The average order value on Shopify sits around $85, but breaking into the top 20% of stores means hitting $192 or more per order. How do you get there? Not with those annoying popups that everyone hates. Instead, create natural moments during shopping that make customers think, “I actually need that too!” Whether you’re selling handmade jewelry or premium pet supplies, the secret is suggesting complementary products that genuinely enhance what shoppers already want. You’re not pushing for more sales—you’re helping customers complete their purchases with everything they might need.

Let’s explore some surprisingly simple ways to boost your AOV while keeping the shopping experience smooth and pressure-free!

What is Average Order Value and Why Does It Matter? 

Average order value (AOV) represents the average amount spent each time a customer places an order in your store. You can easily calculate it using this formula:

AOV = Total Revenue ÷ Number of Orders

For example, if your store generated $10,000 from 200 orders last month, your AOV would be $50.

Now, here’s why this number really matters: 

• Getting new customers burns through your marketing budget quickly with advertising costs, platform fees, and time investments.
• Focus on increasing what current shoppers spend instead of finding new ones, as they already trust your brand and products.
• Bumping $50 orders to $60 represents a 20% revenue increase without any additional marketing spend.
• More revenue from the same number of customers means higher profit margins and a more sustainable business model for long-term growth.

How To Increase AOV on Shopify?

Let’s dive into some proven Shopify strategies that are delivering real results right now. These aren’t just theories – they’re strategies top stores are using to boost their average order value.

The After-Purchase Magic Trick

Think about your own shopping habits. Isn’t it annoying when websites bombard you with offers while you’re trying to check out? That’s why smart store owners wait until after you’ve completed your purchase. I’ve tried both approaches in my store, and the difference was night and day. Post-purchase offers work because customers are riding that “just bought something awesome” high.

How to implement

• Shopify has this built right into their platform—no need for extra apps eating into your profits
• Set up offers that show up immediately after customers see their order confirmation
• Keep it dead simple: one product, one compelling reason, one click to add
• Make sure to give a small discount—it feels like a thank-you gift for their purchase
• Test different offers with small batches of customers before rolling out store-wide

For example, a customer buys running shoes from your store. After their purchase confirmation appears, they see: “Want to break in those shoes properly? Grab our merino wool running socks at 15% off ($12.75 instead of $15). They prevent blisters during those first few runs!” I tried this exact approach last summer and saw a 22% take rate, which added about $8 to our AOV overnight. The customer gets something useful, and you make an extra sale without spending a dime on marketing.

Make Big Purchases Feel Smaller

Let’s face it – sticker shock kills sales. When a customer sees that $200 total at checkout, many will bail. But split that into four $50 payments? Suddenly it feels doable. This isn’t just theory – merchants using Buy Now Pay Later options have seen their average orders jump by 85% with customers coming back 20% more often. It’s about making bigger purchases feel less scary. Here are how to implement:

• Get the right tools: Add Shop Pay Installments, Klarna, Afterpay or other buy-now-pay-later options to your checkout options.
• Show the breakdown: Put “or 4 payments of $50” right under your prices – this works way better than hiding it at checkout.
• Sweeten the deal: Try offering free shipping when customers use BNPL – it can push them to add just one more item.

Pro Tip: The mistake most stores make? Waiting until checkout to mention payment options. By then, customers have already decided what they can afford. Put those payment breakdowns everywhere – product pages, collection pages, even in your ads. When someone browsing sees they can get that pricey jacket for just $25 today, they might grab matching accessories too. One Shopify store owner told me sales of their premium items doubled just by making the “4 easy payments” text bigger on their product pages.

Turn Returns Into Your Secret Sales Weapon

Think returns are just a headache? Think again. Smart returns management can actually get customers to spend more with your store. So basically, it’s all about making shoppers feel confident enough to load up their carts.

Give them time to decide. A 30 or 60-day return window sounds scary, but here’s the magic: offer store credit instead of refunds. When customers know they’ve got plenty of time to exchange stuff, they’re way more likely to try that extra size or color. Plus, store credit means they’ll be back for more.

Want to boost complete order keeps? Try these proven tactics:

• Offer 10% off next purchase for keeping full orders
• Include prepaid return labels upfront
• Make exchanges dead simple

Just remember – nobody comes back to a store that makes returns feel like pulling teeth. Here is a suggestion: Try to add tools for extra support, like Synctrack Returns take the headache out of processing returns by automating requests, handling store credit seamlessly, and making exchanges a breeze. Your customers will love how smooth the process is, and you’ll save countless hours on manual processing. It’s like having a dedicated returns specialist working 24/7 for your store! Keep it simple, keep it friendly, and watch those hesitant shoppers turn into confident buyers.

💰Quick money tip: Balance those free returns with partial refunds or small restocking fees. You’re running a business, not a rental service.

Let AI Be Your Smart Sales Assistant

This is pretty neat – Shopify can actually figure out what your customers might want next. According to McKinsey, these smart recommendations can drive up to 26% of total revenue for online stores. It’s like having a super-smart sales assistant who never sleeps and actually remembers what everyone likes. Here are how to make AI work for you:

• Turn on those recommendation engines. Make sure features like “You might also like” and “Frequently bought together” are active on your product pages.
• Keep it relevant. If someone browses coffee makers? Suggest coffee beans, filters, or mugs—not random items like garden tools or children’s toys. The more connected the recommendations, the higher your conversion rate.
• Don’t be overwhelmed with options. Stick to 3-5 solid suggestions. Too many choices can lead to decision paralysis, where customers end up buying nothing at all.

Here is a success story from The Home, a popular home decor retailer that wanted to stand out in a crowded market. By implementing Aqurate’s AI-driven recommendation tools, they created personalized shopping experiences tailored to each visitor’s preferences.

The result? An impressive 16% increase in average order value. Customers found items they didn’t even know they wanted, and The Home watched their sales climb—all thanks to smart AI suggestions.

Bulk Deals That Actually Work

Forget those complicated discount schemes, customers don’t need a calculator to figure out the savings. The best deals are the ones that make customers think, “Yeah, that sounds like a great deal.”

On Shopify, you can start with dead-simple tiers like: 

• Buy 2, get 10% off
• Buy 3, get 15% off
• Default to 3 items for products like t-shirts or face creams

Word of caution though – before you go big with discounts, do the math on your margins. Nothing kills profits faster than a bulk discount that’s too generous. Test different discount levels until you find that sweet spot where customers are happy and you’re still making money.

Create Real Urgency

Want to know what really gets shoppers to click “Buy Now”? A gentle nudge that says “This won’t last forever.” Research from CXL shows that creating a sense of urgency can boost conversion rates by 147%. Shopify’s got some solid tools for this. Countdown timers or stock alerts – they work when you use them right. Keyword: right.

Here are four ways to create honest urgency that boosts your bottom line

1. Show Real Stock Levels: When you’re genuinely running low, let people know! A simple “Only 3 left” can transform browsers into buyers without any hard-selling tactics. Shopify makes this easy to display automatically when inventory dips below your set threshold.
2. Use Countdown Timers Strategically: That ticking clock creates a powerful psychological trigger. Reserve countdowns for actual limited-time events—like your “20% off weekend sale” or “48-hour flash promotion.” The visual reminder that time is running out can be the final push someone needs to complete their purchase.
3. Run Genuine Flash Sales: Short, exciting sales create buzz and motivate quick decisions. The key is making them truly special (and truly temporary). When customers know your flash sales are rare and legitimate, they’ll jump at the opportunity when one appears.
4. Create Holiday Bundle Magic: During peak shopping seasons, combine urgency with value. “Holiday bundles 20% off until midnight” gives shoppers both a reason to buy and a reason to buy now. This combo is especially powerful for boosting average order value.

Gymshark, the popular activewear brand, has mastered the art of honest urgency. During their product launches and holiday promotions, they use countdown timers that actually end when they say they will. They display real-time inventory levels when products are genuinely running low.

Important Note: Don’t be a store with the never-ending “last chance” sale. Use urgency for actual special events or when stock really is running out. Customers can spot fake scarcity from a mile away.

Turn Shopping Into a Money Game

Ever noticed how some loyalty programs feel more like punishment? You know the type—earn 5,000 points for a measly $2 discount that expires before you can use it. No wonder customers ignore them!

Let’s flip the script. Think of your loyalty program as a fun game where customers unlock real rewards that make them feel valued. Shopify makes setting up these programs surprisingly easy, and when done right, they can dramatically boost how much your customers spend per order.

Check out these four keys to a loyalty program people actually use:

1. Give Rewards Right Away: Don’t make customers wait forever for their first reward. Offer something valuable right after they join or make their first purchase. “Spend $100, get 200 points instantly” or “$10 off your next purchase” gives shoppers an immediate reason to spend a bit more right now.
2. Make Points Worth Something: If your points feel worthless, your program will flop. When customers earn 200 points, they should get something meaningful—like $10 off, not 50 cents. Remember, perceived value drives behavior more than the actual cost to you.
3. Create VIP Tiers Worth Climbing: We all love exclusivity. Create tiers that give your best customers something special: early access to new products, free shipping on every order, or surprise gifts. When customers see that spending a bit more will unlock the next level of perks, many will happily increase their order size.
4. Keep the Math Simple: If customers need a calculator to figure out your rewards system, they’ll ignore it entirely. Make it crystal clear: “Spend $1, earn 1 point. 100 points = $5 off.” Simple math means more participation.

Here is how Sephora nailed it! Sephora’s Beauty Insider program is the gold standard for a reason. They’ve created a tiered system where every dollar spent earns points that translate to actual rewards customers want: exclusive products, samples of luxury items, and real discounts.

Their genius move? Creating distinct VIP tiers (Insider, VIB, and Rouge) that unlock progressively better perks. Free birthday gifts get better with each tier. Shipping gets faster. Sale access comes earlier. Customers can see exactly what they’re missing by not reaching the next level—and many spend more just to get there.

The best part about a well-designed loyalty program is that it transforms transactional shoppers into genuine fans who feel invested in your brand’s success. They’re not just buying products; they’re building status and earning rewards in a community they enjoy.

What loyalty perks would your customers value most? The answer might surprise you—and it’s worth finding out.

Let Real Customers Do Your Selling

Nothing convinces a hesitant shopper like seeing real people love what you’re selling. When someone’s on the fence about dropping $200 on your product, seeing dozens of happy customers sharing their experiences can be the final push they need to hit “buy now.”

User-generated content isn’t just nice to have—it’s your most powerful selling tool. Why? Because we trust strangers on the internet more than we trust brands. Weird but true. So we have these 3 strategic implementations for you to use customer content to drive sales:

• Put Your Best Reviews Front and Center: Don’t hide those glowing five-star reviews! Feature them prominently on your product pages, especially for high-ticket items. The detailed, thoughtful reviews are worth their weight in gold—the ones where Sarah explains how your skincare product cleared her acne when nothing else worked, or how James has gotten compliments from strangers on the jacket he bought from you.
• Get Customers to Share Photos: A picture is worth a thousand words—and probably a few hundred dollars in sales. Encourage customers to share photos of your products in real life by offering a small incentive. Maybe it’s 10% off their next order or extra points in your loyalty program. These authentic images showing real people using your products are far more persuasive than staged product photography. They answer the questions shoppers have: “What does this actually look like in someone’s home?” or “How does this look on someone with my body type?”
• Show Social Proof at Critical Decision Points: Place reviews and customer photos strategically at moments when shoppers typically hesitate. The checkout page is perfect—it’s often where customers get cold feet. A well-placed review saying “Best purchase I’ve made all year!” can be the reassurance they need to complete the purchase.

Pro tips

• Offer them discounts as an incentive! A simple “$5 off when you share a pic” works wonders.
• It snowballs on its own – more pics bring more sales, bringing more customers with more pics.
• You’ll build up a goldmine of real-world shots without having to stage expensive photoshoots.
• Your fans are way more convincing than you are – let them do the talking.
• Seeing is believing – shoppers trust other regular people using your stuff.
• Make it dead simple to upload photos (test this on your phone first – if it’s annoying, fix it).
• Show off these customer pics everywhere – homepage, product pages, checkout, emails… everywhere.

Getting Customers to Spend More

Nobody wants to wrap their own presents. Trust me—I once tried to gift wrap a coffee mug and ended up with a ball of tape that looked like something my cat hacked up.

That’s exactly why smart store owners offer gift wrapping at checkout. It’s just one of those tiny add-ons that can pump up your average order size without much effort on your part.

Shopify makes adding these little extras super easy. You click a few buttons, and suddenly you’re making an extra $5-20 per order. Do the math on that across a month—it adds up fast!

Here are ideas for stuff that people actually want to pay extra for:

• Gift wrapping (because nobody has time for that mess)
• Warranty coverage (especially for anything over $100)
• Fancy boxes (people judge gifts by their packaging, period)
• Handwritten notes (for when customers want to sound thoughtful but can’t find a pen)
• Rush shipping (for the procrastinators among us)

The beauty of these is they solve actual problems. For example, when someone buys a birthday gift two days before the party and realizes they don’t have wrapping paper at home, That $5 gift wrap fee suddenly feels like a bargain.

Birchbox figured this out years ago. They let customers add extra beauty samples at checkout. Simple idea, big results. People were already in buying mode, so tossing in another $10-15 for something special felt like nothing.

Just don’t go crazy with too many options. Nobody wants to answer 20 questions when they’re trying to check out. Keep it simple—3-5 solid options max.

And remember, you’re not just squeezing more cash from customers. You’re actually making their lives easier. That’s the kind of win-win that keeps people coming back.

Set Strategic Free Shipping Thresholds

Free shipping isn’t just a perk—it’s powerful psychology. But giving it away on every order? That’s leaving money on the table.

The magic happens when you set a strategic free shipping threshold that makes customers think, “Well, I might as well add something else to get free shipping!” Check out these implementation strategies: 

• Do the math first. Look at your current average order value. If customers typically spend around $50, setting free shipping at $75 creates that perfect “just a little more” incentive.
• Make it impossible to miss. Don’t hide your threshold! Show messages like “Add $25 more for FREE SHIPPING” everywhere—product pages, cart, checkout. Make it feel tantalizingly achievable.
• Create some urgency. Limited-time free shipping offers (“Free shipping on orders over $75—this weekend only!”) can turn browsers into buyers fast.
• Watch those margins. Calculate shipping costs into your overall strategy. If standard shipping costs you $7, make sure your threshold pushes customers to add items with enough margin to cover it.

Here is a real result: LuluLemon nailed this strategy with their $100 free shipping threshold. The results? An impressive 18% boost in average order value.

What makes it work so well is that their products typically range from $50-$130. When someone puts $88 leggings in their cart and sees they’re just $12 away from free shipping, adding socks or a headband feels like a no-brainer. The customer feels like they’re saving money, while LuluLemon increases their sales.

The beauty of a well-set threshold is that everyone wins—customers get more value (and avoid shipping costs they hate paying), while you see bigger orders rolling in without slashing your margins.

Tracking and Optimizing Your AOV Strategy

To effectively increase your Average Order Value (AOV), you need to track and optimize your strategies consistently. Here’s how to do it efficiently:

Strategy	How to Implement	Optimization Tip
Monitor AOV Metrics	Use Shopify built-in analytics	Set up automated weekly reports to track progress
Test AOV Strategies	Compare bundle offers, upselling, free shipping thresholds	Use apps like Optimizely to manage tests quickly
Analyze Customer Interaction	Track customer behavior with Google Analytics	Set specific goals related to AOV instead of analyzing all data
Adjust Free Shipping Threshold	Review and modify regularly based on AOV data	Change thresholds during peak sales seasons
Automated Product Recommendations	Recommend complementary/higher-priced items automatically via apps	Set rules based on cart contents for relevant suggestions
Customer Segmentation and Targeted Offers	Group customers by spending behavior	Use email marketing tools for automated, segmented offers
Monthly Performance Review	Set monthly review schedule for analyzing AOV metrics	Create a dashboard focusing on key metrics for efficient decision-making

Real-World Success Story: Mobovida’s AOV Revolution

​In a case study featured on Leveling Up, Edwin Choi, VP of Marketing at Mobovida, detailed how their online retail site, CellularOutfitter.com, successfully increased their Average Order Value (AOV) by over 10%. 

Implementation of the AOV Strategy

1. Understanding Customer Behavior: The team conducted extensive A/B testing using tools like Adobe Test & Target, Visual Website Optimizer, and Optimizely to gain insights into customer preferences and behaviors.​
2. Introducing Impulse Buy Tactics: Drawing inspiration from physical retail checkout aisles, they hypothesized that presenting customers with low-priced, high-margin items during the online checkout process could encourage additional purchases.​
   
3. First Test – Promotional Discount: They implemented two widgets:​
   
   • Promo Widget: Displayed above the fold, informing customers about a special deal and reminding them how much more they needed to add to qualify for the discount.​
   • Recommendation Widget: Positioned below the cart, suggesting items with a one-click “Add to Cart” option, personalized based on the current cart contents.​
4. This initial test resulted in a 6.2% decrease in cart conversion rates, indicating that the approach introduced too much friction for customers.
5. Second Test – Tiered Discounts: Analyzing the first test’s data, they introduced tiered discounts aimed at encouraging customers to add just one more item to their cart. The revised strategy focused on minimal friction and personalized recommendations.​

Results

• Increased AOV: The second test led to an AOV increase of over 15%, which was sustained over time.​
• Stable Conversion Rates: Unlike the first test, the revised strategy maintained stable conversion rates, resulting in a net gain.​
• Higher Usage of Promotional Codes: The new discount codes became some of the most utilized on the site, with high conversion rates and revenue per visitor metrics.​

Key Lessons

• Data-Driven Iteration: Initial failures can provide valuable insights. By analyzing test data, the team refined their approach to better align with customer behavior.​
• Minimizing Friction: Strategies that require minimal additional effort from customers are more likely to succeed. Simplifying the process of adding items to the cart was crucial.​
• Personalized Recommendations: Tailoring suggestions based on individual customer behavior enhances the effectiveness of upselling tactics.

In Conclusion

Look, growing your average order value on Shopify isn’t complicated. You don’t need fancy tricks or higher prices – just smart moves that actually work. Think about everything we have covered, pick what makes sense for your store, and give it a shot. The best thing? Once you get this right, you’re making more from people who already love shopping with you. Way better than burning cash on ads trying to find new customers.

Increasing AOV on Shopify: FAQs