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Ecommerce is an industry that is constantly developing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. With so many new and exciting opportunities, it is easy to forget the basics. To ensure your business’ success, you must be able to measure your company’s performance.

The best starting point is to analyse your Average Order Value.

What is an Average Order Value? (AOV)

Average Order Value is a calculation that is used to determine how much much money your customer spends on average, during a specific time frame.

Revenue ÷ Number of Orders = AOV 

The vast majority of dashboards provided by platforms like Shopware, Shopify, and Magento, have the ability to analyse this information, to make it easier for businesses to track their performance.

What can your Average Order Value tell you?

By using the above calculation, you will be able to assess what interests your customers and why. Do your customers spend little and often, do they respond better to sales, does your email marketing generate a spike in purchases? These are just a few of the questions you can ask yourself through studying your AOV.

Once you have taken stock of the results produced by your AOV, you will have the tools to understand what your customers’ buying habits are, alongside how successful specific marketing campaigns have or haven’t been. By using this data, it will enable you to generate more informed strategies for marketing plans and product price points that you would like to implement in future.

Methods that can improve your AOV

How do I boost my AOV I hear you ask? Luckily, there are numerous ways to do so:

Upsell!

Your customer has already added a specific product to their bag; they are ready to buy. Why not use this opportunity to suggest relevant items that would enrich their purchase?

Add-Ons

Let’s say the visitor is buying a bicycle. Once they have selected their choice, show a pop-up which displays an add-on. You could offer a product, like a helmet or a water bottle and holder. Alternatively, you could offer a service, such as insurance or a service plan.

Halfords have a good example of the above. Once you have added a bike to your basket, a pop up appears with the ‘Halfords Bike Care Plans’ that you can click through to for a selection of various service plan options.

Multi-buy

Another avenue to explore is multi-buy options. Are your customers coming back and buying the same product over and over? Why not give them an option of buying further units in the same order, with a slightly discounted price? This promotion will also encourage others to purchase that do not usually buy that product, but like the discount.

Wickes use this concept on their product catalogue and checkout page.

In the example below a customer has added a 2.5L tin of Wood Treatment to their cart. Once viewing their basket, it is highlighted below the product in red text that there is the opportunity to buy 2 tins for £30, rather than £17 for a single tin. All they need to do is change the quantity and they will qualify.

Product Bundles

Companies from every industry are striving to make consumer’s lives easier; whether that is by offering pre-cut vegetables available in supermarkets, or banks enabling faster payment methods like contactless and Apple Pay. Making the shopping process as convenient as possible encourages customers to purchase, because the act of doing so feels close to effortless. By creating product bundles, you are taking these steps to make the customer experience seamless.

For example, Net-a-Porter (featured below) uses the above principle. They have a ‘Cover Story’ feature, with an additional ‘Shop the Look’ button below each image.

Once this button is selected, you are able to view each product that was featured in said image and add the items to your basket in one click.

Free Shipping Threshold

Free delivery is at the top of everyone’s lists when it comes to online shopping. 93% of customers are encouraged to buy more products if free shipping is included (Source: Inc), and shoppers spend 30% more per order when delivery is included (Source: FounderU).

As the statistics demonstrate, having at least some form of free delivery would significantly increase your AOV. You do not necessarily need to have no shipping charge for orders of any value; you can still increase your AOV by having a free delivery threshold.

Amazon exemplifies this perfectly. To get the most out of your threshold, remind your customer of how much more they need to spend to get the free delivery option. When you view your Amazon basket, it is apparent that you have to add £X amount to qualify for free delivery.

Cross-selling

Many ecommerce sites nowadays have adopted the option of displaying further products that are related to the one the customer is currently viewing. This is known as cross-selling.

If the visitor is interested in buying a pair of shoes, you can enable them to see other items that will complement the outfit on the same product page. Make the accessories that will complete the look, like jeans, socks or a belt, visible to them. The convenience alone will encourage customers to add these products to their basket.

ASOS uses this method below in a detailed product view.

Customer Rewards

Rewarding your customer for being a loyal to your company is one of the best methods of keeping them coming back for more. There various incentives that you can utilise that will assist in increasing your AOV:

• Reward Points:  Have a system that rewards frequent customers with points for spending money on your site. Every order placed will earn them further points that they will be able to claim, whether that is to receive a free gift, monetary discount or gift card.
• Promotions & Discounts: A time-sensitive promotion or discount for buying further items again will promote a stable customer base and increase your AOV. One example that is apparent on a few sites, like Argos, are offering a £X gift card when the customer spends over £X amount.

Take your next steps…

It has been forecast that the turnover generated by ecommerce is expected to surpass physical retails outlets by 2024 (Source: Generix Group), which means there is further innovation on the horizon for our online stores. Customers will always want to buy, buy, buy, so keep up with the times and catch their eye by implementing some of the strategies listed above. Test them out and see which works best for you and your site. Don’t fall behind; start focusing on your AOV, simplify the customer process and reap the revenue rewards.