Where did the basket go?

A root cause drill question from a product manager interview, set at Bazaario, a fictional value e-commerce company.

The question

What you're told upfront

• AOV fell 10% month on month: ₹350 → ₹315. Orders roughly flat (+1%), so NMV is down about 9%.
• Gradual over the last 3 weeks. Not a sale period; data verified; all India; all platforms.

Skills this case tests

A starting metric tree

AOV = items per order × average price per item

How to approach this case

AOV is a ratio with two parts, so split it immediately into items per order and price per item and find which moved. If price per item fell, the key question is rate versus mix: are the same products selling for less, or are buyers choosing cheaper products? Those lead to different owners, pricing on one side and merchandising, ranking or campaigns on the other. Check like-for-like prices, discounts and coupons before settling on either. Then look at which buyers and categories moved most, and ask what changed in what they are shown. If any change was rolled out with a holdout group, that group is your proof. A strong close covers NMV and contribution per order, not just AOV, because delivery cost doesn't shrink with the basket.

The full method for quick structuring drills · A worked example answer

After the mock interview you get scores on five skills, what to fix with quotes from your answers, and the ideal path for this case.