Adding to cart but not checking out

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A store owner is experiencing high cart activity with minimal conversions and wants to determine whether the traffic is from bots or real customers abandoning purchases.

Diagnostic Steps Recommended:

  • Check Shopify’s abandoned cart/checkout data in the backend to analyze customer behavior
  • Use session replay tools like Microsoft Clarity or Google Analytics to watch how visitors interact with the site
  • Review Shopify Analytics to identify suspicious traffic patterns (unusual locations, devices)
  • Verify Shopify market settings to ensure international traffic isn’t reaching a region-restricted store

Suggested Solutions if Real Customers Are Abandoning:

  • Implement cart recovery strategies: automated emails or SMS follow-ups with potential discounts
  • Add trust signals: badges, free shipping offers, urgency timers
  • Simplify the checkout process to reduce friction
  • Use retargeting campaigns (Facebook, Instagram, Google) to re-engage visitors who added items but didn’t purchase
  • Consider smart popups or engagement tools to capture hesitant shoppers

Bot Protection:
Install bot protection apps if analysis reveals non-human traffic.

The discussion remains open with no confirmed resolution, awaiting the store owner’s investigation results.

Summarized with AI on October 26. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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Hi, I’m Wayne from Akohub. We have been working with many brands to run online stores. I believe our expertise could add value to your business. Here are some suggestions for the problem you’re facing:

  1. Check Customer Behavior in Shopify Admin

You can start by checking your Shopify backend which you can check how visitors interact with your store, including which pages they view, what they add to their carts, and where they drop off in the process. This allows you to spot if the activity is coming from real users or if it looks suspicious like bot traffic.

  1. Try Microsoft Clarity for Deeper Insights

For more detailed tracking, you can consider adding Microsoft Clarity to your store. It’s a free tool that gives you heatmaps and session recordings, so you can literally watch how visitors move through your site-where they click, scroll, hesitate, or rage-click. This allows you to spot if users are getting stuck, frustrated, or if there’s a technical issue causing drop-offs.

  1. Retargeting: Bring Back Interested Shoppers

If you’re seeing genuine visitors adding to cart but not checking out, retargeting is a proven way to nudge them back. Retargeting campaigns will show ads to people who’ve visited your site or added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase. These ads keep your brand and products top-of-mind-sometimes all a shopper needs is a reminder to come back and complete their purchase. Here’s a blog I have written previously, feel free to explore more details about Why Retargeting Is the Key to Recovering Abandoned Carts.

To streamline the work of launching retargeting campaigns, check out our Ako Marketing app. It lets you set up retargeting ads for Facebook, Instagram, and Google right from your Shopify admin, creating a higher chance to recover abandoned carts and convert more visitors into buyers.