Average order value (AOV) is the average revenue per order in an online store, calculated as total revenue / number of orders. A store with $30,000 in monthly revenue from 500 orders has an AOV of $60. AOV shapes ad profitability as much as conversion rate does, because a bigger basket at the same click cost means higher ROAS.
When you calculate it, decide once whether returns, shipping and sales tax are included, and keep it that way; otherwise month-over-month comparisons mislead.
Why does AOV affect ad profitability so much?
Because ROAS is directly multiplied by AOV: ROAS = conversion rate x AOV / CPC. With a 2% conversion rate, a $0.60 CPC and a $60 AOV, ROAS is 2.0. Raise AOV to $72 without changing anything else and ROAS becomes 2.4. If your break-even ROAS is 2.2, that difference turns a losing campaign into a profitable one (break-even ROAS calculation).
AOV also sets your acceptable acquisition cost. As contribution margin per order rises, so does the maximum CPA you can pay for a sale, which gives bidding strategies more room.
What is a good average order value?
There is no single 'good AOV'; category, price range and market decide. 2026 industry benchmarks show AOV varying several-fold between verticals: luxury and jewelry at the top, food, beauty and supplements in the lower band. In the same datasets, desktop orders typically show a noticeably higher AOV than mobile. The most useful comparison is your own history and direct competitors in your category.
- Category: a single-product brand and a multi-category store cannot be compared on AOV.
- Device: track desktop and mobile AOV separately; it affects placement decisions.
- Channel: search, social and email traffic produce different basket sizes; break it down by channel in GA4.
- New vs returning customers: returning customers usually have a higher AOV (LTV guide).
How do you increase average order value? 6 proven ways
The most reliable way to raise AOV is to give customers a concrete reason to add a little more. The tactics below are the ones that most often work in practice and that combine well with paid media; typical impact ranges vary by store.
- Shipping threshold: set the free-shipping minimum roughly 15-30% above current AOV and show an 'X away from free shipping' bar in the cart.
- Bundles: offer products bought together at one price, and test the bundle as its own ad creative.
- Volume discounts: tiers such as '10% off 2, 15% off 3' work especially well for consumables.
- Cross-sells and upsells: complementary suggestions on product and cart pages; items priced around 20-40% of the main product are added most easily.
- Post-purchase offers: a one-click add-on after checkout does not put the conversion at risk.
- Advertise high-basket products: split campaigns by product groups with higher AOV and allocate budget accordingly.
See AOV and ROAS on the same screen
Ads Sensor combines your ad platforms with GA4 and shows how basket value changes affect each campaign.
How does a shipping threshold change AOV?
A shipping threshold is one of the fastest-acting AOV levers, because customers close to the threshold are willing to add items. In the illustrative example, a threshold introduced in week 5 moves the AOV index from 100 to 117 by week 12. Setting it too high can increase cart abandonment, so watch conversion rate at the same time (cart abandonment recovery).
Is AOV enough on its own? Why RPV matters
No. A change that raises AOV but lowers conversion rate can reduce total revenue. That is why the decision metric should be revenue per visitor (RPV) = conversion rate x AOV. If AOV rises 10% while conversion rate drops 12%, RPV falls and ad profitability gets worse. For conversion rate context, see our average conversion rate benchmarks.
Common mistakes when measuring AOV
- Changing the definition: including tax one month and excluding it the next.
- Ignoring returns: in high-return categories gross AOV is misleading.
- Not cleaning outliers: one wholesale order can inflate monthly AOV; track the median too.
- Forgetting channel mix: a falling AOV is sometimes just a low-basket channel gaining share.
How does Ads Sensor help track AOV?
Ads Sensor combines Meta, Google Ads, TikTok and Criteo data with GA4 in one panel. It helps you compare revenue, conversions and ROAS across platforms and see how basket value shifts by channel and campaign. Its AI analysis tries to separate the cause of a ROAS drop (cost, conversion rate or basket value) and proposes reasoned actions; results of applied recommendations are tracked automatically. Apply for the beta.