The mean dollar amount spent per rental transaction, calculated by dividing total revenue by total number of orders.
Average order value (AOV) is the average amount a customer spends per booking. Calculate it by dividing your total revenue by the number of orders in a given period. If you earned 5,000 from 60 orders last month, your AOV is 50.
AOV is one of three levers that drive rental revenue (the other two are number of orders and purchase frequency). Increasing AOV means you earn more from each customer interaction without needing more customers or more transactions. This is often the easiest of the three levers to pull.
Strategies for increasing AOV in a rental business include: offering bundles (bounce house + tables + chairs at a discount), add-ons and upsells during checkout (damage waiver, delivery, setup, generators, lighting), tiered pricing that makes longer rentals feel like better deals, and minimum order thresholds for free delivery.
The checkout experience is the key moment for AOV optimization. When a customer has committed to booking a bounce house for 50, they are in a buying mindset. Offering a 5 damage waiver, a 0 generator add-on, and a 0 concession machine at that moment has a high acceptance rate because each item is small relative to the base order.
Tracking AOV over time reveals trends. If AOV is declining, customers might be opting for cheaper items, skipping add-ons, or you might have lowered prices without adjusting your upsell strategy. If AOV is rising, your bundling and upsell tactics are working.
A common mistake is focusing exclusively on discounting to drive volume. A 20 percent discount might increase bookings by 10 percent, but your AOV drops 20 percent, and you end up with less total revenue. Instead of discounting, add value: include a free add-on with orders over a threshold, bundle complementary items, or offer tiered packages (basic, standard, premium).
Another mistake is not segmenting AOV by customer type or channel. Your AOV from Google Ads might be 80 while your AOV from referrals is 00. This tells you that referred customers are higher value and worth investing in a referral program.
Increasing average order value grows your revenue without requiring more customers or more marketing spend. It is the most efficient path to higher profitability because the operational cost of a 00 order is nearly identical to a 00 order.
A party rental company has an AOV of 20. They implement three changes: a bundle package (bounce house + tables + chairs) priced at 49 instead of 75 a la carte, a recommended add-ons section at checkout, and free delivery on orders over 00. After 60 days, AOV increases to 95 - a 34 percent jump that adds ,500/month in revenue from the same number of bookings.
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