Selling more tickets is not the only way to increase event revenue. Sometimes the bigger opportunity is already inside the checkout journey.
A customer who has decided to attend may also be willing to choose a better seat, add another ticket, upgrade their experience, or purchase a useful extra. The challenge is identifying those opportunities without turning checkout into an exhausting sequence of sales offers.
This is where average order value (AOV) becomes useful. It measures how much customers spend per completed order, giving organisers another way to think about revenue beyond simply increasing ticket volume.
The goal, however, should not be to make every order as expensive as possible. It should be to make each purchase more valuable to the customer and, as a result, more valuable to the event.
Start With What the Customer Already Wants
The strongest AOV strategies usually begin with the purchase the customer is already making.
Someone buying a standard ticket may genuinely prefer a better seat. A group organiser may need another ticket. A conference attendee may value a premium experience or an additional event option.
These are natural upgrades because they are connected to the customer's original intention.
That is much more effective than presenting a random collection of products.
The key question is not “What else can we sell?”. It is “What else would make this customer's experience better?”
Make Upgrades Easy to Understand
Premium tickets can be one of the simplest ways to increase order value, but only when the difference between ticket tiers is clear.
A customer is more likely to upgrade when the additional price is connected to an obvious benefit: better positioning, premium hospitality, greater comfort, priority access or another meaningful improvement.
The customer should not have to decode a complicated pricing table to understand the difference.
A good upgrade communicates three things immediately: what changes, what it costs, and why it is worth it.
Additional Tickets Can Be an Easy Opportunity
Many event purchases are made for more than one person.
Friends buy together. Families attend together. Employees are registered by a colleague. Teams attend conferences or sporting events together.
Making it easy to add another attendee can therefore increase order value naturally.
The important point is not to pressure someone into buying tickets they do not need. It is to remove friction when a customer is already purchasing on behalf of others.
For business events in particular, a smooth multi-ticket purchase can make a significant difference because one transaction may represent several attendees.
The Best Add-Ons Solve a Problem
Add-ons can increase order value, but relevance matters more than quantity.
Depending on the event, customers might genuinely value parking, hospitality, merchandise, premium experiences or other event-specific extras.
The strongest add-ons usually do one of two things: they make the event more enjoyable or they make attending it easier.
That is why a useful add-on feels like good service, while an irrelevant one feels like advertising.
The distinction is subtle but important.
Timing Can Change the Result
An upgrade does not necessarily need to appear at the same point as the original ticket choice.
Some offers make sense while customers are selecting tickets. Others may be easier to understand after the main ticket has been chosen, when the customer already knows exactly what they are purchasing.
Organisers can test where particular offers perform best rather than assuming that every add-on belongs on the first screen.
This is especially useful for experiences that require additional explanation. Once the customer has committed to attending, a well-timed offer can feel like an enhancement rather than a distraction.
Personalisation Makes Upselling More Intelligent
Not every customer wants the same thing.
A returning VIP customer may be interested in another premium experience. A first-time visitor may care more about convenience. A professional attendee may value networking or hospitality differently from a leisure customer.
Ticketing and CRM data can help organisers understand these differences.
Personalisation does not mean showing customers more offers. It means showing them more relevant offers.
That is a much more sustainable approach to increasing order value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is average order value in ticketing?
A: Average order value is the average amount spent per completed order. Depending on the ticketing model, it can include tickets, upgrades and relevant additional purchases.
Q: What is one of the best ways to increase average order value?
A: Offer relevant upgrades that provide clear additional value, such as better seating, premium hospitality, additional tickets or useful event-specific extras.
Q: Can too many add-ons reduce sales?
A: They can create unnecessary friction and make checkout more complicated. The number and timing of offers should be tested rather than assuming that more options are always better.
Q: Should premium tickets be offered during checkout?
A: They can be, provided the benefits are meaningful and the difference from standard admission is immediately clear.
Q: How can ticketing and CRM data help?
A: They can reveal purchasing patterns, upgrade behaviour, popular add-ons and differences between audience segments, helping organisers make offers more relevant.
Q: Is a higher average order value always better?
A: No. AOV needs to be considered alongside conversion and total revenue. Increasing order value is only beneficial if it does not cause enough customers to abandon the purchase to offset the additional revenue.
If you need additional advice or support, the TicketCRM team is always ready to help with your questions!