What does AOV mean for your online store?
Average Order Value is more than just a number – it's a strategic lever for sustainable e-commerce growth.
Average Order Value (AOV) is one of the most important metrics in e-commerce. It shows how much revenue you generate per order on average – and thus how efficiently your store converts visitors into paying customers. A higher AOV means more revenue with the same acquisition costs.
Why AOV matters so much
Many online retailers focus exclusively on traffic and conversion rate. They forget a crucial factor: the value of each individual order. An example illustrates this:
With 10,000 visitors and 2% conversion rate, an AOV increase from $80 to $100 means $4,000 additional revenue per month – without a single additional visitor.
How to increase your AOV
There are proven strategies to sustainably increase average order value:
- 1 Free shipping threshold: Set the threshold 10-20% above your current AOV. Customers are willing to buy more to save on shipping.
- 2 Cart cross-selling: Show matching complementary products before checkout. 'Customers also bought' recommendations work excellently.
- 3 Bundle offers: Combine products into attractive sets with slight price advantages. This increases cart value and creates value for customers.
- 4 Volume discounts: Offer quantity discounts that motivate buying more. 'Buy 3, save 10%' is a classic example.
AOV in context with other KPIs
AOV only reveals its full significance when combined with other metrics. Particularly relevant is the relationship to Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC). A high AOV with low margins can be less profitable than a lower AOV with better margins.
Also analyze your AOV by customer groups, product categories and marketing channels. Often there are significant differences that reveal optimization potential.