The Case for AOV: Why Smart Brands Are Optimizing Revenue per Order and Not Just Conversion Rate

There’s a quiet revolution happening in e-commerce.

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Behind the scenes, the best operators are shifting their focus from chasing conversion rate (CVR) to maximizing Average Order Value (AOV).

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At ABConvert, we see this trend play out every day in the 10,000+ Shopify experiments merchants run on our platform. And the data is clear:

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Tests that increase AOV even slightly often outperform CVR-focused experiments in profit per visitor.

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In 2024, CVR is no longer the only (or even the best) metric to optimize. Here’s why.

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Reason 1: Conversion Rate is Easy to Manipulate — But Not Always Meaningful

You can juice your CVR by slashing prices, offering free shipping, or running flash sales. But at what cost?

• A 10% increase in CVR paired with a 20% drop in margin isn’t a win
• A 1-click upsell that adds $12 to the cart without hurting conversion is a massive win

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The most common trap we see? Merchants celebrate higher CVR while ignoring the AOV drop that eroded their bottom line.

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Better metric:

Profit per visitor = CVR × AOV × Margin

That’s the number that keeps your business alive.

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Reason 2: AOV Is Where Real Leverage Lives

Let’s run the math:

• Store A: 2.5% CVR × €50 AOV = €1.25 revenue per visitor
• Store B: 2.3% CVR × €66 AOV = €1.52 revenue per visitor
• Store B wins — even with lower CVR

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We recently worked with a merchant selling car batteries (essential, high-trust purchase). They ran a simple price test:

• Test price: €59
• Control price: €49
• Result: AOV increased 36%, conversion rate stayed flat

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Their revenue per session jumped by 20% , a margin-unlocking difference at scale.

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Reason 3: AOV Testing Is Underutilized and Easier Than You Think

Everyone talks about optimizing their product page.

Fewer talk about testing:

• Price points
• Shipping thresholds
• Bundle logic
• Upsell placement
• Cart page layout

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These are AOV levers, and they’re often overlooked because:

1. They're harder to measure without the right tooling
2. They feel more “permanent,” so people hesitate to change them

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But that’s where the upside is. Less competition = more learnings.

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What we’ve learned at ABConvert:

• AOV-focused tests are less volatile
• You need less traffic to see meaningful financial impact
• You can pair them with segmentation (e.g., run price test only for returning users)

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The Post-iOS14 Landscape Changed the Game

CAC is up. Attribution is broken. Retargeting is throttled.

Merchants can’t rely on traffic arbitrage like they used to.

So the question becomes:

How do you make more from the traffic you already get?

That’s where AOV testing shines.

Because if you make 25% more from every customer, you can reinvest in growth or finally hit sustainable profitability.

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TL;DR: CVR Still Matters, But AOV Is the Smarter North Star

Conversion rate optimization has its place. But it’s not the only metric that moves the needle.

• If you're a DTC brand spending thousands on paid traffic, you owe it to yourself to test AOV levers.
• If you're a Shopify store selling essentials or high-trust products, you likely have pricing power you're not using.

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Ready to Get Started?

With ABConvert, you can test:

• Price points (e.g., €59 vs €49)
• Shipping strategies (free threshold vs flat rate)
• Content & copy (premium vs discount framing)

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All without dev time or risking your live theme.

👉 Run your first AOV test with ABConvert

👉 Book a strategy call