You might be running abandoned cart email flows or retargeting ads—and that’s good. But if you haven’t conducted a cart abandonment audit as to why customers are leaving in the first place, you’re just chasing people with the same flawed experience.

Think of it this way: if you don’t fix the hole in the bucket, no matter how much water you pour in, it still leaks.

Key Insights a (Checkout) Cart Abandonment Audit Can Reveal

When I audit a sales funnel, especially the checkout process, or in this case, the cart abandonment, I’m not just looking at the obvious stuff. I’m diving deep into data, usability, psychology, and behavior.

Here’s what a thorough checkout audit can uncover:

1. Where Your High-Intent Shoppers Are Getting Stuck

It’s not enough to know when someone leaves—you need to know where and why:

  • Drop-offs during shipping info? Could be lack of clarity or unexpected fees.
  • Abandonment after coupon field? Could indicate broken discount logic or frustration when a code doesn’t work.
  • Exit at payment page? May suggest lack of trust or limited payment methods.

With heatmaps, funnel tracking, and session replays, I help brands see their checkout through the shopper’s eyes.

Must Read: Maybe this is the time to consider a marketing audit for your eCommerce. 

2. Where You’re Creating Cognitive Load

Cognitive load is the mental effort required to complete a task. If your checkout makes users think too hard or remember too much, you’re losing them.

Common culprits include:

  • Asking for unnecessary information (Do you really need their company name?)
  • Overwhelming them with choices or unclear calls-to-action
  • Making users create an account before purchase

A good audit highlights these overload points and streamlines the flow.

3. Whether Your Price and Policy Presentation Is Hurting You

Price perception and trust go hand in hand. I’ve seen brands lose 20% of conversions just because of how they display shipping, taxes, or return policies.

An eCommerce cart abandonment audit helps you determine:

  • Are fees disclosed too late in the process?
  • Are returns/exchanges clearly communicated?
  • Is your product pricing competitive in your category?

Small changes to transparency and messaging can yield big results.

4. Whether Shoppers Feel Safe Giving You Their Payment Info

A lack of visual trust cues can sabotage even the best product pages.

During a sales and cart abandonment audit, I check for:

  • SSL encryption indicators and padlocks
  • Trust badges from payment providers (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, etc.)
  • Customer reviews or testimonials during checkout
  • Mobile responsiveness and accessibility for trust on all devices

If something feels “off,” even subconsciously, users will bounce.

5. How Mobile-Ready Your Checkout Really Is

You may have a responsive website—but that doesn’t mean your checkout is optimized for mobile UX.

Through mobile audits, I evaluate:

  • Tap-target sizing and spacing
  • Input field alignment
  • On-screen keyboard behavior
  • Speed and load time across devices

Considering more than 60% of eCommerce traffic now comes from mobile, a checkout that’s clunky on phones is a guaranteed conversion killer.

6. How Fast Your Customers Can Reach “Done”

Time-to-checkout is one of the most underrated metrics. A good cart abandonment audit examines:

  • Number of steps and clicks
  • Time-to-load for each stage
  • Form-fill efficiency (especially with auto-fill enabled)
  • Progress indicators to reduce uncertainty

Amazon’s one-click checkout wasn’t just innovation—it was a conversion strategy 👀

7. How Discount Codes Are Sabotaging Conversions

Ironically, your discount strategy might be causing abandonment.

Shoppers often leave to “hunt for coupon codes” when they see an empty promo box. If your field placement or logic is poor, you could be losing full-price buyers.

During cart abandonment audits, I recommend:

  • Auto-applying discounts when possible
  • Hiding coupon fields unless a promo is active
  • Communicating pricing incentives earlier in the journey

Conclusion: Stop Guessing, Start Auditing Cart Abandonments

Cart abandonment isn’t a mystery. It’s data. It’s behavior. It’s an experience.

Every drop-off is a nudge telling you something’s wrong. And if you take the time to investigate—not with assumptions, but with structured cart abandonment audits—you’ll find clear opportunities to convert lost interest into real revenue.

I’ve seen brands double their conversion rate without spending a dollar more on traffic. All they did was listen to what the data was screaming.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start growing, it’s time to audit your checkout.

Want to see exactly where your checkout is leaking revenue?
Let’s do a performance audit and build your roadmap to fewer abandoned carts—and more completed checkouts.

Book Your Checkout Audit Now