10 Ecommerce Average Order Value Statistics (Updated 2020)

Average order value: $128*
*Based on ten different ecommerce studies listed below.

Average order value is a central ecommerce metric.

Along with ecommerce conversion rate and average lifetime value, it makes up the “big three” of ecommerce optimization.

Retailers seeking to grow their revenue ignore it at their peril!

But it’s often difficult figuring out where you stand. Is your average order value (AOV) blazing ahead of the rest of your industry competitors? Or are you limping behind like a three-legged horse?

In this post, we’re going to give you all the data you need to determine exactly how your average order value compares to your competitors.

Here’s a quick list of all the main points you’ll find in this article:

1. List of Ecommerce Average Order Value Benchmarks
2. Other Notable Studies (Not Included in Average)
3. How Important Is Average Order Value?
4. What Are the Top Sources for Benchmarks?
5. How to Calculate Average Order Value?
6. What Is a Good Average Order Value?
7. Average Order Value Benchmarks by Industry
8. Average Order Value Benchmarks by Channel/Source
9. Average Order Value Benchmarks by Device and Platform
10. Conclusion on Average Order Value Benchmarks

Check them all out!

List of Ecommerce Average Order Value Benchmarks

British Pounds

• GPB 86.98 ($100): IRP Commerce (Q1 2019)
• GPB 91.37 ($116) IRP Commerce (November 2018)

US Dollars

• $133.77: Monetate Ecommerce Quarterly (Q3 2018)
• $132.62: Monetate Ecommerce Quarterly (2018)
• $119.02 Salesforce Commerce Cloud (2018)
• $82.00: Comscore (2017)
• $115.38 DEMAC Media (2016)
• $72.00: RJMetrics (2015)

EUROs

• EUR 282 ($250): Wolfgang Digital KPI Report (2019)
• EUR 139 ($158): Wolfgang Digital (2017)

Missed Something? Help Us Out

Have we missed anything out? If you know about any studies that ought to be on this list, please get in touch at [email protected]

Other Notable Studies (Not Included in Average)

• Here’s an interesting study by Mobify that breaks AOV into different tiers and looks at the device usage, revenue generation and conversion rates for each.
• Email marketing company Klaviyo released some fascinating data covering a range of metrics that relate specifically to traffic from different types of emails (campaigns, welcome emails, abandoned cart emails etc.). On average, the AOV for traffic from general email campaigns (as opposed to emails sent based on specific triggers like sign-up or cart abandonment) is $99.80, with a difference of $103.63 between Garden & Home Good ($142.43) and Arts & Crafts ($38.80).

How Important Is Average Order Value?

At Growcode, we think average order value is one of the key ecommerce metrics that online retailers seeking to grow their revenues need to focus on.

But there are a few caveats.

On the one hand, it sounds simple. If you boost the amount customers are paying whenever they buy from you, that’s a good thing, right? And the answer, of course, is yes. But the broader picture is a little more complex.

In fact, while focusing on average order value alone will result in a boost to revenue, it almost certainly won’t be the best possible outcome you can achieve.

As we outlined in a recent post, there are four metrics that ecommerce retailers should optimize for: conversions, average order value, purchase frequency (repeat transactions average), and customer retention period.

So while average order absolutely is important, it’s only part of the bigger picture.

It’s also worth mentioning that it’s important to account for variation between verticals.

While it is useful to have external benchmarks, AOVs can vary drastically between markets, seasons, and even individual stores. It’s always important to formulate your own KPIs (key performance indicators) based on a mix of competitor data, market-specific benchmarks and, of course, your own in-house data.

What Are the Top Sources for Benchmarks?

We regularly cite a number of key sources when compiling “roundup” benchmarks. In ensuring that your own KPIs are up-to-date, it’s useful to be aware of them. These sources invariably use either information gathered from their own users or large quantities of data from third-parties as the basis of their reports.

• IRP Commerce – IRP Commerce is one of the best sources of aggregated data available to online retailers. The publish an array of up-to-date metrics broken down by country, industry, seasonality and more. The focus is on UK ecommerce markets.
• Monetate – Monetate publishes a quarterly ecommerce benchmark report based on its own user data from its optimization platform. It’s a valuable source of information that leverages a wide spectrum of online stores.
• Comscore – Comscore is an analytics company that regularly publishes benchmarks in the ecommerce space.
• Wolfgang Digital: Wolfgang Digital is a large digital marketing company that regularly publishes summaries of in-house ecommerce and campaign data. In its last ecommerce KPI report, the company analysed transactions amounting to over 500 million euros.

How to Calculate Average Order Value?

Average order value (AOV) is a relatively simple metric to calculate. You just need to take the total revenue over a given period and divide it by the number of orders made over that same period.

If, for instance, a store has generated $1000 of revenue over the previous month, and there were 100 orders, the AOV is calculated by dividing $1000 by 100 to give a figure of $10.

Boosting your average order value is fundamentally about encouraging customers to (1) buy more items and (2) buy items that cost more. Creating greater ecommerce urgency and promoting up-sells and cross-sells are two excellent ways of achieving this and are also great conversion rate optimization tips.

What Is a Good Average Order Value?

The million-dollar question that every online retailer has probably asked at some point is: “What constitutes a good average order value?”

Every answer will be different, and the average metric above is only useful as a loose reference-point. When determining your own KPIs and goals, it’s worth keeping the following points in mind:

• There are significant disparities between industries – According to IRP Commerce, the average order value for ecommerce stores selling “Agricultural Supplies” was GBP 63.95 in November 2018 (or around $80). Compare this with GBP 80.11 (over $100) for “Pet Care”. It’s crucial to account for differences between industries. What might be an excellent AOV for somebody else in a different vertical might be well above or below average for you.
• Be aware of anomalies – Certain stores will cite abnormally high metrics, including average order values. Amazon, for example, boasts a stupendously high conversion rate of 13%. It’s important to be aware that any individual store doesn’t set the overall benchmark.
• You should develop specific AOVs for different devices – When formulating your own KPIs, it’s important to set different goals across devices. As you can see from the data below in the section that looks at AOVs across devices, the numbers vary significantly. The AOV of purchases made through Windows desktops is well above double that for iPhones.
• Be aware of seasonality – Average order values will be higher at certain times of the year (e.g. Christmas) and this is an important point to be aware of.

Assuming that your own average order value exists within a reasonable spectrum given industry standards (i.e. that it’s not exceptionally lower) then it’s probably fair to say that you don’t have any major problems.

In such a case, a “good” average order value is simply one that’s better than your previous one, whether calculated on a yearly or even monthly basis.

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Average Order Value by Industry

Industry-specific benchmarks are among the most useful reference-points for your own performance.

IRP Commerce is a compiler of data about UK markets. The company publishes up-to-date metrics across a number of verticals and is, in our opinion, the best real-time source of information in this space. It’s also interesting to see the significant disparities that occur between industries.
The “Baby and Child” category leads the way at GBP 189.35 while “Kitchen and Home Appliances” lags behind with an AOV of GBP 55.61. Remember that these figures are only for November. For a month-by-month breakdown visit the IRP Commerce site. Average Order Value by Industry in GBP: Baby and Child: 189.35; Cars and Motorcycling: 130.93; Fashion Clothing and Accessories: 117.51; Food and Drink: 113.92; Sports and Recreation: 94.15; Pet Care: 80.11; Home Accessories and Giftware: 76.55; Arts and Crafts: 76.49; Agricultural Supplies: 63.95; Electrical and Commercial Equipment: 60.36; Kitchen & Home Appliances: 55.61; Health and Wellbeing: 37.96.

Average Order Value by Channel/Source

When retailers separate average order values by source, they are able to see which traffic avenues drive the highest revenue. This enables them to do two things. First, it’s possible to allocate further resources to those top-performing channels. Second, online retailers can formulate more accurate channel-specific KPIs, with specific goals tied to each individual source.
Direct traffic commands the highest average order value, with email coming a close second. Average Order Value by Source: Unknown: $225.95; Direct Navigation: $107.37; E-mail: $99.9; Search: $91.74; Social: $73.83.

Average Order Value by Device and Platform

Desktop still leads the way by a sizeable margin when it comes to device-specific average order values, with Windows computers driving the highest of all.

Global average order value by platform according to Monetate. Average Order Value by Platform: Windows: $199.12; Macintosh: $122.57; Linux: $112.49; iOS: $85.74; Chrome Os: $72.56; Android: $69.58; Windows Phone: $59.34.
One of the big challenges facing ecommerce retailers is the growing use of mobile phones to make online purchases. Mobile commerce sales account for nearly half of all ecommerce sales, yet average order values remain comparatively lower. There is a significant opportunity for ecommerce retailers to boost metrics like conversion rates and AOVs on mobile devices to bring them closer to desktop levels.

Traditional desktop is the clear leader when it comes to average order value. Average Order Value by Device: Traditional: $179.98; Tablet: $87.01; Smartphone: $79.33; Other: $70.95.

Conclusion on Average Order Value Benchmarks

If you can boost your average order value, your revenue will increase. It’s really that simple.

Whenever we work with a new client at Growcode (BTW do you know that we were recognized as a top conversion rate optimization agency on Clutch?!), we always conduct a comprehensive analysis looking at how we can grow average order value by changing and tweaking different page formats. In particular, positive changes during product page optimization can have a sizeable impact on average order value.

The key thing to remember about general benchmarks is that they are only tools to help you form your own KPIs. It’s also important to focus on high-quality studies that are close to your own specific circumstances in terms of country, verticals and traffic sources.

Just always keep in mind: the best AOV is one that’s higher than the previous month’s.

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