Which apps do you recommend for boosting average order value (AOV) in a survival gear niche?
HI @jw7800924
Welcome to the community.
While your question is a bit broad, and if you searched a bit, you would most likely get a lot of bundle apps as suggestions. And yes, it is a first step, but in reality you can boost with a lot of different kinds of apps: chats, slide carts, product customization, site speed optimisation, 3D products… and so on. So you will get another topic where everyone will market their apps.
So could you first share your store, just to get a better idea of what you actually sell?
Hi @jw7800924
In my experience, cart drawers have worked great to increase AOV. Research on cart drawers a bit and look for apps with a free plan or has a free trial to check it before paying.
iCart Cart Drawer Cart Upsell, Upcart, Opus. Moon Bundles is a good one I have used. You can customize your cart drawer.
I haven’t worked with a survival gear company, but customizing cart drawers with bundles and free shipping discount bars have always worked for me.
Another easy win is adding Post Purchase Upsells. This is usually an easy addition that doesn’t hurt your conversions since your customer has already made the purchase, allowing you to boost your AOV without any tradeoffs in my opinion.
Try out the checkout plus app for this and as a bonus if you are on Shopify Plus it has checkout upsells.
Hi @jw7800924
This question is really broad, and there would be more root causes behind it. As @Laza_Binaery said, you will get many suggestions or promotions about bundle apps, upsell apps, loyalty program apps, cart drawer apps, recommendation apps, etc.
I’m not here to promote our app to you. But if you just need the recommendation about those applications mentioned above, you can check other people’s suggestions and check my profile link.
Most importantly, in order to resolve your question, the followings are the checklist of some further questions about boosting AOV. Hope they are helpful for you to figure out whether there’s a latent root cause behind the AOV boosting issue.
- How’s your shop’s traffic growth? Is it growing? Or, does it need more traffic?
- If traffic is an issue, how’s the current traffic structure? New customers vs returning customers?
- How’s your shop’s customers’ shopping behavior? One-time purchase or recurring?
- Are your customers price sensitive or not?
- How’s your customers’ orders’ combination? Are the line items relevant or not? Be able to bundle or not?
- What kinds of apps are you using currently?
These are quick and simple diagnoses. If you can share more info or your store, that’s helpful for me and others to suggest.
Best,
Alice (Rosetta.ai AOV Uplifter)
For survival gear stores, consider apps that encourage bundle purchases, cart upsells, and frequently bought together offers. Things like emergency kits, flashlights, knives, batteries, and camping gear naturally work well together, so bundle apps can increase average order value AOV pretty effectively.
Use an app like Wizio Bundle Shopify to create mix-and-match bundles, quantity breaks, or free gift offers without making the store feel too pushy. Cart drawer upsells and post-purchase offers can also work well if relevant to the product the customer is already buying.
The biggest thing is keeping the offers practical and niche-related rather than adding random upsells.
Hi @jw7800924 
For stores in the survival gear niche, increasing AOV is typically less about pushing individual add-ons and more about reshaping how customers think about their purchase as a complete solution.
Products such as emergency kits, flashlights, knives, batteries, power banks, and camping equipment are usually not bought in isolation. Instead, they are naturally grouped around specific use cases like camping trips, emergency preparedness, hiking, or long outdoor expeditions. Because of this, selling items individually often limits the overall basket size.
A more effective approach is to introduce a bundle-based shopping experience, where customers can assemble complete kits rather than selecting standalone products. This is where a tool like Easify Box Bundle Builder BYOB can help, as it enables customers to create customized survival kits based on their specific needs and preferences.
For example, instead of purchasing a flashlight, a knife, and batteries separately, customers can build a “Survival Starter Kit” and customize each component (e.g., flashlight type, knife style, battery capacity). This naturally encourages higher order values because customers are thinking in terms of complete setups rather than individual SKUs.
Another opportunity comes from allowing customers to build multiple bundles within a single order. For instance, they might create one kit for personal use and another as a backup or for family members. This multi-bundle behavior can significantly increase AOV without relying heavily on discount-driven strategies.
On top of bundling, additional upsell and cross-sell tactics such as cart-based recommendations or post-purchase offers can further enhance order value. The key is to keep these suggestions contextually relevant—for example, recommending batteries for a flashlight or a first aid kit alongside a camping bundle—so the experience feels helpful rather than forced.
Ultimately, the most effective strategy in this niche is shifting from individual product purchases to scenario-based buying, where customers are guided toward building complete survival solutions. When this mindset is established, AOV tends to improve in a more natural and sustainable way.
In summary, bundle-building tools like BB can support this structure, while upsell and recommendation layers can complement it to further optimize performance across the customer journey.
Based on your niche, the simplest way is to set a quantity break.
For survival gear specifically, the biggest AOV lever is usually bundling complementary items that people already know they need together. Think “fire starter + tinder + waterproof case” or a starter kit that’s slightly cheaper than buying the pieces separately. People in this niche think in scenarios, so frame offers around a use case (“72-hour bag essentials”) rather than random product suggestions.
A free-shipping threshold set just above your current AOV works well too. Check your average cart value, then set the bar maybe 15-20% higher so it feels reachable.
For the mechanics, most cart/upsell apps handle this. Revenix Cart Upsell is one option for in-cart cross-sells and a progress bar, but tools like Bold or ReConvert do similar things, so try whatever fits your budget and theme. Whatever you pick, keep suggestions genuinely relevant to what’s in the cart, or conversion drops fast.
Hi @jw7800924,
For a survival gear niche, general add-ons usually don’t work as well as intent-based bundles and essential gear add-ons. Survival shoppers like complete solutions (like a full 72-hour bug-out setup) or quick impulse additions (like extra fire starters, water purification, or emergency blankets).
You can check out Super Upsell & Cross-Sell to set these up easily.
(Full disclosure: I am the developer behind the app!)
Here are a few high-converting offer strategies you can run with it:
-
“Complete Kit” Bundles on Product Pages: Pair core gear (like a backpack or tent) with essential complementary tools (water filter + multitool) using a single-click bundle offer.
-
In-Cart Emergency Add-Ons: Trigger low-cost, high-margin items (e.g., $5 emergency ponchos or fire-striker cards) inside the cart drawer before checkout.
-
Post-Purchase Upgrades: Offer discounted replacement or extra supplies (like extra ration packs or replacement filters) right after checkout without risking cart abandonment.
Why it’s great for store performance:
-
Built 100% natively using Shopify App Blocks, so it won’t slow down your site speed.
-
Lightweight and customizable to match rugged, outdoor theme branding.
-
Offers a free plan so you can test campaigns risk-free.
If you ever decide to test it out and want handholding on setting up your first kit bundle or in-cart upsells, drop me a message—I’d be happy to help you configure it for free!
Hi @jw7800924
For survival gear, I’d focus more towards gift-with-purchase and tiered cart offers than straight discounts. Customers are often buying for a specific trip or activity, so a small free gift can encourage them to add one more product to reach the reward.
Some ideas that could work for this would be:
- Spend $75 and get a free gift
- Buy 2 survival tools and get another free tool.
- Show a cart progress bar like, “You’re $15 away from a free first aid kit”
If you’re looking for an app to set this up, Monk Free Gift and Upsell supports these types of offers. You can create rules based on cart value, item count, or specific products, and it also has a 7 day free trial, so you can test the offers on your store.
Hope this helps!