What is AOV?

Average Order Value is the average amount a customer spends on your eComm website in a single transaction.
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Why does AOV matter?

Knowing what your AOV is and implementing ways to increase it, can raise your revenue whilst the actual number of customers, traffic to your site and conversion rate all remain the same. This means, that without having to spend more money on paid advertising, more effort on generating traffic to your site, or increasing retention or re-purchase rate, your profit goes up!

Like how that sounds? Then check out these five ways to increase your AOV…

Idea #1 — Upsell

Suggest an alternative product to a customer shopping on your site, which is of a higher price (and where the same or better profit margin applies).

Example: This can happen at the point of selection and also often happens during the checkout process and may be a large size alternative of the item or added features.

Tip: Remember that the product should provide the same or better value to the customer.

Bonus: If your eCommerce site is built on the Shopify platform, you can add apps in the site to add the up-sell feature to your site

Shopify app: Selleasy by LogBase

Idea #2 — Cross Sell

Offer an additional product based on the one your customer has already chosen.

Example: Matching or complementary product such as a matching accessory.

Tip: Base it on peer behaviour, eg. ‘Customers like you also bought…’

Shopify App: Selleasy by LogBase

Idea #3 — Bundling

Put together a number of products that can be bought as a ‘set’ or ‘bundle’. These are usually offered at an overall lower cost than if the products were bought individually. The customer saves money and they get to try new products at a lower risk.

Example: A multi-pack of the same product (a pure bundle) or a complementary group of products such as a beauty travel kit (a mixed bundle).

Tip: Product bundles can be great for customers buying gifts or new shoppers on your site who are not familiar with your whole product range. It can also help you sell less popular products that often are not bought on their own.

Shopify App: Upsell & Bundle Products by Assortion

Idea #4 — Volume Discount

This usually works on a sliding scale — the more a customer buys, the less each individual item costs. Or, when a customer spends a certain amount, they unlock a discount.

Example: Free shipping on orders over $X or a discount on orders cover a certain price threshold. 

Tip: Make this obvious up front to drive customers to the relevant product page or before the checkout to help them consider revisiting the store to add more items to the shopping cart before they complete their purchase.

Shopify App: Bundle Bear — Volume Discounts by Conversion Bear

Idea #5 — Post-purchase Discount

Give the customer a gift or discount against future purchases on your eComm site.

Example: A discount for future purchases or redeem a free gift within a certain period of time. 

Tip: Include this offer in the purchase confirmation — email, web page, SMS — to make sure the customer doesn’t miss out! And give it a time limit to encourage customers back to your site quickly.

Bonus: Use apps from the Shopify store such as countdown timers to promote your time-sensitive offers.

Shopify App: Countdown Timer Ultimate by KILATECH

Recap — So why do we love increasing AOV?

1. Low/no marketing costs
2. Helps to sell more of the low popularity products
3. Increases sales during quieter periods