In Excel or Google Sheets, mean for the sample data is =AVERAGE(C2:C31). It returns 32.73.
Mean = Sum of all values ÷ Number of values
Step by step
- Download daily.csv below and open it in Excel (File → Open) or Google Sheets (File → Import). Columns: A day, B ad_spend, C website_orders, D app_orders, E avg_basket; data in rows 2 to 31.
- Click an empty cell and enter =AVERAGE(C2:C31).
- Check the result against 32.73. If it differs, check that the ranges cover rows 2 to 31 and that no cell holds text instead of a number.
The formula
=AVERAGE(C2:C31)Expected result on the sample data: 32.73.
What the result means
Here the mean is pulled up a little by day 17, a one-day sale with 61 orders. When one or two values are far from the rest, compare the mean with the median before quoting it.
Notes for Excel
- Google Sheets supports the same function names. In locales that use a comma as the decimal separator, separate arguments with semicolons.
- Excel functions skip blank cells and text but include zeros. A missing day typed as 0 changes the answer; leave it blank if it is unknown.
Where mean misleads
- One extreme value can move the mean a long way. The median is not affected by how extreme the extremes are.
- An average of averages is not the overall average unless every group is the same size. Weight by size, or add up first.
- Blank cells are ignored by AVERAGE but zeros are not. A day with no orders recorded as blank raises the average.
The plain-language explanation is on the Mean (average) page.
The data
| day | website_orders |
|---|---|
| 1 | 24 |
| 2 | 27 |
| 3 | 22 |
| 4 | 30 |
| 5 | 28 |
| 6 | 25 |
| 7 | 31 |
| 8 | 29 |
| 9 | 26 |
| 10 | 33 |
| 11 | 30 |
| 12 | 28 |
| 13 | 35 |
| 14 | 32 |
| 15 | 29 |
| 16 | 34 |
| 17 | 61 |
| 18 | 31 |
| 19 | 36 |
| 20 | 33 |
| 21 | 30 |
| 22 | 37 |
| 23 | 35 |
| 24 | 32 |
| 25 | 38 |
| 26 | 36 |
| 27 | 34 |
| 28 | 40 |
| 29 | 37 |
| 30 | 39 |
Same method, other tools
Related methods
Learn more about Excel
About the data on this page
The figures come from a small made-up dataset, printed above in full so you can check every number by hand. Download it as daily.csv. The results are computed from those rows when the page is built, and the Excel formulas, SQL and Python on these pages are run against the same rows before publishing, so the code and the answers agree.
To get these numbers from your own data without writing formulas, try AnalyzeIt: ask in plain words and it shows the working behind every figure.
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