# Basket abandonment

> The share of baskets started that are not converted to an order in the same session, reported as a percentage.

Source: https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/basket-abandonment/

## Terms of Trade · Edition 2: The trading pack

Definition

The share of baskets started that are not converted to an order in the same session, reported as a percentage. Most of it is browsing, comparison and interruption; the smaller share is a checkout that failed the customer, and only that share is worth spending on.

Field note

Basket abandonment is a cunning ploy by consumers to solicit discount codes from unsuspecting retailers.

Board question

How much of last quarter’s margin went out in recovery codes to customers who were going to buy anyway?

Applied through

[The Review](https://barkingcat.ai/review/) walks the basket and the checkout as a customer does; [Commercial Discipline](https://barkingcat.ai/the-cats-whiskers/commercial-discipline/) in the Cat’s Whiskers reads the recovery discount as marketing spend, which is what it is.

Related terms
- [Conversion rate](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/conversion-rate/)
- [Incrementality](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/incrementality/)
- [Markdown](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/markdown/)
- [Contribution margin](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/contribution-margin/)

## Contact

steve@barkingcat.ai

Barking Cat Advisory Limited. Registered in England and Wales, company number 17338003.