This guide is aimed at Shopify merchants who are getting customers to their store, seeing some good signs of conversion but are looking to get those customers to spend more when they do convert. If you’re new to Shopify, you will benefit from reading our beginner guides to Shopify first.
So, let’s take a dive into how to increase your average order value on Shopify stores.
What is average order value (AOV) on Shopify?
The AOV on Shopify is the average amount a customer will spend when they buy on your website.
The AOV for your business will of course depend on the average cost of your products. It’s clear that if the average price of your products is £5, you can expect your AOV to be lower than a Shopify merchant whose average price is £100. So be realistic from the start when you’re looking to increase your AOV.
Are you getting enough traffic to your site to really understand what the average customer spends with you? If not, you should focus on improving your conversion rate and traffic before looking to increase your AOV.
Why is AOV important for Shopify stores?
AOV is a measure of how you track the value of each customer that comes to your store – and also a way to track how your efforts to try and increase the amount each customer spends is going too. So it is certainly an important metric for Shopify merchants to review.
If you’re looking to increase the AOV on your Shopify store but aren’t sure where to start, it’s wise to search online for any information on what the average order value is for your industry. AOV is different from sector to sector, so any fair comparison you can find will stand you in good stead.
How to increase your AOV on Shopify
As you might expect, there are a number of tried and tested methods that you can use to increase your average order value. The strategies that work for your store will depend on what is most suitable for your business type. We always recommend that clients try multiple strategies and assess each one fairly to see which has resulted in the greatest results.
Let's get started…
Cross-selling and upselling
Cross-selling and upselling on Shopify are proven methods for increasing AOV. Upselling involves persuading customers to upgrade to a higher-priced product, compared to cross-selling which involves suggesting other products after a customer has already shown intent to buy a product. If you are keen to try cross-selling and upselling on your Shopify store, there are a few ways in which you can implement it.
Shopify includes “You May Also Like” suggestions in all themes which suggest products unique to the customer. The factors that Shopify’s algorithm uses depend on the plan that you subscribe to. We have seen first-hand some great results from using the Shopify “You May Also Like” section on product pages. Depending on your business type, you can also use this section across content-driven pages too, if relevant to your business objectives.
You can also consider using a pop-up, which appears when a customer adds an item to the cart or when they click the checkout page. If you’d like to try this option, always be mindful of what the checkout process is like for the customer – if you make it too long, or confusing, there are much more likely to leave your site (and perhaps head for a competitor instead).
Selling product bundles on Shopify
Product bundling can tempt your customers into buying multiple products at once, therefore increasing the AOV on your Shopify store. By bundling products together, you are also getting more of your items in front of customers
Offer incentives if customers spend a certain amount
Incentives might be a more blatant way of showing customers that you want them to spend more at your store, but they do work. Customer incentives can take many forms, including free shipping, reward points, discounts, freebies, advance access to newly released products or exclusive sales.
These incentives are aimed at encouraging customers to perform and repeat behaviours that help your store, so do play around with the variety of incentives to try and find the right offering for your ideal customer.
Set up a loyalty programme
It’s easier to get repeat business from previous happy customers than it is to acquire new ones. Loyalty programmes can both improve customer retention and increase AOV. A well-executed loyalty programme will help your customers to feel more appreciated and can also help make your brand more memorable.
How will you increase your average order value on Shopify?
If you have a good amount of traffic coming to your Shopify store, you have the opportunity to increase your average order value. Customers are already keen to shop with you and so there is no reason why you can’t convince them to buy more from you on their visit.
Using the methods outlined above, you can help customers to discover and buy other items that are relevant to their needs. Good luck!