Increasing average order value in subscriptions
How upselling and adding products to a subscription raise average order value (AOV).
Average order value (AOV) is total revenue divided by the number of orders. In a subscription, AOV grows when customers add products or upgrade the ones they already get.
Approaches
- Add to the next delivery: let customers add a one-off or recurring item to an upcoming order in a single step.
- Bundling: if customers can bundle more of what they already buy into one subscription, they have a reason to consolidate their spending with you.
- Payment frequency: when payment isn't tied to each shipment, adding another product isn't another separate charge.
Guardrails
Upselling that leads to overstocking can backfire and increase churn. The aim is to increase how much of the customer's spend goes to you on products they actually use.