Starting an ecommerce business requires preparing everything from online marketing strategies and website design to payment gateways. But simply getting them up and running isn’t enough. To ensure they’re carrying out the functions they’re supposed to and hitting the business targets you’re setting, you need to be able to track their performance.

One of the most critical ecommerce key performance indicators every online store needs to keep a close eye on is the add-to-cart conversion rate. While the idea is to get it as high as possible, realistic rates vary from industry to industry.

Here’s a look at the add-to-cart conversion rates of the top industries. 

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Add-to-cart conversion rate by industry in 2023

According to the latest data, as of August 2023, the industry with the highest rate is food and beverage. At 14.27%, it’s significantly higher than the average rate across all industries, which is 7.87%, and the only industry with an add-to-cart conversion rate of over 10%. Its conversion rate in August 2023 also marks an increase of 2.92 percentage points from the previous month and is one of its best-performing months over the past year. Its best-performing month came in February 2023, when its add-to-cart conversion rate hit 15.43%.

The industry with the second-highest add-to-cart conversion rate in August 2023 is beauty and personal care, with 9.4%. This marks a marginal 0.54 percentage point rise from the previous month and is the highest rate in four months. Over the past year, the industry’s rate was at its lowest in June 2023, registering at 8.75%.

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The multi-brand retail industry has the third-highest add-to-cart conversion rate in August 2023. At 9.32%, it’s a 0.84 percentage point increase from the previous month, but a 3.44 percentage point dip from 12.76% in November 2022, the highest rate the industry registered over the past year. 

This is followed by the consumer goods industry, with a conversion rate of 8.67%. It is the industry’s lowest add-to-cart conversion rate in nearly a year, after falling by four consecutive months. The fashion, accessories, and apparel sector ranks next, with 7.68%. Pet care and veterinary services and home and furniture have lower conversion rates of 6.9% and 4.64%, respectively. Of all the sectors, the luxury and jewelry industry has the lowest add-to-cart rates of 2.72%.

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