Ecommerce · 23 Oct 2026
Shopping cart abandonment: what the research says and how to reduce it
About 7 in 10 online carts never become orders. Here is what Baymard Institute's research shows about why, and the checkout fixes that matter most.
ROAS (return on ad spend) is revenue divided by ad spend. Ad platforms show it on every campaign, but it only means something when you compare it to your break-even ROAS.
The formula
Break-even ROAS is your selling price divided by your profit per sale before ads. If you sell a $50 product and keep $30.50 after product cost, shipping and fees, your break-even ROAS is 50 ÷ 30.50 = 1.64x.
What the result tells you
- Below break-even, every sale from ads loses money.
- At break-even, ads pay for themselves but earn nothing.
- Above break-even, the difference is your profit.
Track the rest of your campaign numbers, like CTR and cost per click, with the ad metrics calculator. If your break-even ROAS comes out high, revisit your pricing and margins first.