Your average order value is a clue, not a target

A buyer opens your shop for a £12 template and leaves with the template plus a £28 workshop. Another person buys only the £12 item, although they looked at three other products. Your average order value can show that these buying paths exist. It cannot tell you that every buyer should be pushed towards the larger basket.

Start with the arithmetic

The basic calculation is simple: average order value equals total sales divided by total orders. If ten orders produce £240 in sales, the average order value is £24. If the next ten orders produce £180, it falls to £18. Nothing about that change tells you whether the later buyers were worse customers. They may have bought a lower-priced product, used a discount, or arrived for a different offer.

Calculate the number for a defined period, then write down what was included. State whether you are using gross sales, refunded sales or sales after discounts. Keep the rule the same each time. If Stripe processing fees apply, they are a cost to account for separately rather than a reason to alter the sales figure halfway through your comparison. Store.fan sends money to your own Stripe account and takes 0% of sales, while Stripe's own processing fee still applies.

Treat the number as a clue

1. 1List the products bought in each order. Look for pairs or groups that occur more than once, rather than assuming the largest order is the best example.
2. 2Separate first orders from repeat orders. A returning buyer may already understand your work and need less explanation, so a larger basket may reflect familiarity rather than a better sales page.
3. 3Compare the basket with the buyer's entry point. Someone arriving on a coaching page has a different reason to buy from someone arriving on a free lead magnet.
4. 4Check what happened after the purchase. A bundle that raises the basket but creates support questions or refunds may not be a useful improvement.
5. 5Choose one small change: add a related-product section, clarify a pathway, or test one bundle. Leave the rest of the shop alone until you can read the result.

Build pathways, not piles of products

A pathway answers the buyer's next practical question. A digital download might help them complete one task. An online course might help them practise the wider process. A coaching call might help them apply it to their particular situation. Those products can sit in a sequence because the work changes at each stage, not because the prices happen to be different.

Write the pathway in plain language: “Start here if you need the worksheet. Continue here if you want the full method. Book this if you need feedback on your version.” Then check whether the sequence is genuinely optional. A buyer who wants only the worksheet should not have to accept a course, call or membership to get it. If you sell a course, explain what changes between the course and a related download. If you sell coaching, explain what the call can do that a self-serve product cannot.

Make the offer fit the commitment

Basket size often reflects commitment as much as price. A buyer can spend more because they need a faster route, want personal input, or are ready to work through a complete system. Your job is to show the difference in commitment before asking for the purchase.

• For a small first purchase, describe the immediate result and the time or tools required.
• For a bundle, name what is included and who benefits from having everything together.
• For a course or membership, make the ongoing work visible so the buyer can judge whether they will use it.
• For coaching, state the format, preparation and outcome rather than presenting the call as a more expensive version of a download.

If you want to test a bundle, keep the calculation visible. Suppose a download costs £15 and a workshop costs £35. Sold separately, the combined price is £50. A bundle can have a different price, but the reason should be clear: fewer decisions, a coordinated sequence or a defined outcome. Store.fan can support different digital products from one storefront, including digital downloads and courses, so you can present the pathway without sending buyers through unrelated checkout pages.

Use your storefront to reduce friction

Once you know which products belong together, change the shop around the decision. Put the starting product first if most people need it. Add a short “next step” section to its description. Link to the larger offer, but keep its purpose and price distinct. If the products need different levels of explanation, use separate pages rather than one crowded description.

A storefront on store.fan gives you one place to organise these choices. The free plan is link-in-bio only; paid plans start with a 14-day trial. If you use a paid plan, you can also test email follow-ups, discount codes or flash campaigns where they make sense. You do not need all of them. A single well-timed message to people who bought the first step may be more useful than a permanent discount shown to everyone.

Review the change without chasing a perfect number

After changing one pathway, compare a defined period with the previous period or with a similar product window. Record orders, sales, the products in each basket, refunds and any support work created. You are looking for a better pattern, not necessarily the highest possible average.

A successful change might mean more people choose the complete solution, while the entry product remains available. It might mean the average stays flat but buyers ask fewer clarifying questions. It might mean the average rises and your workload rises too, which is a reason to redesign the offer rather than celebrate the number. The right measure depends on what your business can deliver well.