Most advice on increasing average order value revolves around the same ideas: bundles, upsells, cross-sells and discounts. They all have their place. But some of the biggest gains come from changing how people buy, not just what they buy.
If you’re looking for smarter ways to boost your average order value, it might be time to think beyond the usual tactics. Here are four ideas that don’t get talked about enough but can make a real difference to your AOV.
1. Encourage Better, Slower Browsing
At first glance, this sounds counterintuitive. Surely the faster someone gets through your website, the better? Not necessarily.
The idea comes from product page specialist Rishi Rawat, who argues that speed is important during checkout and repeat purchases, but it can actually hurt conversion quality and average order value during the discovery stage of the customer journey.
When shoppers move too quickly through a website, they often compare products on price alone, skim over the details, and default to the safest or cheapest option. Good website optimisation isn’t always about helping customers move faster.
The goal isn’t to slow people down for the sake of it. It’s to create useful pauses that help shoppers feel more confident in their purchase and, in turn, justify spending more.
Interior designer Abigail Ahern nails this approach. Instead of simply showcasing products, she shares styling advice, inspiration, and practical tips that help shoppers picture items in their own homes.
More confidence usually translates into bigger baskets. When shoppers understand why a premium product is worth the extra spend, they’re less likely to default to the cheapest option.
It also helps to have the right foundations in place, starting with choosing the best e-commerce platform.
2. Don’t Ignore the Power of a Post-Purchase Offer
Once the purchase is complete, the hardest decision has already been made. Shoppers are no longer deciding whether to buy – they’re deciding whether there’s anything else that would genuinely improve what they’ve just purchased. That’s why relevant post-purchase recommendations often outperform pre-purchase upsells.
Kettle & Fire does this well by recommending products, post-purchase, that naturally pair with what customers have just bought.
Etsy takes a similar approach by including personalised product suggestions in its order confirmation emails – messages shoppers are already likely to open.
The best post-purchase offers feel like a helpful next step not another sales pitch.
3. Offer Better Payment Options
Sometimes the barrier isn’t the product or the price. It’s paying the full amount today. Giving shoppers more time to settle a purchase can unlock larger baskets without reducing your prices.
That’s where the right instalment option can make a difference.
While many instalment solutions focus on increasing conversion rates, look for one that can also increase average order value.
Merchants that offer card-linked instalments can give their shoppers more flexibility at checkout. Unlike traditional instalment products that rely on issuing new credit, Float enables merchants to offer instalments using the credit shoppers already have. Across Float merchants globally, orders placed using Float are, on average, 134% larger than regular orders.*
And don’t hide payment flexibility at checkout. Take Time4Sleep‘s website as an example. By highlighting instalments on its product pages and allowing customers to view the monthly cost, it encourages upselling by making premium products feel much more attainable.
4. Reward Bigger Baskets
One of the simplest ways to increase AOV is to give shoppers something to work towards. Instead of discounting products across your site, offer something customers unlock once they reach a minimum basket value, whether that’s free delivery, a complimentary gift, or access to an exclusive offer.
When shoppers are close to unlocking a reward, they’re often willing to add one more item to their cart to reach it. It feels less like spending more and more like earning something extra.
The key is to make the reward feel worthwhile. They give shoppers another reason to complete their purchase.
For example, Asos offers free shipping on orders over a threshold, encouraging customers to increase their cart size to meet that threshold if they’re already close.
Start Simple
Increasing average order value doesn’t have to mean making drastic changes. Often, it’s the small improvements that add up over time.
Start with the easiest ideas to implement, measure the results, and build from there.
If you’re looking for one of the simplest ways to get started, start with Float. Float helps merchants increase basket size by 134% on average* by making larger credit card purchases more manageable without issuing new credit.
Become a Float merchant today and start growing your AOV!
*Based on Float global merchant data. UK results may vary.
