What is Average Order Value (AOV)?
Average order value is the mean dollar amount a customer spends each time they place an order on your website or app. It is one of the most actionable eCommerce metrics because it can be improved without increasing traffic or conversion rate.
How to calculate AOV
AOV = Total Revenue / Number of Orders
For example, if your store generates $50,000 from 1,000 orders in a month, your AOV is $50.
It is important to calculate AOV over a consistent time period and to segment it by traffic source, device type, and customer type (new vs. returning). A blended AOV can mask significant differences between segments.
Why it matters for eCommerce and SaaS
Revenue is driven by three levers: traffic, conversion rate, and AOV. Most businesses pour money into the first two while neglecting AOV — yet it is often the cheapest lever to pull. A 10% increase in AOV flows directly to revenue without requiring a single additional visitor.
For SaaS businesses, the equivalent concept is average revenue per user (ARPU). Improving it through plan upgrades, add-ons, or annual billing commitments has the same compounding effect on growth.
Common tactics to increase AOV
- Bundling — Offer product bundles at a slight discount compared to buying items individually.
- Upselling — Suggest a higher-tier product on the product detail page.
- Cross-selling — Recommend complementary products in the cart or at checkout.
- Free shipping thresholds — Set the threshold just above your current AOV to encourage customers to add one more item.
- Volume discounts — Offer tiered pricing that rewards larger orders.
Industry benchmarks
AOV varies widely by industry. Fashion eCommerce typically sees AOV between $60 and $120, while home goods and electronics often range from $150 to $300. The key is to benchmark against your own historical data and track AOV alongside revenue per visitor for a complete picture.
How acceleroi approaches it
At acceleroi, we analyze AOV as part of the revenue equation alongside conversion rate and traffic. During a CRO audit, we segment AOV by device, source, and funnel stage to find the specific points where upsell or cross-sell interventions will have the greatest impact. We then design and A/B test those interventions to validate the lift before rolling them out site-wide.
Related resources
- Get a free CRO audit to see how your AOV compares and where to improve it
- Read our blog for tactical guides on increasing average order value