Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Retail

Introduction

The headline: Retail Cost Per App Install (CPI) across all countries available ran well above the global baseline for most of the 13‑month window, but it was also far more volatile — punctuated by dramatic spikes and sudden troughs. This analysis is based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks. This analysis explores ad performance trends for Retail in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Retail CPIs averaged about $61.5 per install over the period (July 2025–July 2026), versus a global baseline average of roughly $21.8 — roughly 182% higher on average. The Retail series started at $68.50 in July 2025, dipped and rebounded repeatedly, and finished at a peak of $116.15 in July 2026 (a ~70% lift from the start). The high was $116.15 (July 2026); the low was $9.10 (May 2026). Monthly behavior was extreme: the series swung from $103.63 in April 2026 down to $9.10 in May 2026 (a ~91% drop), then climbed back to $68.08 in June 2026 (+~648% versus May).

Baseline figures were steadier by comparison: the global benchmark rose from $9.95 (July 2025) to $96.91 (July 2026), averaging $21.8, with its own late‑period spike but generally smaller month‑to‑month moves outside that jump.

Volatility was a defining feature. Retail’s average absolute month‑to‑month percent change was about 133%, versus roughly 77% for the baseline — a signal that Retail CPI moved with larger, less predictable swings.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

There isn’t a smooth seasonal curve; instead the Retail cadence looks episodic. The second half of 2025 alternated between lifts and declines (e.g., July → August decline → September lift → October decline). Early 2026 produced a pronounced lift: January → April showed a steady climb (roughly $69 → $103), followed by the sharp May trough. The spring run‑up and May collapse create a sawtooth pattern rather than a classic Q4 peak/Q1 trough rhythm. The year closed on two strong summer months, culminating in the July 2026 spike.

The baseline shows a similar late‑period spike (July 2026) but otherwise behaves like a lower‑magnitude oscillation with the largest single baseline move in February → March and the pronounced July spike.

Country vs. Global

Viewed month by month, Retail CPI was typically above the global benchmark: in most months Retail costs were 2–6× higher than the baseline (for example, July 2025 ~589% above baseline; March 2026 ~468% above). There were exceptions: May 2026 saw Retail CPI about 37% below the global baseline (Retail $9.10 vs baseline $14.41). At its narrowest gap Retail was only ~20% above the baseline (July 2026); at its widest it ran near 589% above the baseline (July 2025). Overall, Retail proved more volatile and generally above market averages for Cost Per App Install across the dataset.

Closing

Understanding Cost Per App Install benchmarks for Retail across all countries available — and how those figures compare to global baselines — provides a clear read on industry ad cost volatility and monthly momentum. This view of Retail CPI, juxtaposed with broader Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance, highlights the scale and irregularity of country‑specific ad costs and industry ad performance across the period.