Add-to-Cart Rate
Add-to-cart rate is the share of sessions or product views where a shopper adds an item to the cart.
What add-to-cart rate is
Add-to-cart rate is the share of sessions, or of product-page views, where a shopper adds something to the cart.
It measures the strength of the product page pitch, separate from whatever happens at checkout.
Why add-to-cart rate matters
Sitewide conversion mixes two different problems together. Splitting out add-to-cart shows whether the leak is product-page conviction or checkout friction, which need different fixes.
Reading add-to-cart rate
- High add-to-cart, low checkout completion: fix checkout
- Low add-to-cart on healthy traffic: fix the product page
- Compare by traffic source, not just sitewide
- Watch it after price, photo, or review changes
Frequently asked questions
What moves add-to-cart rate?
The things shoppers check before committing: photos, price clarity, visible reviews, shipping and return answers, and how fast the page loads.
Is session-based or pageview-based better?
Either works if you stay consistent. Session-based reads cleaner for the funnel; per-product-view helps compare individual products.