Five Takeaways from Stacy Malone on Why Cart Abandonment Is Feedback, Not Failure

For more than a decade, ecommerce has battled a stubborn statistic: roughly 70% of carts are abandoned before purchase. Checkout flows have been streamlined, payment options expanded, and UX designers have shaved seconds off every step. Yet the numbers barely shift.

At Smartly Advance in New York, Stacy Malone, VP of Global Business Marketing at Pinterest, reframed the problem. Abandonment, she argued, isn’t a failure, it’s feedback. Every unfinished cart is a signal of what customers need before they feel confident enough to commit.

Here are five lessons marketers can take from her perspective:

1. It’s not friction, it’s confidence

Malone’s central point was that the industry has overdiagnosed the problem. Brands have focused on removing friction at checkout, but hesitation often comes earlier. Shoppers abandon because they are uncertain, not because they can’t find the “buy” button.

Lesson for marketers: Instead of treating abandonment as a leak to be patched, treat it as a mirror showing where confidence is missing in the customer journey.

2. Decision overload is the real enemy

Consumers face thousands of micro-decisions each day. In commerce, this manifests as FOBO - fear of better options. Even when a product is in the cart, shoppers hesitate because they wonder if something else might suit them better.

Pinterest is using AI-powered curation to combat this, narrowing infinite choice into relevant, personalized options. As Malone explained, reducing the burden of choice is one of the most powerful ways to drive confidence.

3. Context builds relevance

Confidence also depends on context. Urban Outfitters’ Sarah Carhart, who joined Malone on stage, stressed that people buy when products feel connected to the life moments that matter most - back-to-school, festivals, or game days.

Lesson for marketers: Position products not just as items to be bought, but as parts of a story customers already see themselves in. Context creates belonging, and belonging drives action.

4. Gen Z sets the standard

Gen Z is fluent in discovery but quick to sense when a brand feels inauthentic. Malone argued that reducing pressure and amplifying positivity are crucial for this generation. Pinterest’s ecosystem, designed around exploration rather than comparison, resonates because it empowers users to decide without anxiety.

Lesson for marketers: Winning Gen Z requires more than personalization. It demands inclusivity, representation, and environments where discovery feels safe and inspiring.

5. Abandonment is a growth lever

The most radical shift Malone offered was this: abandoned carts aren’t wasted opportunities - they’re insight engines. Each hesitation is a dataset, pointing to what buyers value, what they question, and what reassurance they seek.

Lesson for marketers: Reframe abandonment as feedback. If treated strategically, those moments can reveal exactly what to fix and unlock growth.

Malone and Carhart showed that the future of commerce will be won not by perfecting transactions but by deepening confidence. AI can curate, context can reassure, inclusivity can inspire. But the brands that grow will be those that see hesitation not as a problem to minimize, but as an opportunity to understand.

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