Boosting your revenue without drastically increasing customer acquisition costs can sound like a dream to many marketplace sellers, but it’s highly achievable. One of the most effective ways to do this is by increasing your Average Order Value (AOV). AOV refers to the average amount customers spend per transaction. By implementing strategic adjustments, sellers can significantly grow their revenue through existing traffic.
In this article, we’ll walk you through five essential tactics to increase AOV on your marketplace store, helping you turn casual browsers into high-value buyers. These tried-and-tested techniques work across diverse marketplaces, whether you sell on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or your own eCommerce platform.
Contents
1. Use Product Bundling to Your Advantage
Bundling products is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to increase AOV. By combining multiple items into a package—often at a slight discount—you not only create value for the customer but also encourage them to spend more than they originally intended.
Examples of effective bundles include:
- Complementary product sets (e.g., coffee maker + coffee pods + mug)
- “Buy More, Save More” packs (e.g., 3 T-shirts for $50 instead of $60)
- Starter kits (e.g., skincare set or home repair toolkit)
Bundling works especially well because it’s perceived as a better deal, increases perceived value, and often offers convenience, all of which motivate customers to buy more in a single transaction.
2. Implement Strategic Upselling and Cross-Selling
Upselling involves suggesting a higher-end version of the product a customer is viewing, while cross-selling recommends complementary items. Both strategies can drive AOV by steering customers toward spending more than they initially planned.
Pro tips for effective upselling and cross-selling:
- Use pop-ups or sidebars to display recommended items based on browsing behavior
- Highlight higher-quality versions of products with minimal price difference
- Feature “Frequently bought together” suggestions on product pages
It’s important to ensure the suggestions make sense and add value, rather than coming across as pushy sales tactics.
3. Offer Threshold-Based Incentives
Encouraging customers to spend just a bit more to unlock a reward can be a powerful motivator. Threshold incentives usually come in the form of:
- Free shipping on orders over a certain amount (e.g., $50)
- Discounts for reaching a minimum cart value (e.g., spend $75 and get 10% off)
- Free gifts or samples with qualifying purchases
These offers work because they play into consumer psychology—nobody wants to leave value or rewards on the table.
4. Create a Sense of Urgency and Scarcity
Urgency and scarcity can subtly nudge customers to act quickly and buy more. Time-sensitive promotions and limited-quantity offers create the perception that delaying a purchase could mean missing out.
How you can create urgency:
- Countdown timers on bundle offers or discounts
- Messaging like “Only 3 left in stock!” or “Offer ends in 2 hours!”
- Flash sales tied to a minimum cart value
When done right, these tactics not only increase AOV but can also speed up the purchase decision, reducing cart abandonment.
5. Optimize Your Product Pages and Checkout Flow
Simply making it easier for shoppers to find relevant products and complete a purchase can have a profound effect on AOV. Optimized product pages and a frictionless checkout experience encourage customers to explore more and follow through with higher-value purchases.
Key features to optimize include:
- Clear pricing and value proposition
- High-quality images and engaging descriptions
- Suggestions for upsells and cross-sells near the Add to Cart button
- A seamless, mobile-responsive checkout experience
Final Thoughts
Focusing on AOV is a cost-effective way for marketplace sellers to scale profits and improve customer satisfaction simultaneously. By bundling products, upselling strategically, offering smart incentives, instilling urgency, and optimizing usability, you’re not just increasing order sizes—you’re providing a richer and more efficient shopping experience.
With ongoing testing and smart implementation of these five key tactics, your marketplace store can grow value without necessarily growing traffic. Remember, the goal isn’t just to have more customers—it’s to maximize value from each one that walks through your digital door.