Most restaurant owners spend all their time trying to get more people through the door: more ads, more coupons, more posts hoping someone new finds them. But there's a much easier way to make more money that almost nobody thinks about: get the guests you already have to spend a little more each time they order.
Understanding the math: AOV vs. order volume
Here's the simple version: average order value (AOV) is just how much a guest spends, on average, every time they place an order. Add up everything you sold in a day, divide by how many orders came in, and that's your number. Sell $1,400 worth of food across 50 orders, and each order averaged $28.
Order volume (OV) is just how many orders you got, period. Now here's the part that matters: your total revenue is just those two numbers multiplied together, how much each order was worth times how many orders you got. So there are only two ways to make more money: get more people ordering, or get the people already ordering to spend a little more each time.
More orders takes more ads, more promotions, more work chasing new guests. A bigger order from someone who's already ordering just takes a smarter setup, no new guests required. That's the whole reason this post is about AOV and not order volume: it's the cheaper, faster lever to pull.
Calculate your AOV opportunity
A few extra dollars per order adds up fast once you multiply it across everything you sell in a month. No new guests, no extra ad spend, just a small tweak. Try the sliders below and see what it's worth for your restaurant.
Added monthly revenue
Raising your average order from $28 to $33, about 18%, adds $250 a day across 50 orders a day, without a single new guest, delivery, or marketing dollar spent.
At 50 orders a day, that's $7,500 a month, or $90,000 a year, in revenue you don't have to go find.
Estimate based on the numbers you enter above and a 30-day month. Actual results vary by menu, guest behavior, and how consistently a threshold offer or upsell is applied.
1Threshold deals that increase basket size
The easiest trick in the book is the threshold deal: "Free dessert on orders over $35." It works because it flips the guest's brain from spending more to getting something free.
Say a guest is about to check out at $28. They see "free dessert at $35" and think, why not, and add a $7 item they weren't planning on. You just made $7 more on an order that was already happening.
The trick is picking the right number. Set it about 20 to 25% higher than what people usually spend. Too low, and everyone hits it without changing what they buy. Too high, and nobody bothers. Pick a number, run it for 30 days, see what happens, then adjust.
2Upsell positioning in the ordering flow
"People who ordered this also added..." You've seen it on every shopping site, and it works in restaurant ordering too, if you do it right.
The trick: only suggest something cheap, related, and easy to say yes to. A $4 ranch dip next to a $16 order of wings barely makes anyone think twice. Click, done, and you just added $4 to that order.
3Menu engineering for online ordering
Your online menu isn't the same as your printed one. Online, people click on whatever they see first. Whatever's at the top of the list, whatever has a photo, whatever sounds the best in one line, that's what gets ordered.
So put your best, highest-profit items at the top. Write real descriptions instead of just listing ingredients. Add a photo to the items you most want people to buy, not sure how to make one look good? Our guide on taking tastier food pictures covers lighting, plating, and angles. And build a combo, an entree plus a side plus a drink for a little less than buying them separately, it feels like a deal to the guest and it's usually a bigger order for you.
Tracking and optimizing over time
Here's how to actually do this: try one thing at a time. Write down what your average order value is right now, make one change, a threshold deal, an upsell, whatever, and wait 2 to 4 weeks before deciding if it worked. Change three things at once and you'll have no idea which one actually moved the needle.
Your ordering platform should show you this stuff in a dashboard, so you're not doing the math by hand.
What to look for in an AOV tool
Not every ordering system makes this easy. Some make you hire a developer just to turn on a free-item deal. Others won't even show you your own numbers unless you build a spreadsheet yourself. If you want the bigger picture on picking an ordering system, check out our guide to choosing the best online ordering system for independent restaurants.
Can I set up a deal or an upsell myself, without calling a developer?
Will it actually show me my average order value over time, or do I have to figure that out on my own?
Are upsells built in, or do I have to bolt something on?
Does it cost extra to run these deals, or is it already part of what I'm paying?
What Menufy handles: Quick Deals is Menufy's built-in tool for this. Set up a free-item deal once, and it just runs, no developer, no extra fee, and you can see how it's doing right in your dashboard.
Not every guest is going to hit the threshold or add the extra item, and that's fine. It's the guests who do that add up. That's really what this is about: not making every single order bigger, just nudging enough of them that it shows up in your bank account without you having to ask anyone for anything.
FAQ
What is average order value, and why does it matter for restaurants?
It's how much a guest spends on average every time they order. It matters because bumping that number up is usually faster and cheaper than trying to find new guests. An extra $5 per order across 50 orders a day adds up to thousands of dollars a month, and you didn't spend a dime on ads to get it.
What's the fastest way to increase AOV without raising menu prices?
Add a threshold deal, something free once a guest spends a certain amount. Set that amount about 20 to 25% higher than what people usually spend, and a lot of guests will add one more thing just to get there.
Do upsell prompts actually work in online ordering?
Yes, if you keep them simple. Suggest something cheap and related right when the guest just added something, like a dip next to an order of wings. It's an easy yes because it barely requires a decision.
How is menu engineering for online ordering different from a printed menu?
Online, people click on whatever's easiest to see first. What's at the top of the list, what has a photo, and what sounds good in one sentence gets ordered the most. Treat your online menu like its own thing, not just a copy of what's printed.
How long should I test an AOV change before deciding if it worked?
Give it 2 to 4 weeks, and only change one thing at a time. Change three things at once and you won't know which one actually worked.
Does Menufy help restaurants increase average order value?
Yes. Quick Deals runs threshold offers for you automatically, no developer needed, and you can watch the results in your dashboard.