Average order value (AOV) is your total revenue divided by number of orders. Doubling it is equivalent to doubling your customer count - but without the customer acquisition cost. Every tactic that adds even £5 to the average basket compounds across every order for the lifetime of your store.
The free shipping threshold: the highest-ROI AOV tactic
Set a free shipping threshold slightly above your current AOV and display it prominently throughout the buying experience. "You're £12 away from free shipping" in the cart converts a meaningful percentage of customers into adding another item.
The psychology: free shipping is perceived as more valuable than an equivalent cash discount. A customer who would have ignored "10% off orders over £50" will often add a product to unlock "free shipping on orders over £50."
The implementation: Shopify admin → Settings → Shipping → add a "Free shipping" condition for orders above your threshold. Display it in the cart via your theme's cart drawer or a sticky progress bar (many themes include this, or apps like Cart X add it). Mention it in your navigation bar announcement.
Review your AOV in Shopify Analytics monthly. Set the threshold at 20–30% above your current AOV and adjust as your AOV grows.
Bundles and sets
Bundles package products together at a slight discount, increasing the total transaction while reducing the per-unit margin slightly. The net effect on revenue per order is almost always positive.
Bundle types that work well on Shopify:
- Starter kits - everything a new customer needs to use the product properly. Works well for consumables, supplements, skincare, and any product with complementary accessories.
- Quantity bundles - "buy 3, save 15%" for consumables. Increases order value and reduces the frequency of repeat purchase decisions.
- Curated sets - a selection of related products presented as a complete solution. "The Morning Routine Set" (cleanser, toner, moisturiser) increases AOV and simplifies the decision for customers who don't know how to navigate a large catalogue.
Bundles in Shopify can be created as a single product with a combined price, or via a bundle app (Bundler, Fast Bundle) that maintains individual product inventory while offering a combined checkout experience. For simple bundles, creating a product with a combined variant is the lowest-friction approach.
Post-purchase upsells
A post-purchase upsell is an offer shown immediately after a customer completes an order - on the thank-you page, before they leave the checkout. The customer is in buying mode, their payment details are already entered, and they've already made a positive decision about your brand.
Post-purchase upsells convert at 10–20% - significantly higher than any pre-purchase upsell, because the purchase anxiety is gone. A customer who just bought a £30 skincare product and sees "Add your refill pouch for £12 - added to your existing order" will often click yes.
Apps: ReConvert, Zipify. Both integrate with Shopify's post-purchase extension points and allow you to configure product offers based on what was just purchased. Set up one post-purchase upsell offer as a starting point and measure conversion before building out a complex sequence.
Product recommendations in the cart
Customers with items in their cart and a moment before checkout are receptive to one more suggestion. "Customers who bought this also bought..." in the cart drawer or cart page increases AOV when the recommendation is genuinely relevant - and decreases confidence when it isn't.
Configure cross-sell recommendations in Shopify admin (Online Store → Themes → Customise → your cart section) or via your theme's built-in recommendation features. Ensure recommendations are based on actual purchase correlation, not just random products - Shopify's recommendation API uses order history to surface genuinely relevant items.
Gift wrapping and premium packaging options
An add-on option for gift wrapping (£3–£5), a gift message, or premium packaging converts a portion of customers - particularly around seasonal gift-giving periods. This adds revenue per order with minimal cost if your fulfilment can accommodate it.
In Shopify, implement this as a product with no shipping weight (so it doesn't affect shipping costs), or as a cart attribute with an associated price line via your theme or an app like Gift Wrap.
Volume discounts that require larger orders
For products sold in multiples - consumables, stationery, food - a tiered discount that rewards higher quantities drives AOV without training single-purchase customers to wait for discounts.
Example: "Buy 1: £15. Buy 3: £13 each. Buy 6: £11 each." The customer who would have bought one will often buy three when the per-unit saving is clear. Shopify's native discount system handles basic volume discounts; more complex tiered pricing typically requires an app or Shopify Functions on Plus.
What doesn't work (or works less than expected)
Pre-add-to-cart upsell popups. Interrupting the customer before they've added a product to cart with an upsell for a different product is friction at the worst moment. They haven't committed to buying yet - adding more options increases cognitive load, not basket size.
Personalisation without enough data. "Because you viewed X, you might like Y" is only valuable when the recommendation is genuinely relevant. Without sufficient purchase history to power meaningful recommendations, personalisation widgets show random products and contribute nothing to AOV.
Loyalty points that can't be redeemed for a long time. A loyalty programme that takes six purchases to generate a £5 reward doesn't feel rewarding in the moment and doesn't change purchasing behaviour. Points work best when the next reward is visible and achievable within one or two more orders.
