How to Increase Average Order Value on Shopify (and What Each Tactic Costs)

To increase average order value on Shopify, give shoppers a reason to add one more item: a bundle, a free-shipping threshold or a quantity discount. Complementary products help too, and every tactic costs you something, usually margin.

Average order value (AOV) is your revenue divided by the number of orders. You can see it in Shopify under Analytics, on the overview dashboard and in the sales reports. Before changing anything, write down your current AOV, conversion rate and gross margin.

1. Set a free-shipping threshold just above your current AOV

A free-shipping threshold asks the shopper to spend a little more to stop paying for delivery. A common rule of thumb is to set it somewhat above your current AOV, so that a typical cart is one small item short. It is a starting point, not a proven number, and the right gap varies by store.

How to set it up: Settings → Shipping and delivery → open your shipping profile → add a rate with a condition based on order price, priced at $0, with a minimum order value.

What it costs: you now pay shipping on every order over the threshold, including orders that would have crossed it anyway. Check that the extra item covers your average shipping cost. Show the threshold in the announcement bar and the cart.

2. Bundle products that are already bought together

Look for products that often show up in the same cart: a shirt and a matching belt, a kit and its refills.

- Build them with Shopify's free Bundles app, or as a single product if your inventory is simple. - Name the bundle by what it does: "Weekend linen set," not "Bundle #2." - Show the price of the items bought separately so the saving is clear and honest.

What it costs: the bundle discount comes straight out of margin, and bundles add inventory complexity. A small discount on products people already buy together is often enough; a deep one mostly gives away money on sales you would have made.

3. Offer quantity breaks on products people reorder

Quantity breaks ("2 for $30, 3 for $42") work best on consumables and basics: socks, coffee, skincare, filters.

How to set it up: Discounts → Create discount → Amount off products, choose the product or collection, and set a minimum purchase requirement of a number of items. Create one automatic discount per tier, and check the Combinations settings so tiers don't stack in ways you didn't intend. Test the cart before you announce it.

What it costs: margin on every unit in the order, not only the extra one. If a shopper was going to buy three anyway, you just discounted three units for nothing.

4. Show complementary products on the product page

The cheapest tactic is often the simplest: show the item that naturally goes with what the shopper is looking at, at full price.

Shopify's free Search & Discovery app lets you choose complementary products for each product, and many themes can show them on the product page with a Complementary products block. Automatic "You may also like" sections tend to show similar items, which compete with the product instead of adding to it.

What it costs: almost nothing in margin, but some attention. Too many suggestions on the page can distract a shopper from the product they came for. Two or three relevant items is plenty.

How to tell if it worked

Change one thing at a time, wait a few weeks, then compare AOV, conversion rate and gross profit per order against the period before. A higher AOV with fewer orders, or with a smaller margin per order, can leave you with less money than you started with.

EcomBoost AI finds problems that quietly cost sales across your catalog, such as products priced at $0, sold-out products still listed, duplicates and missing descriptions or images, scores your store health and fixes many of them in one click. It also sends out-of-stock alerts so the products in your bundles don't disappear without you knowing. To see what is holding your store back, [check your store free](/free-store-check).

Frequently asked questions

### What is a good average order value for a Shopify store?

There is no single good number; it depends on your prices, niche and product mix. The useful comparison is your own AOV over time, alongside your conversion rate and margin.

### Does free shipping increase average order value?

It can, when there is a threshold the shopper has to reach. Free shipping on every order removes a reason to abandon the cart but gives no reason to add more, so it tends to help conversion more than AOV.

### Do I need an app to increase AOV on Shopify?

Not always. Shipping thresholds and quantity discounts are built into the Shopify admin, and Shopify's own free apps handle bundles and complementary products. Paid apps can come later.