Is my average order value calculation incorrect?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

Main issue: Manual average order value (AOV) calculated as total sales ÷ total orders was ~20% higher than Shopify’s dashboard.

Key clarification:

  • Shopify’s AOV uses gross sales (minus discounts) ÷ total number of orders.
  • It excludes adjustments made after the initial order (edits, exchanges, returns).

Checklist suggested to align numbers:

  • Ensure the same date range as the dashboard.
  • Include orders that were later refunded in the order count.
  • Subtract discounts from revenue when computing AOV.

Resolution/update:

  • The discrepancy came from using “total sales,” which includes taxes and shipping.
  • Dashboard AOV is based on “gross sales,” effectively total sales minus taxes and shipping (and less discounts).
  • Correct manual formula: (gross sales − discounts) ÷ total orders, not total sales ÷ total orders.

Outcome: Issue explained; using gross sales (excluding taxes/shipping) aligns manual AOV with Shopify’s dashboard. Discussion resolved.

Summarized with AI on December 28. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hi,

I’ve just noticed that my AOV looks wrong - if I divide the ‘total sales’ by ‘total orders’ I get an AOV much higher than the dashboard is showing on my store (like 20%+ higher)! Am I doing something wrong?

Cheers

2

Hi @richjeff

The AOV metric on Shopify, as per explained by Shopify, is calculated by getting gross sales (minus discounts) divided by the total number of orders and excludes adjustments like edits, exchanges, or returns made to an order after initial placement.

In this case, you can check the following points to see if you are calculating correctly:

  1. Are you measuring on the same time period as Shopify report

  2. Do you include all orders even those orders that have been refunded

  3. Did you minus discount from the revenue

I hope this can help.

3

I’ve just noticed the same issue - it says it’s gross sales - discounts … but its not … its out by 20%.

It looks more like net sales AOV …

Did you get an answer that explained it??

4

Actually I just worked it out by looking at the reports behind the analytics dashboard;

Total sales … includes taxes and shipping.

Average order value uses gross sales … which is total sales - taxes and shipping …

Ta daaa