Average Add-to-Cart Rate in Ecommerce (2024)
One major aspect of running an online business is the monitoring of ecommerce key performance indicators (KPIs). In doing so, you’re able to track your performance and understand what areas of your business require more work and what’s doing well.
Bounce rates and order values aside, one of the most important KPIs to track is the add-to-cart rate. Knowing what’s considered a realistic target to aim for requires answering the question: What is a good add-to-cart rate in ecommerce?
What is an add-to-cart rate in ecommerce?
To understand what good add-to-cart rates are in ecommerce, we must first know what this metric measures.
The add-to-cart rate in ecommerce is a metric that measures the percentage of visitors to a website who add at least one product to their shopping cart.
How to calculate add-to-cart rate?
The add-to-cart rate is calculated by:
- Selecting a specific period
- Dividing the number of unique visitors who have added items to their cart by the total number of unique visitors to the site over a specific period
- Multiplying the result by 100 to get a percentage
This rate is an important indicator of user engagement and product interest on an ecommerce site. A higher add-to-cart rate suggests that visitors are finding the products appealing or the website easy to navigate, which can be a precursor to making purchases. On the other hand, a lower add-to-cart rate might indicate issues with product visibility, pricing, or the overall user experience, which could be areas for improvement to enhance conversion rates.
Average monthly add-to-cart rates: table
|
Month |
Average add-to-cart rate in ecommerce |
|
Nov 2023 |
8.45% |
|
Dec 2023 |
7.48% |
|
Jan 2024 |
6.92% |
|
Feb 2024 |
7.03% |
|
Mar 2024 |
6.57% |
|
Apr 2024 |
6.27% |
|
May 2024 |
6.52% |
|
Jun 2024 |
6.75% |
|
Jul 2024 |
6.42% |
|
Aug 2024 |
6.07% |
|
Sep 2024 |
5.87% |
|
Oct 2024 |
5.94% |
Average monthly add-to-cart rates: November 2023–October 2024
According to the latest data, the average add-to-cart rate of ecommerce stores worldwide in October 2024 was 5.94%. In other words, out of every 100 visits to an online store that month, just under six resulted in users adding items to their check-out carts. This is a 0.07 percentage point rise from the previous month and marks the second-lowest rate in at least 12 months.
In the period from November 2023 to October 2024, the month with the highest add-to-cart rate is November 2023. At 8.45%, this high figure should come as no surprise, as the year-end winter season is one of the biggest shopping events of the year. In fact, total holiday retail sales in the United States hit $966.6 billion in 2023, a record high. A month later, this fell to 7.48%.
What is a good add-to-cart rate in ecommerce?
As we’ll explore in the next few sections, average add-to-cart rates can vary according to different factors. These include region, industry, and even the type of device used.
As the average add-to-cart rate across all ecommerce businesses in October 2024 was 6.74%, any figure above this can be considered a good rate.
Add-to-cart rate by region
|
Region |
Average add-to-cart rate in ecommerce (as of October 2024) |
|
Asia Pacific (APAC) |
7.17% |
|
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) |
6.40% |
|
Americas |
5.13% |
Not all ecommerce shoppers have the same purchasing habits, as seen in the differing add-to-cart rates from region to region. In October 2024, online stores in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region had a rate of 7.17%. This was slightly higher than shops in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), which had a rate of 6.4%.
In the Americas, rates were notably lower, at 5.13%.
Add-to-cart rate by device
|
Device |
Average add-to-cart rate in ecommerce (as of October 2024) |
|
Desktop |
6.26% |
|
Mobile |
5.86% |
|
Tablet |
5.75% |
The add-to-cart rate in ecommerce can also vary according to the devices online shoppers use. Across tablets, mobile phones, and desktops in October 2024, rates were the highest for desktops, at 6.26%. It marks a 0.18 percentage point increase from the previous month and the second-lowest add-to-cart rate on desktops in at least 12 months. The highest rate over the past 12 months came in November 2023, at 10.23%.
In comparison, rates for mobile phones were slightly lower, at 5.86%. Tablet devices had the lowest rates, with 5.75%.