What is Minimum Order Value (MOV)?
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Minimum order value (MOV) is the minimum monetary amount a buyer must reach before an order can be submitted or qualify for specific terms. B2B sellers use it to protect margins, shipping economics, or account-level commercial agreements.
The threshold is usually set to protect the economics of picking, packing, shipping, account servicing, or trade pricing. It can be universal or vary by customer group, region, delivery method, or contract. The commerce platform checks the order subtotal or another defined monetary base and prevents checkout until the requirement is met.
A minimum order value rule should specify:
• Which subtotal is tested — before or after discounts, tax, freight, and credits.
• Whether different customer accounts, currencies, or warehouses use different thresholds.
• How mixed carts, backorders, or split shipments affect the calculation.
• What message and product suggestions the buyer sees when the order is below the minimum.
MOV is easy to implement poorly because the business meaning of “order value” can differ between storefront and ERP. Defining the calculation explicitly prevents a cart from being accepted online and rejected later in back-office processing. The rule should also be visible early enough that buyers do not discover it only at the final checkout step.
Example: A wholesaler can require a €500 merchandise subtotal before checkout because orders below that amount do not cover the operational cost of picking and freight.
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