Average Units per Transaction in Ecommerce
It’s important for businesses to set and track metrics to understand how well they are performing in comparison with their competitors and the market average. This allows them to set realistic business benchmarks and goals and identify areas with room for improvement.
For online businesses, indicators like the average add-to-cart rate and average page views per visit in ecommerce are some of the most important metrics to keep an eye on. But those aren’t the only insightful ones. The average units per transaction metric can also provide an overview of the shopping habits and preferences of buyers.
Average units per transaction: 2022–2023
According to recent market data, the metric of average units per transaction in ecommerce has been fluctuating between 3.12 and 3.45 in recent months. In other words, the number of items consumers purchase online per sale currently falls between these two figures.
In July 2022, the average units per transaction hit 3.45. This fell by 0.18 units to 3.27 the following month, before a slight 0.02 increase raised it back up to 3.29 in September. Consumers bought fewer items per purchase in October, as the average units per transaction fell to 3.18.
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The year-end holiday season, which ranks among the busiest shopping events of the year, saw the average units per transaction rise to 3.44 and 3.37 in November and December, respectively.
2023 opened with shoppers buying an average of 3.19 items per checkout in January. This figure fell by 0.07, to 3.12, in February, which was also the lowest recorded average units per transaction between July 2022 and June 2023.
Two months of increases followed, which took the average to 3.32 in March and 3.45 in April, of which the latter is a joint high with July 2022 over these 12 months. In May, the average units per transaction in ecommerce fell to 3.15, before rising marginally to 3.16 a month later.
Average units per transaction by device
The average units per transaction differs from device to device. The data shows that as of June 2023, consumers shopping on desktops bought the highest number of products per checkout, at 3.58.
In comparison, the average units per transaction on mobiles and tablets are 2.85 and 2.72, respectively.