8 Effective Methods To Increase Shopping Cart & Order Values
The shopping cart value (also known as order value) – it is often still treated very poorly by many online shops. Yet the shopping cart value can be significantly and easily increased with the right measures. The fact that this optimization pays off in the long term is directly reflected in the increase in turnover and profit. Increasing the shopping cart value is ultimately one of most effective ways to do so by online retailers. In this article you will find everything you need to know to increase your shopping cart value.
What is the average shopping cart value?
The average shopping cart is an important key figure for an online shop and is also called Average Order Value (AOV). It defines the total sum of all products purchased during an order process. This also includes shipping costs, taxes or discounts. The more expensive products are, the faster the shopping cart value increases. For example, the shopping cart value is significantly higher for a booked trip than for the purchase of books.
A survey of online shop operators reveals that the average shopping cart value in most cases is between €21 and €50 and between €51 and €100.
Of course, the average order value also depends on the target group and especially the industry. Therefore, we would like to take a look at the average shopping cart value of the different industries. The shopping cart value in the travel industry in 2018 is €1,450 per order, followed by around €167 for home and garden products and €161 for technology. Fashion is shopped for around €133 per order. Books have an average order value of €23. Due to the pandemic, these values have shifted, of course.
How do I calculate the average cart value?
The average shopping cart value is calculated by dividing the turnover by the number of orders. The result shows the average shopping cart value per order.
An example: The total turnover in the month of August was €45,000 and 2,000 orders were placed. €45,000 / 2000 orders = €22.50. The average basket of goods was therefore € 22.50 in this month.
Reliable shopping cart value data can be conveniently accessed via various analyses and reports in shop systems. You can also record the key figure in Google Analytics with additional ecommerce tracking.
8 Highly Effective Methods to Increase Shopping Cart Value
A wide variety of measures lead to a higher shopping cart value. If you want to increase the shopping cart value sustainably and in the long term, implement planning, implementation, analysis and optimisation as a fixed workflow in the marketing strategy or as a sub-area of conversion rate optimisation.
Increasing Order Value with Cross-Selling
“Customer XY, you’ve just bought a golf club, how about the matching golf bag while you’re at it?” Cross-selling is about offering the customer a complementary product to their already selected item. The extra offers an additional benefit that the selected product alone cannot fulfil. Cross-selling is an ideal tool to increase shopping cart value, as it is directly related to the product and thus eliminates a large part of the persuasion.
Increase Order Value with Up-Selling
“Customer XY, you have just decided on the Pro 20 golf club. Wouldn’t you rather take the Pro 30 golf club, which costs just €20 more, but improves your handicap by an average of 10%?” With up-selling, the customer is offered high-priced alternative products to his choice. In doing so, he is shown that the upseller can satisfy his needs even better and that the added value he receives as a result is significantly higher. The upgrade is a win-win situation for both sides.
You can find out more about cross-selling and up-selling in our article Sales increase: Turnover in your online shop.
Free Shipping for Bigger Shopping Cart Value
“Customer XY, if you order your golf clubs from me, you get free shipping”. Free shipping is always a good way to increase the shopping cart value or ensure the completion of the purchase. Many online shops now offer free shipping. If you can’t or don’t want to establish this, you can find a good alternative in a minimum order quantity for free shipping or special promotions.
Maximize Order Value with Quantity Discounts
“Customer XY, if you buy 2 golf socks at once, you get 20% off”. Quantity discounts encourage more purchases and thus automatically increase the shopping cart value. Why not buy more and save at the same time? A quantity discount is a good way to increase the shopping cart value of consumer goods. Since the product is bought in such and such a way, it is a good idea to take a second product and keep it in stock.
Increase Shopping Cart Value with Vouchers / Coupons
“Customer XY, if you shop today for €100 of golf clothing, you will get a €10 voucher for this or the next order”. Vouchers are real shopping basket boosters if they are linked to a minimum order value. The customer is thus incentivised to bring their shopping cart value up to the promoted purchase amount. Learn how to use vouchers profitably in our blog post on voucher codes.
Increase Your Average Order Value with Bundles
“Customer XY, we’ve put together a starter golf set especially for you, so you can get started straight away. In doing so, you save 10% compared to buying it individually.” With a so-called product bundle, the customer directly receives everything he needs or which complements each other well thematically. The incentive for the customer: He also saves money in the process! The shopping cart value increases by the additional purchases.
Refund Policy and Free Return Shipping
“Customer XY, if you don’t like the golf equipment after all, you can return it to us free of charge within 30 days.” Around 23% make sure before buying that they can return goods free of charge. In general, the inhibition threshold to order is significantly lower if the customer has the certainty of being able to return the goods.
Fundraising Campaigns
“Customer XY, from an order value of €50 give €2 to a charitable organisation.” Charity can also be an incentive to increase shopping cart value. Such donation campaigns also lend themselves to strong customer loyalty, from which you profit in the long term.
Some things to consider before you start
In order to increase your average shopping cart value, it is a necessary condition that products are purchased in the first place and that no shopping carts are abandoned: Before implementing measures to increase an average order value, it should be checked in advance whether customers abandon the shopping carts at an early stage. If this is the case, it is important to see at which point in the customer journey your visitors abandon and to initiate appropriate measures.
Exit Intent Pop-ups that reduce shopping cart abandonment by up to 30% can be helpful. With uptain, smart software recognises the reasons for shopping cart abandonment and ensures that visitors become customers after all, in a situationally appropriate and personalised manner. If customers have already abandoned the basket, personalised Abandoned Cart Emails from uptain bring the shopping cart abandoners back, depending on the reason for abandonment.
In addition to the conversion rate as a central KPI in e-commerce, the shopping basket value is also an important success factor for increasing sales in online retail. In order to efficiently increase the shopping basket value, there are various psychological as well as technical methods that contribute to increasing sales.
Frequently asked questions about shopping cart value
How can you increase your average shopping cart value?
Eight methods work reliably: cross-selling complementary products, up-selling higher-priced alternatives, free shipping, quantity discounts, vouchers tied to a minimum order value, product bundles at a reduced price, a generous refund policy with free returns, and fundraising campaigns from a set order value. Treat planning, implementation, analysis and optimisation as a fixed workflow rather than a one-off action.
How do you calculate the average shopping cart value?
Divide your turnover by the number of orders in the same period; the result is the average shopping cart value per order. An example: with a turnover of €45,000 in August and 2,000 orders placed, the calculation is €45,000 divided by 2,000 orders, giving €22.50. Shop systems provide this key figure in their reports, and Google Analytics does so with additional ecommerce tracking.
How high is the average shopping cart value in online retail?
A survey of online shop operators puts the average shopping cart value in most cases between €21 and €50 or between €51 and €100. Industry matters far more than any overall figure: travel reaches around €1,450 per order, home and garden products about €167, technology €161, fashion roughly €133 and books only €23. Target group and product price level shift these values considerably.
What is the shopping cart value?
The shopping cart value, also called order value, is the total sum of all products purchased during one order process, including shipping costs, taxes and discounts. Averaged across all orders it becomes the Average Order Value, an important key figure for every online shop. The more expensive your products, the faster the value rises. A booked trip outweighs a book purchase by far.
How do cross-selling and up-selling raise the order value?
Cross-selling offers a complementary product to the item already chosen, for example a golf bag to go with a new golf club. Because the extra is directly related to the product, much of the persuasion is already done. Up-selling instead proposes a higher-priced alternative that meets the customer’s need even better, so the added value justifies the upgrade for both sides.
What should you check before increasing your shopping cart value?
First make sure that purchases are completed at all and carts are not abandoned early. Check at which point in the customer journey visitors drop out and take appropriate measures there. Exit-Intent Popups that reduce cart abandonment by up to 30 percent help, and personalised Abandoned Cart Emails from uptain bring back shoppers who have already left, depending on the reason for abandonment.
Why is the shopping cart value important for online shops?
Alongside the conversion rate, the shopping cart value is a central success factor for increasing sales in online retail, yet many shops still neglect it. Raising it pays off in the long term and shows directly in higher turnover and profit. Because both psychological and technical methods are available, it is one of the most effective levers online retailers have.
