AOV, or Average Order Value: How to Calculate It and 12 Ways to Increase Cart Size in Your Store
Increasing the average order value by 15% yields the same result as having 15% more customers, but without the extra advertising budget. That's why AOV is one of the three key metrics that determine store profitability, alongside conversion rate and customer acquisition cost. In this article, we explain what AOV is, how to calculate it, what values are typical in Polish e-commerce, and how to increase it using 12 proven methods.
What is AOV? Definition
AOV (Average Order Value) is the average value of an order, meaning the sales revenue divided by the number of orders in a given period. If a store had 1,200 orders and 180,000 PLN in revenue in October, the AOV is 150 PLN.
AOV formula:
AOV = revenue / number of orders
A few details that matter in practice:
Calculate revenue excluding shipping costs and VAT if you want to compare it with margins. Many stores report gross AOV including shipping, inflating the result.
Deduct returns and cancelled orders, especially in fashion.
Calculate AOV separately for new and returning customers, as well as for each channel. An overall store average obscures key differences.
Why AOV is so important in e-commerce
A store's revenue is three numbers multiplied together: traffic × conversion rate × AOV. If you have 50,000 visits per month, a 2% conversion rate, and an AOV of 150 PLN, your revenue is 150,000 PLN. You can increase it in three ways:
Lever | What needs to be done | Cost |
|---|---|---|
More traffic (+15%) | Higher ad budget or SEO | High; CPM and CAC increase |
Higher conversion (+15%) | Website optimization, UX, offer | Medium; requires testing |
Higher AOV (+15%) | Bundles, shipping thresholds, upsells | Low; often just a single change in the store |
Each of them yields the same result: 172,500 PLN. But AOV is the cheapest to influence. What's more, a higher AOV improves ROAS and allows you to pay more to acquire a customer, because at the same cost per click, each purchase brings in more. That's why it's worth starting to optimize AOV before scaling ads.
What is a good AOV? Typical values in Polish e-commerce
There is no universally "good" AOV, as it depends on the product category. The ranges below come from stores we manage at AdVibes and from industry reports.
Category | Typical AOV in Poland | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Cosmetics and skincare | 120–220 PLN | Many bundles, high repeat purchase rate |
Supplements | 130–250 PLN | Subscriptions and multipacks increase AOV |
Fashion and footwear | 180–350 PLN | Returns reduce real AOV by 15–30% |
Home and interiors | 250–600 PLN | Wide spread between decor and furniture |
Electronics and accessories | 300–900 PLN | Accessories are the primary AOV lever |
Toys and baby products | 150–300 PLN | Seasonality in Q4 |
Pet food and supplies | 140–260 PLN | Ideal for subscriptions |
Furniture | 1,200–3,500 PLN | Low purchase frequency; the first cart value matters most |
Instead of comparing yourself to the industry average, benchmark against your own AOV from the previous quarter and see how it changes during promotional campaigns.
How to increase AOV? 12 methods that work
1. Free shipping threshold set just above your AOV
This is the single most effective change. If your AOV is 150 PLN, set free shipping from 199 PLN and show a progress bar in the cart: "You're 49 PLN away from free shipping." Most customers will add an item to avoid paying for shipping. Rule of thumb: set the threshold 20–30% above your current AOV.
2. Sets and bundles
Three products in a bundle with a 10–15% discount increase cart value and simplify decision-making. In cosmetics, a "morning routine" set sells better than three individual products. Gift sets in Q4 represent a separate category with a higher AOV.
3. Cross-selling on product pages and in the cart
"Customers also bought," "Complete the look," "Frequently bought together." Inexpensive add-ons to a more expensive item work best: a phone case, a foundation brush, a coffee machine filter. Recommendations should be cheaper than the main product; otherwise, customers rarely add them.
4. Upselling to a higher version
Show a larger, better, or bulk variant next to the selected product, highlighting how much the customer saves per unit. "500 ml pack: 20% cheaper per 100 ml" works well for supplements, cosmetics, and pet food.
5. Quantity discounts
"Buy 2, get the 3rd at 50% off," "3 for 2," tiered discounts of 5% off over 200 PLN and 10% off over 350 PLN. Thresholds must be set slightly above the typical cart size so that the customer is encouraged to add another item.
6. Post-purchase upsell
On the thank-you page, offer an add-on product that can be added to the order with a single click, without re-entering payment or shipping details. This works natively in Shopify via apps, and in WooCommerce via plugins. The conversion rate for such offers reaches 10–20%.
7. Entry-level product and price laddering
If you offer products at 49 PLN, 99 PLN, and 199 PLN, most will choose the middle option. Adding a premium version shifts customer choices upward. This also works for services and packages.
8. Tiered loyalty program
Points for every 10 PLN spent, bonus points over 250 PLN, VIP status from 1,000 PLN per year. Customers will consciously spend more to hit those thresholds.
9. Installments and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
PayPo, Klarna, and 0% installment options significantly boost AOV in higher-priced categories because the customer focuses on the installment amount rather than the total sum. It is a standard in electronics and furniture, and increasingly common in fashion.
10. Personalization and limited editions
Engraving, custom labels, limited editions with higher price points. Customers are willing to pay more for a product that feels uniquely "theirs."
11. Minimum order value for discounts
Make discount codes from advertising apply only from 150 PLN, rather than from the first penny. Promo campaigns without a threshold bring in 40 PLN carts that lose money once shipping and acquisition costs are accounted for.
12. Ads promoting bundles, not single items
If your Meta and Google campaigns mainly promote your cheapest items, your AOV from paid traffic will remain low. Direct traffic to bundles, higher-priced bestsellers, and category pages. In Advantage+ Sales campaigns and Performance Max, you can exclude the lowest-margin products from your catalog.
AOV in advertising: how to use it in Meta Ads and Google Ads
AOV directly dictates what ROAS and cost per acquisition (CPA) you can afford. With an AOV of 150 PLN and a 40% margin, you make 60 PLN per order, so the CPA must stay below 60 PLN, requiring a ROAS above 2.5. With an AOV of 250 PLN and the same margin, you can afford a CPA up to 100 PLN; a 2.5 ROAS remains profitable, but each purchase delivers twice as much profit.
In practice:
In Google Ads and Meta, set your strategy toward conversion value (target ROAS) rather than the number of purchases. The algorithm will start looking for customers with higher cart values.
Pass the true order value to pixels and the CAPI. Without this, value-based optimization cannot work properly. Check out our article on the Conversions API.
Report AOV per campaign and per channel. TikTok campaigns often have a lower AOV than Google Shopping, which changes their profitability equation.
In Q4, promote gift sets and raise your free shipping threshold, as customers are naturally prepared to spend more anyway.
AOV vs. LTV: two metrics that must be evaluated together
AOV tells you how much a customer spends in a single order. LTV tells you how much they spend throughout their entire relationship with your store. In categories with low repeat purchase rates (furniture, electronics), AOV is the primary profitability metric. In categories with high repeat rates (cosmetics, supplements, pet food), LTV is more critical, and a lower initial AOV is acceptable if the customer returns regularly.
Beware of the trap: aggressively pushing up AOV by forcing large cart sizes can reduce your conversion rate. If the free shipping threshold is too high, some shoppers will simply abandon their carts. Always test changes and track Revenue Per Visit (RPV = Conversion Rate × AOV) rather than looking at AOV in isolation.
Frequently asked questions about AOV
How do I calculate AOV in Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify shows the average order value in its sales reports. In WooCommerce, you can find it under Analytics in the Orders tab. In GA4, it corresponds to the average purchase revenue metric in e-commerce reports. To be certain, calculate it manually: net revenue excluding shipping divided by the number of fulfilled orders.
What is a good AOV for an online store?
One that leaves a profit after deducting product costs, shipping, payment processing, and customer acquisition. For most stores with a 35–50% margin, this means an AOV above 120–150 PLN. Below this threshold, it is difficult to advertise profitably.
Is free shipping worth it?
Usually yes, provided the threshold is set 20–30% above your current AOV. The shipping cost is factored into your pricing or covered by the higher cart value. Free shipping with no minimum threshold is rarely profitable on small orders.
What lowers AOV?
Discount codes without minimum order values, promoting your cheapest products in ads, a lack of cart recommendations, an excessively high shipping threshold (prompting customers to abandon rather than add more items), and high return rates.
How often should I review AOV?
Monthly for the store as a whole and weekly for ad campaigns. In Q4, it is worth monitoring daily, as promotions and gift sets can shift numbers very quickly.
Looking to boost your AOV and improve campaign performance without increasing your ad spend? Schedule a free consultation; we'll analyze your store and campaigns to identify your fastest opportunities for growth.
