Add-to-cart rate.

The first yes

An add to cart is the earliest commitment a shopper makes. Before it they are traffic; after it they are a named intention with products and a value attached. Most stores see five to ten percent of sessions reach the cart — below two percent something is broken, above fifteen you are either very cheap or very loved. Count sessions, not clicks: a shopper who adds three items still counts once.

Reading it against its neighbours

The number earns its keep in contrast. A healthy add-to-cart rate paired with a weak finish means the products persuade and the checkout does not — shipping surprises, forced accounts, a long form — the pattern that shows up as cart abandonment. A low add-to-cart rate says the problem sits earlier, on the PDP: the photography, the price, the reviews, the button itself. Fixing the wrong end of the funnel is the most common way a store wastes a redesign, so never read the rate alone — read it beside conversion rate. When the two rise together, the whole funnel improved; when add-to-cart climbs and conversion stays flat, you have moved shoppers into the cart only to lose them at the door.