How to Increase Average Order Value in a Restaurant

Getting more customers is hard and expensive. Getting each customer to spend a little more is fast and free. That's average order value (AOV) — and small lifts compound into big revenue.

1. Train suggestive selling

The simplest lever: have staff recommend one specific add-on, not "anything else?". "A fresh lemonade with that?" converts far better than a vague prompt. Tie it to your high-margin items.

2. Design the menu to upsell

• Place your most profitable items where the eye lands first (top-right, or boxed).
• Offer combos and bundles that feel like value but carry a better blended margin.
• Add modifiers (extra cheese, premium protein) — pure margin on top of an existing order.

3. Use your digital / QR menu

A digital menu can show appetizing photos and suggest add-ons at the moment of ordering — something paper can't do. Featured items and "frequently added" nudges quietly raise AOV.

4. Price with anchors

Put one premium item on the menu so everything else feels reasonable. Customers rarely buy the most expensive option, but it makes the mid-tier look like a smart choice.

5. Measure it

You can't improve what you don't track. Watch AOV weekly and test one change at a time. Wizzora ties your sales data to each item's margin, so you can see which dishes to push to lift both AOV and profit — not just revenue.

See which items to push — free trial.