Average order value (AOV)

Why it matters

AOV is one of the three levers of online revenue, next to traffic and conversion rate. Raising it, through bundles, free-shipping thresholds or better product pages, grows revenue without paying for more visitors.

Worked example

The table shows the columns this metric needs from six months of a made-up subscription brand. Add each column up over the six months, then put the totals into the formula:

₹28,28,700 ÷ 4,796 = ₹589.80

Add up first, then divide. Averaging the six monthly figures gives a slightly different answer, because it counts a small month the same as a large one.

Month by month

AOV calculator

How to read it

Watch AOV next to order count. AOV rising while orders fall can mean you lost your smaller, more price-sensitive buyers rather than that customers are spending more.

Common mistakes

• Use the same revenue definition on both sides: if revenue is after discounts and refunds, say so, and do not mix it with an order count that includes cancelled orders.
• A few very large orders can lift the average. Check the median order value too; if the two drift apart, a handful of buyers is moving the figure.
• Do not average the monthly AOVs to get a yearly figure. Add up the revenue and the orders first, then divide, or a quiet month counts as much as a busy one.

Calculate average order value in Excel, SQL or Python

The quickest version, for the sample sheet laid out as in the CSV (headers in row 1, months in rows 2 to 7):

=SUM(B2:B7) / SUM(N2:N7)

• Average order value in Excel and Google Sheets — per-month formula and zero-safe version
• Average order value in SQL — query by month and for the period
• Average order value in Python (pandas) — pandas script with expected output

Related metrics

• Units per transaction (UPT)
• Average selling price (ASP)
• Revenue per session
• Conversion rate
• Average discount per order

See all business metrics, or the statistics methods that sit behind them.

Questions people ask

What is average order value?

Average order value (AOV) is the average amount a customer spends per order. Divide revenue for a period by the number of orders in the same period.

How do you calculate average order value?

Average order value = Revenue ÷ Number of orders. For example, with six months of sample data: ₹28,28,700 ÷ 4,796 = ₹589.80.

What is the AOV formula in Excel?

With the sample data laid out as in the downloadable CSV, =SUM(B2:B7) / SUM(N2:N7) gives the figure for the whole period. For one month, use =B2 / N2 and fill it down.

What is a good average order value?

There is no figure that is right for every business: it depends on your products, prices and channels. Watch AOV next to order count. AOV rising while orders fall can mean you lost your smaller, more price-sensitive buyers rather than that customers are spending more.

Check how stable it is

• Standard deviation
• Moving average
• Z-score
• Linear trend forecast

Guides

• How to find out what changed in your sales data — 2 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read
• Excel data analysis: formulas, PivotTables and the ToolPak — 3 min read

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 monthly.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.