Average order value (AOV)

Average order value, usually shortened to AOV, is total takings divided by the number of orders over the same period. It is the most useful single number in a takeaway or a shop: almost every improvement either raises order value or raises order count, and raising value is normally the cheaper of the two. It also decides what a commission rate costs you in cash, because a percentage of a bigger basket is a bigger number.

In practice

Average order value is takings divided by orders over the same period. It is the most useful single number in a takeaway or a shop, because almost every improvement either raises it or raises order count, and raising AOV is usually cheaper.

It also decides how much a commission rate actually costs you: the same percentage on a higher AOV takes more cash per order, which is why busy shops with large baskets feel aggregator fees most sharply. When vendors advertise a result like "30% AOV increase", that is the measure they mean, and it is worth asking over what period and against what baseline.

The practical levers are the ones a screen does better than a person: offering the side every time, showing the meal deal next to the item rather than on another page, and making the second item two taps away instead of five.

Also called: AOV, basket size.

Questions people ask about average order value (aov)

How do I calculate average order value?

Take the total value of orders over a period and divide it by the number of orders in that same period. Keep the two sides consistent: counting a week of takings against a month of orders is the commonest error, and mixing collection and delivery hides the fact that they usually have quite different baskets.

What is a good average order value?

There is no published benchmark worth quoting, because it depends entirely on your menu, your prices and your mix of collection and delivery. The number that matters is your own, measured against your own last quarter. Any vendor advertising an average for your trade is averaging businesses that are nothing like yours.

Why do vendors advertise an AOV increase?

Because it is the easiest number to move and the hardest to verify. When a kiosk or ordering platform claims a percentage uplift, ask over what period, against what baseline, and whether the comparison is the same shop before and after or a different channel entirely. A screen that offers the side every time genuinely does raise it; the size of the effect depends on the menu.

Where to go next

Kiosk tills, which raise it without pressure →