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The average discount per order, counting every order in the period, including the ones that paid full price.

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Formula

Discount Per Order = Discount Amount ÷ Orders

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Formula Components

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How It Works

Upstack adds up the discount total on each Shopify order and divides it by the number of orders in the same date range. Both sides are dated by when the order was placed, so a discount always lands in the same period as its order. The denominator is what trips people up. Full-price orders are in it. If 1 order in 10 uses a $20 code, Discount Per Order is $2.00, not $20. The metric is really two numbers multiplied together:
  • How often shoppers use a discount. Discount Count ÷ Orders.
  • How big the discount is when they do. Discount Amount ÷ Discount Count.
When Discount Per Order moves, check which of the two moved before deciding what to change. Cancelled orders stay in. A cancelled order that had a discount keeps its discount in the numerator and still counts as an order in the denominator.

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Example

A skincare brand compares August and September. The average discount on a discounted order didn’t change, but an influencer code ran for all of September. Discount Per Order rose by a third, and all of it came from more orders using a code. The codes didn’t get any deeper. The margin question here is about where the influencer code is circulating, not about the size of the offer.

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How to Interpret It

A rising value means more orders used a discount, the discounts got larger, or both. Percentage codes also grow with cart size: 15% off a $120 cart costs more than 15% off a $60 cart, so a bundle launch can raise Discount Per Order with no change to your codes. A falling value isn’t automatically good news. A burst of full-price orders, from a press mention for example, adds to the denominator and pulls the average down even if total discount dollars held steady. Look at Discount Amount alongside it. Compare it with Gross AOV. Divide Discount Per Order by Gross AOV and the order counts cancel out, leaving Discount Gross Rate: the share of product revenue you gave away. Use the per-order figure when you think in dollars per checkout, and the rate when you think in margin points. Split it by customer type. First orders usually carry welcome offers, so the store-wide figure mixes two different discount programs. New Customer Discount Per Order and Returning Customer Discount Per Order separate them.

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Why It Can Differ From Shopify Reports

  • Order date. Discounts are dated by when the order was placed.
  • Refunds don’t change it. Upstack keeps the discount total recorded on the order. A later refund shows up in Refund Amount, not here.
  • Cancelled orders are included on both sides of the division.
  • Store currency. Upstack reads Shopify’s shop-currency amounts, so an order paid in another currency is counted in your store’s currency.

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FAQ

Yes. Every order in the period is in the denominator. That’s why the value is usually well below the face value of your codes.
Divide Discount Amount by Discount Count. Discount Count counts orders with a non-zero discount total.
No. The discount stays as recorded on the order. The refund is tracked separately in the refund metrics.
No. It spreads discount dollars across all orders. To judge a single code, compare Discount Amount and Discount Count over the period the code ran.
See all Adjustments metrics →