Beyond ACOS: A Performance-First Guide to Increasing Average Order Value on Amazon

For too long, eCommerce leaders have been conditioned to view Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS) as the ultimate measure of success on Amazon. But in a world of rising ad costs and razor-thin margins, a low ACOS is often a vanity metric, masking low-value, single-item sales that do little for profitability. It’s time for a strategic pivot. The North Star metric for sustainable, profitable growth isn't ACOS—it's Average Order Value (AOV).

Focusing on increasing average order value shifts the entire conversation from cost-cutting to profit maximization. It’s about making every paid click work harder by turning a single conversion into a larger, more profitable transaction. This isn’t just about making each sale bigger; it’s about architecting a more efficient, resilient, and scalable Amazon business.

Why AOV Is Your New North Star Metric on Amazon

Fixating on ACOS pushes brands into a defensive crouch, fighting for scraps in a commoditized market. A performance-first AOV strategy, however, unlocks a powerful flywheel effect that drives both top-line revenue and bottom-line profitability.

When you deliberately engineer larger baskets, you're not just selling more product; you're fundamentally changing your business economics on the platform.

The AOV Flywheel Effect

• Skyrocket Your Profitability: The cost to pick, pack, and ship two items in one box is only marginally higher than for a single item. This means the profit on a multi-item order is dramatically higher than on two separate orders, directly boosting your bottom line.

• Get More from Your Ad Spend: A higher AOV makes your ad spend inherently more efficient. Your Total Advertising Cost of Sale (TACoS) improves because the total sale value increases, making your ad budget a smaller percentage of overall revenue. This is how paid media becomes a true lever for organic growth.

• Boost Your Sales Velocity: Bigger orders mean higher sales velocity. This is a critical signal for Amazon's A9 algorithm, which rewards this momentum with improved organic search rankings and greater visibility over time.

This isn’t theoretical. The market is already moving in this direction. Amazon's own platform-wide AOV has climbed from $47.31 in 2019 to an estimated $52.05 in 2024—a 10% increase. Consumers are primed for larger purchases; brands that fail to facilitate this behavior are leaving money on the table.

Headline POV: By prioritizing AOV, you move from a defensive, cost-cutting ad strategy to an offensive, growth-focused one. You’re not just making a sale; you’re building a more profitable and resilient Amazon business, one bigger basket at a time.

To see the difference in action, compare the two approaches. The following table illustrates how a strategy centered on AOV fundamentally changes your outcomes compared to one that chases a low ACOS.

ACOS-Focused vs. AOV-Focused Strategy Comparison

Metric	ACOS-Focused Strategy	AOV-Focused Strategy
Primary Goal	Minimize ad spend as a % of ad revenue.	Maximize total profit per customer order.
Typical Order	Single, low-priced item.	Multiple items, bundles, or higher-priced upsells.
Profit Margin	Lower per order due to fixed costs on small sales.	Higher per order due to economies of scale in shipping.
Ad Efficiency	Looks good on paper (low ACOS), but TACoS can be high.	May have a higher ACOS, but TACoS is often lower.
Customer LTV	Lower, as it doesn't encourage repeat or larger buys.	Higher, as it introduces customers to more of your catalog.
Organic Rank	Slower growth in sales velocity.	Faster growth in sales velocity, positively impacting rank.

As you can see, the AOV-focused strategy is built for long-term, sustainable growth, not just short-term ad metrics.

This shift from ACOS to AOV separates brands that are treading water from those achieving scalable growth. The smartest sellers on Amazon are already creating offers that solve bigger problems for their customers and naturally lead to larger orders. For a deeper dive, you can check out this guide on how to increase average order value.

In the sections that follow, we’ll move from theory to execution with practical, data-backed tactics you can deploy immediately.

Build Bigger Baskets with Strategic Bundles and Kits

If you're looking for the most direct path to increasing your average order value, smart product bundling is the answer. This isn't about offloading slow-moving inventory. It's about data-driven curation—creating thoughtful, value-packed kits that solve a complete problem for your customer, making it a no-brainer for them to spend more.

Stop guessing what to bundle. The data is already there. Your Search Query Performance (SQP) reports in Brand Analytics are a goldmine. Hunt for queries that reveal a customer is looking for a solution, not a single item.

For example, a search for "new puppy essentials" is an explicit request for a starter pack. A query like "home office setup" is a clear signal they need more than a monitor. These solution-oriented searches are your roadmap for building bundles that meet existing demand.

Uncovering Bundle Opportunities with Data

For a more advanced analysis, leverage the Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). By analyzing customer purchase paths, you can identify which of your products are frequently bought together over time, even across separate transactions. AMC helps you spot the non-obvious combinations that are already driving bigger baskets organically.

For example, a beauty brand used AMC to analyze purchase paths and discovered that customers who bought their Vitamin C serum frequently purchased their SPF 50 moisturizer within the next two weeks. This insight led them to create a "Morning Glow Kit," a physically kitted bundle that quickly became a top-10 seller and increased AOV for that product category by 18%.

Headline POV: Stop thinking in terms of simple cross-sells and start creating complete solutions. You’re not just suggesting another item—you're offering a convenient, pre-packaged solution that makes your customer's life easier. That's how you shift the focus from price to genuine value.

A wellness brand selling a popular sleep aid might use this data to create a "Restful Night Kit" with chamomile tea and a silk eye mask. A tool company could bundle a cordless drill with a bit set and a carrying case, creating the perfect "DIY Starter Kit."

Virtual Bundles vs. Physical Kits

Once you've identified your ideal pairings, you have two primary ways to execute on Amazon: virtual bundles and physically kitted bundles. Each has distinct operational advantages and disadvantages.

Virtual Bundles

• The Good: No pre-packaging or new UPCs required. You can create and test different combinations instantly with zero inventory risk. This is ideal for validating the hypotheses you developed from your AMC or SQP data.
• The Bad: Items ship separately, which can feel disconnected for the customer. The discount is applied at checkout, lacking the visual punch of a single, lower bundle price on the product detail page.

Physically Kitted Bundles

• The Good: Creates a premium, gift-like experience. You get a unique ASIN, custom packaging, and full control over the product detail page, allowing you to target keywords like "gift set" or "starter kit."
• The Bad: A much heavier operational lift. It requires pre-kitting inventory, managing a new SKU, and forecasting demand for the bundle. It's a bigger commitment, but the payoff is often a higher AOV and a stronger brand impression.

Recommendation: Start with virtual bundles to validate demand. Treat them as low-risk A/B tests. Once a virtual bundle proves to have consistent sales velocity, you have a data-backed business case to invest the resources in creating a physically kitted version for maximum impact and profitability.

Make Your Product Pages Work Harder for Upsells and Cross-Sells

Once your bundles are live, the next major opportunity to increase your average order value is on the Product Detail Page (PDP) itself. A high-performance PDP isn't a static brochure; it's a dynamic sales tool designed to guide customers toward larger, more valuable purchases through strategic upsells and cross-sells.

This isn’t about just adding more photos; it’s about architecting a conversion path that makes upgrading or adding a related item feel like the customer's own smart decision.

Use A+ Content to Guide Customers Upmarket

A+ Content comparison charts are one of the most underutilized assets on Amazon. Most brands treat them like a spec sheet. This is a missed opportunity. Instead, use this module as a powerful tool to nudge shoppers toward your premium products.

Your goal is to articulate why the premium version is a better investment. Don't just list features—translate them into tangible benefits.

• Create a “Good, Better, Best” flow. Position your entry-level product next to your premium options. Use clear iconography and bold text to draw the eye to the upgraded features.
• Frame features as solutions. Instead of "More Memory," use "Seamless Pro-Level Multitasking." Instead of "Durable Fabric," use "Built for Any Weather Adventure." Connect the feature to an outcome the customer desires.
• Show, don't just tell. Embed lifestyle images within the chart to help customers visualize themselves benefiting from the premium product, making the upgrade feel aspirational.

Of course, this only works if your listing is discoverable. You must start by optimizing Amazon product listings with compelling, keyword-rich content. A strong foundation is non-negotiable.

Turn "Frequently Bought Together" into an Intentional Cross-Sell

The "Frequently Bought Together" section on your PDP is pure, unadulterated customer data. Amazon is literally showing you what your customers are already bundling. Your job is to make that pairing intentional and impossible to miss.

Don't wait for shoppers to scroll down and stumble upon it. Take that insight and build it directly into your A+ Content or Brand Story modules.

For example, a coffee brand saw that their gooseneck kettle was frequently purchased with their high-end burr grinder. They created an A+ module titled "Master Your Morning Pour-Over" featuring a single lifestyle image of both products being used together. This small change led to a 7% increase in UPT (Units Per Transaction) for the grinder.

This proactive approach does two things:

1. It boosts visibility. Every shopper sees the logical pairing, not just those who scroll to Amazon's automated suggestion.
2. It adds context. You frame the purchase as a complete solution, making the add-on feel less like an impulse buy and more like a necessary part of the experience.

Headline POV: Stop thinking of your PDP as a static brochure. See it as a dynamic sales funnel. Use your A+ Content and Brand Story to actively lead shoppers from considering one item to buying a full solution.

A/B Test Your Way to a Higher AOV

You can't just set these elements and forget them. To truly optimize your PDP for AOV, you must be constantly testing with Amazon's "Manage Your Experiments" tool. Create variations of your A+ Content and measure which versions actually drive more units per order and a higher overall conversion rate.

Here’s a simple testing plan:

• Placement Test: Does a comparison chart perform better at the top of the A+ section or near the bottom?
• Content Test: Does a lifestyle-focused cross-sell module convert better than a technical, feature-driven one?
• Offer Test: Pit a virtual bundle module against one that showcases individual complementary products.

By running these tests, you replace guesswork with data. You systematically refine the layout and messaging that convinces customers to add more to their cart, methodically increasing your average order value. For a complete walkthrough of all listing elements, check out our full guide on Amazon product listing optimization.

Use PPC and DSP to Drive High-Value Orders

Your paid advertising campaigns should be your primary lever for driving high-value transactions. If you're still using ad spend to drive single-item conversions, you're missing the point. It’s time to align your PPC and DSP strategies with the explicit goal of increasing your average order value.

This means a fundamental shift in targeting, creative, and campaign structure to actively encourage larger carts. It’s not just about getting a click; it’s about ensuring that click leads to a more profitable order. Stop sending valuable traffic to your cheapest ASINs and start directing shoppers toward bundles, premium upgrades, and multi-buy offers.

Use Sponsored Brands to Showcase Collections

Sponsored Brands ads are purpose-built for boosting AOV because they allow you to showcase a collection, not just a single product. They are the ideal format to move beyond a single-item mindset and tell a more comprehensive brand story.

A Sponsored Brands video ad, for instance, is the perfect medium to show a collection of complementary products in action. A home fitness brand we work with created a 15-second video showing their resistance bands, yoga mat, and foam roller being used in a single workout routine. The ad drove traffic to a custom Store page featuring all three products. This campaign drove a 22% higher AOV compared to their single-product Sponsored Products campaigns.

The optimal flow is seamless:

1. Shopper sees an ad showcasing a full solution.
2. They click through to a dedicated Store page.
3. They can easily add the entire bundle or collection to their cart.

This flow pre-qualifies shoppers for a larger purchase before they ever see an individual product page.

Headline POV: Your ad strategy must be a direct reflection of your AOV goals. If you want people to buy bundles, your ads must be engineered to sell those bundles—not just the individual components.

Target High-Value Keywords and Shopper Intent

Often the simplest tactics are the most effective. Aim campaigns at keywords that signal a shopper is already planning to spend more. You're looking for buyers actively searching for a complete set or a higher-value purchase.

Instead of just bidding on a generic term like "face cream," target longer-tail, higher-intent keywords:

• "skincare gift set for women"
• "complete beginner baking kit"
• "home gym equipment package"

Winning the top ad placement for these queries means you are meeting a high-value customer at their point of need, making it far easier to convert them on a larger order.

This strategy's power is amplified during major shopping events. During Prime Day 2024, the average order value hit $57.97, an 11.5% jump over the typical AOV. With event revenue for 2025 projected to hit $24.2 billion, brands that fail to target high-intent shoppers during these peaks are leaving significant revenue on the table.

Build High-AOV Audiences with Amazon DSP

For sophisticated audience targeting, Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) is indispensable. It lets you reach shoppers on and off Amazon, unlocking powerful strategies to drive high-value orders.

One of the most effective tactics is building audiences based on past purchase behavior. Create a custom audience of shoppers who have previously bought multiple items from you or purchased products above a specific price threshold. These are your proven high-value customers. Retarget this segment with dynamic creative that promotes your latest bundles or premium product launches. Since they already trust your brand, they are far more likely to convert on a larger purchase. For a deeper look at what's possible, check out our detailed guide on Amazon DSP ads and their capabilities.

Sponsored Display also plays a crucial role. Use it to run cross-selling ads on your own PDPs for complementary products. Or, more aggressively, target your competitors' listings. Imagine showing an ad for your "3-in-1 starter kit" directly on their single-item product page. It’s a direct, performance-focused play to capture market share and drive a higher AOV in a single move.

Get Smart with Promotions and Subscriptions

Once you've built your bundles and optimized your PDPs, it's time to refine your promotional strategy. This is where we move beyond simple discounts and start actively engineering customer behavior, encouraging them to spend more upfront and commit to long-term value.

This isn’t about your basic "10% off" coupon. These are sophisticated tactics—like tiered deals and strategic subscription models—that make a larger purchase feel like the smartest financial decision for your customer.

Structure Tiered Promotions Without Giving Away the Farm

One of the most effective promotional levers is the tiered offer: "Save 10% on orders over $50, 20% on orders over $100." It gamifies the shopping experience and provides a clear incentive for customers to add one more item to hit the next savings threshold.

The key is profitability analysis. Before launching, model the impact. Determine your breakeven point for each tier. You’ll often find that the low incremental cost to ship another item means your profit on a larger order increases significantly, even after the discount.

• Do the Math First: Calculate the impact on your contribution margin. The extra profit from the higher AOV must outweigh the discount provided.
• Set Realistic Tiers: Analyze your current AOV. If it’s $45, setting the first tier at $50 is an achievable nudge. Setting it at $150 is too large a leap and will likely fail. The tiers must feel like a reachable goal.

This is a calculated strategy to incentivize a higher spend per transaction, not a race to the bottom on price.

Use Subscribe & Save to Supercharge That First Order

Most brands see Amazon's Subscribe & Save (S&S) as purely a retention tool. That's a limited view. It's also a powerful lever to boost the size of the initial order.

The tactic is simple: offer a more compelling S&S discount on a multi-pack (e.g., 3-pack or 6-pack) than on a single unit. For example, a single item might get a 5% S&S discount, while a 3-pack gets 10-15%.

Headline POV: This simple tweak reframes the customer's decision. They’re no longer deciding between buying one or nothing. They are now choosing between a good deal on one and a great deal on three.

This is highly effective for consumables. The customer saves more over the long term, and you lock in a much larger initial sale, immediately increasing your average order value. It taps directly into a savvy shopper's mindset.

This is the exact principle Amazon used to build its empire. The Prime program is a massive driver of increasing average order value, with members consistently spending 15-20% more per order. This loyalty helped lift the platform's AOV from $47 in 2019 to $52 in 2024. For more on customer habits, GrabOn's blog offers a great breakdown.

Nudge Customers to Upgrade with Strategic Coupons

Finally, rethink how you use coupons. Ditch the generic, site-wide percentage-off coupon. Instead, deploy targeted, dollar-off coupons on your higher-priced items. A coupon for "$20 off our Premium Blender" is far more likely to incentivize an upsell than a blanket "10% off everything" offer.

This works because it frames the savings in concrete, absolute terms. A customer sees a tangible $20 they can save, which feels more significant. It psychologically shrinks the price gap between your standard and premium models, making the upgrade feel like a smart, justifiable investment.

When combined, these advanced promotional strategies create a powerful system that not only boosts your AOV but also builds a more resilient, profitable business. For more foundational strategies, check out our guide on powerful eCommerce growth strategies.

Create a Framework for Measuring AOV Performance

You can't improve what you don't measure. After deploying bundles, optimizing pages, and launching new ad campaigns, you must know what's actually moving the needle on your average order value. Flying blind is a recipe for wasted ad spend and missed opportunities. Every decision must be data-backed.

This goes far beyond a cursory glance at the AOV metric in Seller Central. A proper measurement framework involves tracking a basket of KPIs to get a holistic view of profitability and customer behavior.

Essential AOV-Related KPIs

To understand the full picture, you must analyze several interconnected metrics. A rising AOV is only a win if it doesn't come at the cost of your conversion rate or overall profitability.

Your AOV dashboard should include:

• Average Order Value (AOV): Total Revenue / Total Orders. Track this weekly and monthly to identify trends.
• Units Per Transaction (UPT): This is the most direct indicator that your bundling and cross-selling tactics are working.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The ultimate scorecard. A higher AOV should contribute to a higher CLV, proving you're building valuable relationships, not just chasing one-time large orders.
• Conversion Rate (CVR): Monitor this closely. Ensure your AOV strategies, like higher free shipping thresholds, aren’t creating friction and depressing your overall sales volume.

Attributing AOV Growth to Specific Actions

The most challenging part is often attributing AOV changes to specific actions. Did that new Sponsored Brands video for your bundle truly drive larger baskets, or was it a seasonal fluke? This is where sophisticated measurement tools become critical.

Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is purpose-built for this kind of analysis. It allows you to build custom queries that connect ad exposure directly to purchase behavior. For example, you can analyze the purchase path of customers who saw your bundle ad versus a control group who saw a single-product ad. This is how you prove, with statistical confidence, that a specific campaign directly increased basket size.

Headline POV: The goal is a continuous feedback loop. Use data from AMC and your core KPIs to identify what’s working. Refine your ad creative, update your PDP content, and test again. This data-driven cycle transforms AOV optimization from a one-off project into a core business process.

By implementing this measurement framework, you remove guesswork from the equation. You can confidently invest more in the strategies proven to lift your AOV profitably, ensuring every action contributes to real, sustainable growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

When it comes to boosting AOV on Amazon, brand leaders tend to ask the same handful of questions. Let's get right to them and give you some clear, no-nonsense answers.

What Is a Good Average Order Value on Amazon?

Honestly, a "good" AOV is completely relative. There's no magic number. Instead of comparing yourself to a marketplace-wide average, you should be benchmarking against your own historical data. The real goal is to achieve a steady, quarter-over-quarter increase for your specific brand.

Just for context, the general AOV across Amazon is somewhere around $52. But if you're selling low-cost CPG items, your number will naturally be much lower. In that case, bundling and subscriptions are your best friends. On the flip side, if you're selling high-end electronics, your focus should be on pushing premium upsells and tacking on accessory cross-sells.

Will Offering Discounts to Increase AOV Hurt My Profit Margins?

Not if you’re smart about it. The goal isn't just to slash prices; it's to strategically nudge customers into spending more, which ultimately boosts your overall profit. Think about a promotion like "15% off orders over $75"—it’s designed to get people to add just one more item to their cart.

The key is making sure the extra profit from that larger, combined order more than covers the cost of the discount. And remember, the incremental cost to pick, pack, and ship a second item in the same box is tiny. This almost always makes a bundled order more profitable than two separate ones.

How Quickly Can I See an Increase in AOV?

With the right tactics, you can see results almost immediately. For example, if you launch a new virtual bundle and run a targeted Sponsored Brands campaign to promote it, you could see your AOV lift within the first few days.

Other strategies take a bit more time. If you're optimizing your A+ Content with a comparison chart to encourage upsells, it might take a few weeks of A/B testing to see a real, statistically significant impact. It's all part of a continuous cycle of measuring, analyzing, and refining your strategy.

The most important thing is having a solid measurement plan in place. You need to be able to track the impact of every change you make, because that's what leads to sustained, long-term growth.

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At Headline Marketing Agency, we believe paid media should be a profit center, not a cost center. We build and execute advanced advertising strategies that look beyond ACOS to drive sustainable growth and systematically increase your average order value. Talk to an expert today to see how we can scale your brand on Amazon.