# Average Order Value Formula: How to Calculate AOV (Excel)

- URL: https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/average-order-value
- Published: 2026-11-03
- Updated: 2026-11-03
- Author: David Bressler, Founder (https://betteranalyst.com/authors/david-bressler)

> **Summary:** Average order value (AOV) = Revenue ÷ Number of orders. A store that took $82,540 from 1,791 orders over four weeks has an AOV of $46.09. Decide upfront whether revenue includes shipping, tax, discounts and refunds, and use the same definition every time.

Category: [Ecommerce](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics#ecommerce)

Average order value formula with a four-week ecommerce example, the Excel formula, why averaging weekly AOVs is wrong, and AOV vs median order value.

## Average order value (AOV) formula

```
AOV = Total revenue ÷ Total number of orders
```

- **Revenue**: Order revenue for the period. Most teams use revenue after discounts, excluding tax and shipping; state your definition.
- **Orders**: Count of completed orders in the period, excluding cancelled and fully refunded orders if revenue excludes them.

## How to calculate average order value (AOV) in Excel and Google Sheets

Excel, using the cells in the worked example below:

```
=SUM(B2:B5)/SUM(C2:C5)
```

## Worked example

An online stationery shop tested a free-shipping threshold in weeks 2 and 4 and wants October AOV and the weekly pattern.

*October revenue and orders by week (table starts in cell A1)*

| Week | Revenue | Orders |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Week 1 | $18,420 | 412 |
| Week 2 | $21,960 | 478 |
| Week 3 | $17,310 | 389 |
| Week 4 | $24,850 | 512 |

1. Total revenue = 18,420 + 21,960 + 17,310 + 24,850 = $82,540.
2. Total orders = 412 + 478 + 389 + 512 = 1,791.
3. October AOV = 82,540 ÷ 1,791 = $46.09.
4. Weekly AOV (=B2/C2 filled down): $44.71, $45.94, $44.50, $48.54. Threshold weeks averaged $47.28 versus $44.61 in the other weeks.

**Result:** $46.09 average order value for October

## How to interpret average order value (AOV)

AOV is one of three levers on ecommerce revenue, alongside traffic and conversion rate. Raising it through bundles, thresholds or upsells is often cheaper than buying more traffic, but check that the extra order value isn't paid for with discounts or shipping costs that wipe out margin. Because a few large orders pull the mean up, look at median order value and the distribution as well, and compare AOV by channel and new versus returning customers, since repeat buyers often spend differently.

## Common mistakes

- Averaging weekly or daily AOVs. Small days get the same weight as big ones; divide total revenue by total orders.
- Mixing revenue definitions (with or without tax, shipping or refunds) between reports or tools.
- Celebrating a higher AOV that came from discounts on bundles that lower gross margin per order.
- Ignoring outliers. A handful of wholesale orders can lift AOV; use median or exclude B2B orders when analysing consumers.

## Calculate average order value (AOV) with Better Analyst

Connect your data or upload a spreadsheet, then ask in plain English. Better Analyst writes and runs the calculation and shows the steps, so you can check the number.

- “Calculate weekly AOV and median order value for the last 12 months.”
- “Did the free-shipping threshold weeks have higher AOV and similar conversion rate?”
- “Show AOV by traffic channel and new versus returning customers from GA4.”

Usually calculated from: [Google Analytics](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-analytics), [MySQL](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/mysql), [Google BigQuery](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/bigquery), [PostgreSQL](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/postgresql), [Google Sheets](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/google-sheets).

[Try Better Analyst free](https://betteranalyst.com/signup)

## Further reading

- [Conversion rate formula](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/conversion-rate)
- [Customer lifetime value formula](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/customer-lifetime-value)
- [Analyze order values with a histogram](https://betteranalyst.com/blog/how-to-analyze-order-values-with-a-histogram)
- [Connect MySQL](https://betteranalyst.com/data-connectors/mysql)
- [MEDIAN function](https://betteranalyst.com/excel/median-function)

## Frequently asked questions

### Does average order value include shipping and tax?

There's no single rule. Many teams exclude tax and shipping so AOV reflects product revenue; GA4's purchase revenue can include them depending on how your store sends the data. Pick a definition and keep it.

### How do I calculate AOV in Excel?

Divide total revenue by total orders: =SUM(B2:B5)/SUM(C2:C5). From an order-level export, use =AVERAGE(order_total_column) for the mean and =MEDIAN(...) for the median.

### What is the difference between AOV and revenue per visitor?

AOV is revenue per order. Revenue per visitor (or per session) divides by traffic, so it combines AOV and conversion rate: RPV = AOV × conversion rate.

## Related metrics

- [Conversion Rate Formula: How to Calculate Conversion Rate](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/conversion-rate)
- [Customer Lifetime Value Formula: How to Calculate CLV](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/customer-lifetime-value)
- [How to Calculate Markup: Formula, Excel and Margin Math](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/markup)
- [Gross Margin Formula: How to Calculate Gross Margin in Excel](https://betteranalyst.com/metrics/gross-margin)