Reviewed by Getting more traffic is expensive. Getting each existing shopper to spend a little more isn’t. That’s why learning how to increase average order value is one of the highest-leverage moves a WooCommerce store can make. The visitors are already there, the ad spend is already paid, and a few smart prompts can lift revenue.
Average order value, or AOV, is simply the average amount a customer spends per order. Nudge it up across every transaction and the effect compounds. The gain drops almost straight to your bottom line rather than being eaten by acquisition costs.
I’ve found the stores that lift AOV well don’t do it by being pushy. Instead, they recommend the right thing at the right moment, often guided by what the customer already showed interest in. This guide covers the proven tactics to increase your order sizes without being pushy. Plus, it shows how wishlist data tells you where to aim them.
Table Of Contents
What Is Average Order Value (And Why It Matters)?
Average order value is your total revenue divided by your number of orders over a period. If you make $10,000 from 200 orders, your AOV is $50. Raising it means each order works harder for you.
AOV matters because it’s one of the most powerful levers for ecommerce growth that doesn’t require paying for more traffic. Acquiring new customers costs money in ads and effort. By contrast, lifting AOV taps revenue from shoppers who are already buying. A modest increase across every order can outperform a costly push for more visitors.
It also helps when so many shoppers leave before buying. The Baymard Institute puts the average online cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, so every completed order is hard-won. Achieving a higher average order means more margin per transaction, which you can reinvest in shipping perks, better service, or sharper pricing.
5 Smart Tactics To Boost Your Average Order Value
Getting more revenue doesn’t always mean spending more on ads to acquire new customers. Often, it’s simply about making the most of the shoppers who are already browsing your store. By strategically encouraging customers to add just a little more to their carts, you can significantly increase your profit margins without resorting to pushy sales tactics.
The following five strategies leverage natural shopping behaviors, clear incentives, and wishlist data to help you seamlessly elevate your average order value.
1. Bundle products that belong together
Bundling related products into a single offer is one of the most reliable strategies for how to increase average order value. A shopper buying a camera is a natural candidate for a case and a memory card. A small bundle discount makes saying yes easy.
The trick is relevance. Bundles work when the items genuinely go together, not when you staple unrelated products together to hit a number. Look at what customers frequently buy or save together, then build bundles around those real pairings.
🔍️ What we’ve seen: Stores often guess at bundles based on what they want to move, not what customers actually pair. The bundles that lift AOV are built from real behavior. Think of the accessories people keep saving alongside a main product. Let the data pick the pairs.
2. Set a free shipping threshold
A free shipping threshold is the classic AOV lever for good reason. Shoppers will often add an item to avoid paying for shipping. Set the threshold a little above your current AOV, so it’s an achievable stretch, not an impossible one.
Make the progress visible. A simple “You’re $12 away from free shipping” message turns the threshold into a small game the shopper wants to win. Pair it with a relevant suggestion for what to add, and you’ve turned a shipping line into an upsell.
You can manage shipping conditions and promotional rules with tools like Advanced Coupons, which lets you build cart conditions and incentives around thresholds.
3. Recommend what shoppers already want
Generic “you may also like” blocks underperform because they’re guesses. Recommendations tied to real interest convert far better, and wishlists hand you that interest directly.
When a shopper has saved certain products, you know what they’re considering. SaveTo Wishlist Pro analytics show you which products are saved most and the patterns behind them. That lets you recommend complementary items with more confidence than guesswork. Feeding those signals into your store, as covered in how wishlist data feeds your WooCommerce CRM, sharpens every recommendation you make.
This is also where smart upselling pays off. A recommendation that reflects what someone already wants reads as helpful, which is exactly when shoppers add more to the cart.
4. Use volume and tiered incentives
Encouraging shoppers to buy more of the same item, or to reach a spend tier, is a smart way to solve how to increase average order value without needing a wider catalog. Think “buy two, save 10%” or a gift unlocked at a spend level. Done well, volume pricing rewards bigger baskets without hurting your margins.
These work best for consumable or giftable products where buying extra makes sense. Keep the offer simple and the benefit obvious. That way the shopper does the mental math in your favor without feeling pressured.
As with thresholds, visibility matters. Show the saving the moment it becomes relevant, ideally right in the cart. The incentive then lands while the decision is being made.
5. Re-engage saved items at the right moment
AOV isn’t only about the current cart. Bringing a shopper back to buy a saved item alongside a new one lifts the value of future orders too.
Price-drop and reminder emails on wishlisted products give shoppers a reason to return. A returning shopper with a saved item in mind often adds more once they’re back on site. This is where wishlist re-engagement and AOV reinforce each other. The saved item brings them in, and your on-site prompts grow the basket. Our guide on how wishlists boost conversion covers the conversion side in depth.
Measure And Improve Your AOV
To truly master how to increase average order value, you need to track the metric consistently so you can see what’s actually working. Here are a few things worth watching:
- AOV overall and by segment: are certain customer groups worth more?
- Bundle and threshold uptake: how often shoppers take each offer.
- Recommendation conversion: do your suggested products actually get added?
- AOV of wishlist-influenced orders versus the rest.
Change one lever at a time so you can track what actually works as you learn how to increase average order value over the long term. Small, steady improvements compound across every order you take.
Your AOV Checklist
- Build bundles from products customers actually save and buy together.
- Set a free-shipping threshold just above your current AOV.
- Recommend complementary items based on wishlist interest.
- Add volume or tiered incentives where they fit your catalog.
- Re-engage saved items to grow future order value.
- Track AOV by segment and test one lever at a time.
Lift Every Order You Already Get
Learning how to increase average order value is really about respecting the traffic you’ve already earned. Instead of spending more to find new shoppers, you help the ones already buying find a little more they genuinely want. Bundles, thresholds, and smart recommendations do the lifting. Wishlist data tells you where to aim them.
Here’s the short version:
- Bundle products that belong together using real behavior.
- Set a free-shipping threshold just above your AOV.
- Recommend what shoppers already want with wishlist data.
- Use volume and tiered incentives to reward bigger baskets.
- Re-engage saved items at the right moment using email reminders.
Want to know what to recommend? Use SaveTo Wishlist Pro analytics to see what your shoppers are saving.
FAQs: How To Increase Average Order Value
What is a good average order value?
There’s no universal target, since AOV varies hugely by product type and price point. The useful goal is to raise your own AOV over time. Track it monthly and test tactics that nudge it upward, rather than comparing to an industry number that may not fit your store.
What’s the easiest way to increase average order value?
A free-shipping threshold set just above your current AOV is one of the simplest, highest-impact tactics. Shoppers will often add an item to qualify, especially when you show how close they are to unlocking it.
How do wishlists help increase AOV?
Wishlists reveal what shoppers are interested in and which products they save together. That lets you build relevant bundles and recommendations instead of guessing. Order value rises because the suggestions actually match what the customer wants.
Do discounts hurt AOV?
They can if used carelessly, but structured incentives like volume discounts and spend thresholds usually lift AOV by encouraging larger orders. The key is tying the discount to spending more, not just shaving the price of what’s already in the cart.
How often should I review my AOV?
Monthly is a sensible cadence for most stores. Review AOV overall and by segment, check how your bundles and thresholds are performing, and adjust one lever at a time so you can see what’s driving the change.
How long does it take to see results when learning how to increase average order value?
Because you’re targeting shoppers who are already in your store and ready to buy, you can often see a lift in revenue within a few days of implementing simple changes like a free-shipping threshold or an in-cart volume discount.
