How much money is slipping away in abandoned carts? (+ ROI Calculation)

An abandoned cart is one of the biggest “silent killers” of revenue in e-commerce.
A customer adds products to the cart, goes through part of the checkout… and leaves. How much money is slipping away every month? And how much of it can simple SMS automation recover?

Let’s look at a model example of an average e-shop.

Model situation: Average e-shop

We will use the following numbers:

1,000 orders per month
The e-shop operates 24/7 – approx. 33 orders per day
Average order value: 60 €
Monthly revenue:

1,000 × 60 € = 60,000 €

Now let’s look at what you don’t see in your accounting or bank account, how many people do not complete their purchase.

1. How many people abandon their cart?

The average abandoned cart rate ranges between 60–75%.
We will work with a conservative 70%.

If 1,000 orders represent 30% of all purchase attempts, then:

Total number of people who added products to the cart is approx. 3,333.

Out of that:

Completed orders: 1,000
Abandoned carts: 2,333

Potential lost revenue:
2,333 × 60 € = 139,980 €

That means you are losing nearly 140,000 € every month.

2. How many customers can SMS automation recover?

We won’t pretend that SMS can convince every customer to complete their purchase – that’s not realistic.
However, well-configured abandoned cart SMS automation typically achieves a 10–20% recovery conversion rate.

Let’s look at three scenarios:

🟢 Realistic scenario – 15% conversion

2,333 × 15% = 350 orders
350 × 60 € = 21,000 €
Additional monthly revenue: 21,000 €

🟡 Conservative scenario – 5% conversion

2,333 × 5% = 117 orders
117 × 60 € = 7,020 €
Additional monthly revenue: 7,020 €

🔵 Extremely cautious scenario – 1% conversion

2,333 × 1% = 23 orders
23 × 60 € = 1,380 €
Additional monthly revenue: 1,380 €

3. How much does SMS automation cost?

Let’s calculate:

Cost per SMS = approx. 0.04 €
We send 1 SMS for each abandoned cart
2,333 SMS per month

2,333 × 0.04 € = 93 €
Monthly cost: 93 €

4. Return on Investment (ROI) calculation

Formula:

ROI = (Profit - costs / costs) × 100

ROI at 15% conversion

ROI = (21,000 - 93 / 93) × 100
ROI = 22,300%

ROI at 5% conversion

ROI = (7,020 - 93 / 93) × 100
ROI = 7,400%

ROI at 1% conversion

ROI = (1,380 - 93 / 93) × 100
ROI = 1,378%

Summary table

SMS conversion	Recovered orders	Additional revenue	ROI
1 %	23	1 380 €	1 378 %
5 %	117	7 020 €	7 400 %
15 %	350	21 000 €	22 300 %

What does this mean in practice?

Even if the success rate is only 1%, every 1 € invested in SMS brings back approximately 0,7 €.

And this calculation includes only:

no upsell
no repeat purchases
no customer relationship building

The real ROI is often even higher.

Why does SMS work for abandoned carts?

Open rate over 95%
Delivery within seconds
Notification directly on the screen
Immediate reaction

While email can get lost in the inbox, SMS is seen instantly. And speed plays a crucial role in unfinished purchases.

Conclusion

An abandoned cart is not just a conversion problem.
It is a massive opportunity to increase conversions and maximize revenue.

The model numbers show that:

even minimal success delivers high ROI,
SMS automation is one of the most powerful tools in e-commerce,
and the return on investment is significantly higher than most other marketing channels.

👉 Be honest – how much money is slipping away from your abandoned carts every month?