How do you calculate average order value?
Average order value is your revenue divided by your number of orders over the same period. Here is how to read it, compare it against your sector's benchmarks, and grow it without cutting your prices.
Victor· Growth HackerContents
- What is average order value?
- How do you calculate your store's average order value?
- What is a good average order value in e-commerce?
- Average order value, margin and acquisition cost: read the three together
- How do you increase your average order value?
- Why do customer reviews increase average order value?
- How Review Collect increases your average order value
TL;DR
- →Average order value = revenue ÷ number of orders, both over the same period
- →In France, the all-sector benchmark sits around €65 to €70 according to FEVAD, with gaps of 1 to 5 between sectors
- →Trust does more for order value than promotions: customers who left a positive review spend 73% more at merchants equipped with Review Collect
Average order value = revenue ÷ number of orders, over the same period. The math takes ten seconds, yet most stores get it wrong with mismatched periods, forgotten refunds, or a mix of prices with and without VAT. This guide walks through the formula with worked examples, sector benchmarks, and the actions that actually move the number.
What is average order value?
Average order value is the amount a customer spends per order in your store, on average, over a given period. You will see it shortened to AOV everywhere. Same metric, same formula.
Why this number carries so much weight: your revenue comes down to three variables. Traffic × conversion rate × average order value. Growing traffic means paying for ads or waiting on SEO. Improving conversion means testing, measuring, testing again. Average order value works with customers you have already won over. It is the cheapest variable of the three.
A concrete example. A store processing 20,000 orders a year that moves its average order from €75 to €82 adds €140,000 in annual revenue. Without spending one more euro on ads.
How do you calculate your store's average order value?
The formula: average order value = revenue ÷ number of orders, both taken over the same period. That is the one non-negotiable rule. March revenue divided by a full quarter's orders gives you a number that means nothing.
The formula with a worked example
Your store took in €48,000 in March across 640 orders. Average order value: 48,000 ÷ 640 = €75. If you refunded €1,800 in returns over the period, the honest calculation becomes (48,000 − 1,800) ÷ 640 = €72.19.
You do not need to run this by hand. Shopify shows it in Analytics as "Average order value", WooCommerce in its native reports, and GA4 in the e-commerce reports as "Average purchase revenue". Just check what each tool includes: some count shipping fees, others do not.
VAT in or out, and which period to pick
Four mistakes show up in almost every calculation. Comparing a month with VAT against a month without: pick one convention and stick with it, VAT-excluded if you manage by margin. Including shipping fees: they inflate the number artificially, strip them out. Ignoring returns: an average order value computed before refunds overstates reality. Picking a period that is too short: a sale week or a Black Friday spike is not representative, the month is the right unit, compared with the same month a year earlier.
The calculation by segment, the one that moves things forward
A global average order value always hides two populations. Split your new customers from your repeat customers: at most merchants, the second group spends 20 to 40% more per order. Do the same by acquisition channel: paid traffic and organic traffic do not build their carts the same way. This breakdown takes five minutes in GA4 or Shopify and turns a decorative number into a decision tool. If your repeat customers carry the whole average, your priority is not one more promotion, it is getting new customers to come back.
What is a good average order value in e-commerce?
There is no universal good average order value. In France, the all-sector average sits around €65 to €70 according to the quarterly reports from FEVAD, but the gap between a grocery e-tailer and a furniture seller runs from 1 to 5.
| Sector | Indicative range | Worth noting |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty & cosmetics | €45 to €70 | Low unit prices, volume per order builds the cart |
| Fashion & accessories | €70 to €120 | Very sensitive to returns, calculate net |
| Food & beverage | €50 to €90 | Subscriptions change how you read the number |
| Consumer electronics | €150 to €350 | Few orders, high unit value |
| Home & furniture | €150 to €400 | Shipping weighs heavily on the decision |
Treat them as an order of magnitude, not a target: the comparison that matters is against your own average order value, month after month. If it stalls while your traffic keeps getting more expensive, your growth is standing on one leg.
Average order value, margin and acquisition cost: read the three together
An average order value that climbs guarantees nothing if it climbs for the wrong reasons. Three cross-readings keep you from celebrating false wins.
Average order value and margin first: if the increase comes from aggressive discounts, you sell more per order and earn less. Track average order value alongside gross margin per order, the two should rise together. Average order value and acquisition cost next: the AOV ÷ CAC ratio shows how much of its acquisition each order pays back. A €75 order value with a €25 CAC leaves room; the same order value with a €60 CAC puts profitability under pressure as soon as margin tightens. Average order value and frequency last: some sectors earn more by bringing customers back than by growing each order. A stable average order value with rising purchase frequency remains an excellent trajectory.
To track that return frequency with the right method, our guide on how to calculate your customer retention rate covers the formula, the measurement period, and the benchmarks by product type.
How do you increase your average order value?
The most profitable actions work on the composition of the order, not on your prices. Raising prices pushes the average up mechanically but damages conversion; the actions below move both in the right direction.
The classics: free shipping threshold, bundles, cross-sell
The free shipping threshold remains the most effective tool: set it 15 to 20% above your current average order value. At a €75 average, free shipping from €90 nudges a share of customers into adding one more item. Bundles work on the same principle: three complementary products sold together with a light discount raise unit value without any persuasion effort. Cross-sell at checkout, finally, offers the logical accessory at the right moment. The sock with the shoe, not the sofa with the shoe.
Incentive tiers: quantity discounts and a gift at the threshold
A tier gives customers a concrete reason to add one more item. Two formats have proven themselves: the quantity discount (the third product at half price on consumables, duo formats in beauty) and the gift at the threshold (a discovery product offered from €90). The second protects your margin better: a gift that costs you €4 comes out cheaper than a 10% discount on the whole order, for a perceived value that is often higher. Test one threshold at a time and measure the difference in order value over a full month, not over launch week.
The loyalty program, the compounding effect on order value
Customers enrolled in a loyalty program spend more per order: the points to come justify the extra item, and the status to keep weighs in when choosing between two stores. The effect stacks with repeat purchases: you raise order value and frequency at the same time, the two revenue engines on the existing customer side. The subject deserves its own guide: our article on customer loyalty through reviews explains how reviews and loyalty reinforce each other.
The one everyone forgets: trust
A hesitant customer shrinks their order. It is risk management by reflex: the less sure I am about this store, the less I put on the table. According to an Ifop study from January 2026, 54% of consumers accept paying more at a well-rated business with plenty of reviews. Trust does not just lift conversion, it authorizes bigger orders: it is the same mechanism as social proof applied to the amount rather than the purchase decision.
What if your brand collected 30 times more reviews in the first month?
Review Collect sends your review requests by SMS and WhatsApp, with a 40% average response rate.
×30 reviews collected in the first month
Why do customer reviews increase average order value?
At merchants equipped with Review Collect, customers who left a positive review show an average order value 73% higher than the average.
+73% average order value among customers who left a positive review.
The mechanism plays out in two stages. Before the purchase: 93% of consumers check reviews before buying (Ifop study, January 2026). Product pages filled with recent reviews remove hesitation on expensive products, the ones that pull the average up. After the purchase: a customer who takes the time to leave a positive review is an engaged customer, and an engaged customer comes back with a bigger order. A review is not just an acquisition tool, it is a marker of customer value. The same mechanism, numbers included, runs through our guide to social proof marketing.
Estimate what this represents for your store with your own numbers:
How Review Collect increases your average order value
Review Collect works the trust variable end to end. Collection first: review requests go out by SMS and WhatsApp after each order, with a 40% response rate on average versus 2 to 3% for email. The result: 30 times more reviews collected in the first month, feeding your product pages, your Google profile, and the platform of your choice, Google, Trustpilot, or Avis Vérifiés.
More recent reviews means less hesitation when the cart gets built, and customers who dare to trade up. That is the mechanism behind the +73% average order value observed among customers who left a positive review. Review collection is up and running in 48 hours, without a developer, and the full setup for online stores is detailed on our e-commerce solution page.
Your average order value is already computed in your back office. The next question is: what is stopping your customers from spending more? Start with the best-documented answer, trust.
Your next order deserves a review. We take care of it.
SMS and WhatsApp collection, mediation for unhappy customers, AI replies on every published review. Live in 48 hours, no developer needed.
Free demo×30 reviews in the first month · AI reply in under 60 seconds after publication
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