Definition
AUR (Average Unit Retail) is Gross Sales divided by gross items sold — the average selling price per item across the file at posted prices, before any discounts. It is the cleanest measure of pricing strategy because it isolates the operator's posted-price decisions from the promotional behavior that affects realized prices.
How AUR works
The formula:
AUR = Gross Sales / Gross Items
AUR uses Gross Sales (not NOR or Net) in the numerator and gross items (not units) in the denominator. The result is the average selling price per item — meaning per distinct SKU in an order, not per unit-quantity of each SKU. A customer who buys one shirt at $80 and one pair of pants at $120 has an AUR of $100 across two items. A customer who buys three of the same shirt at $80 has an AUR of $80 across one item (with 3 units of that item).
AUR moves when the operator changes posted prices or when product mix shifts. It does not move when the operator runs a promotion — that signal lives in Average Settle Price instead. The distinction is what makes AUR useful: it isolates strategic pricing decisions from tactical promotional ones.
Why AUR matters in 2026
In a 2026 environment where promotional intensity is high, operators need a clean measure of posted-price strategy that doesn't get distorted by every discount. AUR fills that role. A store whose AUR is steady but whose Average Settle Price is declining is holding prices but discounting more — a promotional strategy issue, not a pricing strategy issue. A store whose AUR is declining is repricing its catalog downward — a strategic move that may or may not be intentional. Tracking both AUR and Average Settle Price together reveals which type of price movement is happening.
How AUR differs from Average Settle Price
AUR is calculated from Gross Sales — the pre-discount selling price. Average Settle Price is calculated from NOR Sales — the post-discount realized price. AUR tells you what the store is asking for items; Average Settle Price tells you what customers are actually paying. The two diverge by exactly the Discount Rate. A store with $80 AUR and a 20% discount rate has roughly $64 Average Settle Price. Tracking only one of them hides half the story.
How to apply AUR to your store
- Track AUR monthly and watch for unintended drift. AUR is supposed to reflect deliberate pricing decisions; if it's moving without an explicit pricing action, the product mix is shifting in a way worth understanding.
- Use AUR for category and SKU-level diagnostics. AUR at the category level reveals which categories are price-strong (high AUR) versus price-weak (low AUR) in your assortment.
- Compare AUR to Average Settle Price. The gap is your effective discount rate at the item level — and a more honest measure than the line-item Discount Rate calculation.
Related terms
FAQ
Q: How do you calculate AUR in ecommerce?
A: Divide Gross Sales by gross items sold in the period. The result is the average posted selling price per item across the file. AUR uses items as the denominator, not units — meaning a customer buying 3 of the same SKU counts as 1 item.
Q: What is the difference between AUR and AOV?
A: AUR is the average selling price per item; AOV is the average revenue per order. A single order can contain multiple items at different prices, so AOV reflects basket composition while AUR reflects item-level pricing. Both are useful; they answer different questions.
Q: How is AUR different from Average Settle Price?
A: AUR is calculated from Gross Sales (pre-discount); Average Settle Price is calculated from NOR Sales (post-discount). AUR tells you what the store is asking for items; Average Settle Price tells you what customers are actually paying. The gap between the two is the effective Discount Rate at the item level.
Read next
- The parent measure: Key Measures
- The realized-price measure: Average Settle Price
- The input measure: Gross Sales
Last reviewed: May 21, 2026. This definition is maintained as part of the Customer Portfolios pillar.