How to increase average order value on Shopify
Average order value (AOV) is your revenue divided by your number of orders over the same period. It is one of the few growth levers that doesn’t need more traffic: the same visitors, spending a little more each time.
Here are seven ways Shopify stores raise it, from the simplest to the most involved, and what to watch with each one.
1. Know your starting point
Shopify’s analytics show average order value for any period. Note it for the last 30 and 90 days before you change anything. Look at the typical order too: if most orders contain a single item, the room to grow is in the second item, not in a bigger first one.
2. Set a free-shipping threshold just above your typical order
A threshold slightly above what most customers already spend gives them a reason to add one more item. Set it too high and nobody reaches it; set it too low and you give away shipping on orders that would have happened anyway. Show the remaining amount in the cart so the customer knows exactly how far they are.
3. Offer a complementary product on the cart page
When the customer clicks Checkout, show one product that goes with what is already in the cart: the case for the phone, the socks for the shoes. One relevant product works better than a carousel of ten.
4. Add a one-click offer after payment
After the payment goes through, a post-purchase offer lets the customer add an item to the same order without entering their card again. It cannot cost you the original sale, which makes it a low-risk addition for any store with consumables, refills or accessories.
5. Sell sets and bundles
Products that are used together can be sold together at a small discount. Bundles work best when the set is obvious to the customer, such as shampoo and conditioner or a starter kit, rather than a random pairing that exists to clear stock.
6. Offer quantity breaks on consumables
For products customers buy again, a lower unit price for two or three encourages a larger first order. Keep the tiers simple, and make sure the margin still works at the lowest price.
7. Make the upgrade easy to see
Sometimes the best upsell sits on the product page itself: the larger size, the premium version, the longer warranty. Show the difference clearly, with the extra cost next to what it adds.
Check that it works
Judge every change on revenue, not on clicks. A popup that is accepted often but only sells cheap items can lower your margin. Compare average order value and revenue per visitor before and after, over several weeks, and change one thing at a time so you know what did it.
Average order value can rise while total revenue falls, for example if a high free-shipping threshold puts off customers with small orders. Watch both numbers together.
Where FlatUpsell fits
FlatUpsell handles points 3 and 4: an offer on the cart page before checkout and a one-click offer after payment, with a dashboard that shows the extra revenue of each. It costs one flat monthly price, so the gain in average order value isn’t shared with the app.