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Our Apps Have Driven
5X AOV | 2X Conversions | $30M+ Additional Revenue
5X AOV | 2X Conversions | $30M+ Additional Revenue
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Shopify Apps
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I deal with a lot of Shopify stores on a day-to-day basis and most stores are looking for solutions on how to increase their average order value on Shopify. Given that over the years I have handled thousands of Shopify stores, I have come to the conclusion that there are some time-tested strategies that would help increase your AOV more than others.
In this blog today I will give you a complete guide on how you can increase your average order value and maximize your revenue.
The United States ecommerce average order value sits around $98, with top-performing stores regularly exceeding $109.[1] Stores that implement product bundles see an average 20–35% lift in AOV.[2] And 58% of United States shoppers report adding extra items to their cart specifically to qualify for free shipping.[3] Across our app's user base, stores using bundle, upsell, and discount campaigns have seen an average 32% increase in AOV.
The 10 strategies below walk through how to get there.
Before working through tactics to increase AOV on Shopify, it helps to identify which problem you are actually solving. Low AOV usually traces back to one of four patterns.
If your homepage or product pages do not surface related items, bundles, or add-ons, customers default to buying one thing and leaving. Most shoppers will not go looking for complementary products — they need to be shown. A quick diagnostic: can a first-time visitor tell within 10 seconds that you sell more than one product category?
Customers respond to clear value thresholds. Without a free shipping minimum, bundle discount, or volume pricing structure, there is no financial reason to add to a cart. Volume-based incentives are among the highest-ROI levers for increasing Shopify average order value because they benefit both sides — the customer gets a better deal, and you increase revenue per transaction. [7]
Hidden shipping costs, a long checkout flow, and limited payment options all create friction that stops customers from adding more to their cart. A streamlined checkout with trust signals and upsell prompts is where a significant portion of AOV is either captured or lost — well-placed checkout upsells convert at 3–8% on average. [9]
If every product is priced independently with no tiered discount, bundle savings, or premium upgrade path, customers have no financial pathway to spend more. Even a simple "buy 2, save 10%" creates a reason to add a second unit. Cross-selling accounts for up to 30% of profits for ecommerce retailers when structured well. [8]
AOV benchmarks vary significantly by product category. The overall United States ecommerce average sits around $142 across all online retail [6], but Shopify merchants specifically tend to cluster between $85–$110 depending on niche and price point. [1]
Here is how average order values break down by category for United States ecommerce stores, based on Dynamic Yield benchmarks: [5]
If your AOV sits below your category average, prioritize the strategies in this guide. If you are already at the average, the goal is the top quartile — that is where the margin improvement becomes significant.
A practical starting point: set your free shipping threshold at 30% above your current AOV. If you are at $80, set it at $104. Shopify's own data shows this single change consistently moves shoppers to add one or two more items before checkout. [7]
These 10 strategies are organized from highest-impact to supplementary. The ones at the top consistently move the needle fastest for Shopify merchants looking to increase average order value without increasing ad spend.
Product bundling is the single highest-impact strategy for increasing Shopify average order value. When customers buy a bundle instead of a single item, the average order value goes up in one transaction — no extra acquisition cost, no additional checkout needed. Stores using product bundles see an average 20–35% lift in AOV. [2]
Three bundle formats that work consistently well for Shopify merchants:
Tips for getting bundles right:
You can easily implement this using the Easy Bundle Builder app.
Free shipping thresholds are one of the most reliable ways to increase AOV on Shopify — and they require no app to set up. 58% of United States shoppers say they have added extra items to their cart specifically to qualify for free shipping. [3]
The mechanism is straightforward: customers who are $10–$15 away from the threshold will often add a low-cost add-on, a second unit, or a complementary product rather than pay for shipping. This behavior is reliable and consistent across categories.
How to set your threshold:
This is the only strategy on this list that works without a single app install. Configure it in Shopify Settings > Shipping and run a cart progress bar through Kite to make the threshold visible to shoppers in real time.
Checkout is the highest-intent moment in the customer journey. A shopper who has already decided to buy is far more open to adding something than a shopper who is still browsing. Well-placed checkout upsells convert at 3–8% on average, with optimized campaigns reaching 10–15%. [9]
A real example: a CBD brand using Checkout Wiz boosted their checkout upsell conversion rate from 3.66% to 10% — nearly a 3x improvement — purely through optimized offer placement and product selection.
Cross-selling accounts for 20% of sales and up to 30% of profits for ecommerce retailers when structured well. [8]
Tips to increase AOV on Shopify through checkout upsells:
Checkout Wiz supports upsell and cross-sell placements at the checkout page, post-purchase page, and order status page on Shopify, with A/B testing to identify which offers drive the best lift.
A free gift with purchase is a powerful incentive for increasing average order value because it gives customers a reason to add more without feeling like they are spending more. Instead of discounting the cart (which reduces margin), you are adding perceived value. Customers who are $15 away from the free gift threshold behave almost identically to customers approaching a free shipping threshold — they add items to close the gap.
How to run free gift campaigns effectively:
Kite Discounts & Free Gift supports free gift campaigns with auto-add functionality, so the gift is added to cart automatically when the threshold is hit — no discount code needed from the customer.
Volume discounts i.e. "buy 2, save 10%; buy 3, save 15%"; create a financial incentive for customers to add more of the same product in a single transaction. They work especially well for consumables, replenishable items, and products customers know they will use regularly: supplements, skincare, coffee, candles, cleaning products.
The mechanic is simple: once a customer has decided they want a product, the volume discount gives them a reason to buy more than one unit right now rather than coming back later. That second or third unit in the same cart is almost pure margin improvement because acquisition costs are already spent.
Volume discount tips for Shopify:
Kite and Fly Bundles both support volume discount and quantity break campaigns natively on Shopify, with real-time cart updates as customers change quantities.
Learn about volume discounting and its benefits.
Gift-focused shopping naturally drives higher AOV. Customers buying gifts are less price-sensitive than customers buying for themselves, and they are more likely to add gift wrapping, gift notes, greeting cards, or premium packaging — all of which contribute to order value without requiring a discount.
Strategies to increase average order value through gifting:
Seasonal gifting windows (holidays, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day) are the highest-ROI periods to launch gifting campaigns. Build the bundle and gifting structures before the window opens, not during it.
Read our complete guide to offering Buy X Get Y discounts on Shopify.
Gamification turns passive browsing into active goal-pursuit. A visible spend-based progress bar — "You are $18 away from a free gift" or "Spend $12 more to unlock free shipping" — creates momentum that nudges customers to keep adding. This works because progress bars tap into completion psychology: once someone can see they are 70% of the way to a reward, the cost of not completing feels higher than the cost of adding one more item.
Tactics that consistently increase AOV on Shopify through gamification:
Kite's progress bar campaign type supports multi-tier threshold setups with real-time cart tracking and animated progress indicators — no custom code or developer time required.
Spend-based discounts give customers a reward for reaching a cart value threshold. "Spend $100, get 15% off your order" is a direct incentive to increase AOV on Shopify without requiring the customer to add any specific product. The entire cart benefits from the discount, which means customers are motivated to add from any category — not just the product they were already looking at.
This differs from product-level volume discounts. Spend-based discounts are cart-wide, so they are particularly effective for stores with diverse catalogs where customers might mix categories (apparel plus accessories, skincare plus supplements).
Setup guidelines:
Kite supports spend-based discount campaigns with real-time cart value tracking and automatic discount application when the threshold is reached.
For higher-priced products, pre-orders, or made-to-order items, a partial payment option removes the price barrier that prevents customers from completing a purchase — or from choosing a higher-tier product. When a $400 purchase becomes a $100 deposit today with the remainder due on dispatch, the perceived commitment is lower and conversion goes up.
This strategy increases Shopify average order value by unlocking purchases customers would otherwise defer or downgrade:
Downpay is the purpose-built Shopify app for deposit and partial payment workflows, supporting split payments, deposit amounts by percentage or fixed value, and automatic balance collection — built specifically for merchants who sell considered or custom products.
BOGO (Buy One Get One) and Buy X Get Y campaigns increase per-transaction volume by attaching a reward to multi-unit purchases. Customers who planned to buy one unit will often buy two when the second comes at a discount or free. For consumables and repeat-purchase products, this also pulls forward future purchases into the current transaction; meaning you capture revenue that would otherwise have come in a separate order at a separate acquisition cost.
BOGO works especially well for apparel, beauty, supplements, and food and beverage — categories where customers naturally use more than one unit and appreciate stocking up.
Implementation tips:
Kite supports BOGO and Buy X Get Y campaigns natively on Shopify, with auto-add functionality so the free or discounted item is added to cart automatically when the purchase condition is met; no discount code entry required from the customer.
Calculating AOV is essential for any business as it helps them understand the purchasing behavior of their customers to make informed decisions and improve the revenue of their eCommerce stores.
The benefits of having a high Average Order Value(AOV) are massive -
A high Average Order Value means that customers are spending more money per order. With higher revenue per sale, profitability is improved as the store earns more from each transaction. This allows the business to cover costs and invest in growth opportunities easily.
Return on investment (ROI) is a critical metric for measuring the effectiveness of any marketing campaign. A high AOV means that the store is generating more revenue for each customer acquired. Since the cost of customer acquisition remains constant, a higher AOV boosts the ROI of marketing efforts.
Customer lifetime value is the total revenue generated from a customer throughout their entire relationship with the business. A loyal customer’s AOV is around 5% higher than a new buyer’s. A higher AOV indicates that customers trust the brand and are willing to make more purchases, indicating increased customer lifetime value.
Boosting customer engagement can be done by increasing the Average Order Value (AOV). Businesses can do this by offering personalized suggestions, bundles, or discounts when customers spend a certain amount to increase AOV. This approach makes shopping more enjoyable and helps build customer loyalty because they feel valued and special.
Increasing Average Order Value reduces the dependence on constantly acquiring new customers to drive revenue growth. With a higher AOV, businesses can generate more revenue from existing customers, reducing the need for acquiring new customers continuously. This leads to improved customer retention and long-term sustainability.
Learn more about what AOV is and how to increase it for your eCommerce store
Stone Coat sells DIY epoxy products for countertops and flooring. Customers were buying individual items and leaving, missing obvious complementary products like primers, sealers, and decorative additives. Using Fly Bundles, they built 44 tailored upsell bundles grouping complementary products with a 10% discount. The result: $305 more per order from bundle purchases, $799K+ in total bundle revenue, and over 1,500 bundles sold. Their top bundle — the Carrara Upsell Bundle — alone generated 300+ orders and $113K in sales. [Case Study]
Swirl Wine Shop (Napa, California) had a wide wine selection with a 6-bottle purchase minimum that was causing cart abandonment. Customers wanted to customize their order but had no easy way to do it. Using Easy Bundles, they launched a Build Your Own Bundle experience letting customers mix 6 to 15 bottles across categories, with tiered discounts that increased the deeper customers went. In 7 months, the bundle experience generated $120,000 in revenue, with the highest AOV coming from 12 and 15-bottle builds. [Case Study]
Topologie sells climbing-inspired accessories and phone straps, with individual units ranging from ¥2,800 to ¥7,800. Customers were buying single straps per transaction, leaving premium SKUs and lesser-known designs undiscovered. They ran a Buy X Get Y campaign through Kite — buy one strap, get a second at 20% off (applied to the lower-priced item). The campaign ran as an evergreen promotion capped at 10,000 redemptions. Total order value generated: $2.5 million, with significant AOV uplift and a measurable increase in sales across previously underperforming designs. [Case Study]
Mellow Fellow is a renowned CBD Brand. They faced challenges in upselling their products, hence the AOV was less. So, they turned to Checkout Wizard, the ultimate tool to improve the Shopify checkout experience.
Here’s what we did to help them -
And the results were crazy!
Mellow Fellow initially had 546 views on their upsell block, resulting in a conversion rate of only 3.66% and 20 orders, generating a mere revenue of $160.
After implementing Checkout Wiz, the results significantly improved. They received 2925 views on their upsell block, which led to 288 orders i.e. 10% conversion, showing a 6% increase in conversion rate.
As a result, Mellow Fellow generated total revenue of $1.5k from upsells, showcasing the effectiveness of upsell offers.
You can read more details about the strategies we implemented here.
Find out how to effectively upsell and cross-sell on your Shopify store.
Increasing your Average Order Value (AOV) is a key factor in driving profitability and growth for your Shopify store.
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