Compare lead generation cost benchmarks by industry, region, and campaign type.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
Retail cost-per-lead (CPL) in this period tracked close to the global benchmark on average, but told a choppier story month-to-month: a late‑summer peak, a sharp December trough, a modest Q1 rebound and another pronounced mid‑year swing into July. 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.
Retail CPL began the window at about $51.38 in July 2025 and finished at $26.31 in July 2026 — a near 49% decline from start to finish. Across the 13 months the Retail median CPL averaged roughly $43.4, versus a baseline global median of about $44.1 (≈1.5% lower). The highest Retail month was September 2025 at $58.29; the low came in December 2025 at $22.16. Two dramatic month-to-month movements stand out: a drop of ~25.45 points from November to December 2025, and a fall of ~20.70 points from June to July 2026. Average absolute monthly movement for Retail was roughly $8.2 — noticeably larger than the baseline’s average month-to-month swing of about $4.7.
Seasonal rhythm is visible. Late summer (Aug–Sep 2025) showed a lift, peaking in September. Q4 presented divergence: Retail slid sharply into December, hitting the year’s low, while the global median softened but stayed higher than Retail in that month. Early Q1 (Jan–Mar 2026) produced a rebound for Retail — a partial recovery toward the mid‑40s — before flattening and then surging again into early summer. The window closes on another soft period in July 2026. This cadence — summer lift, Q4 drop, Q1 rebound, mid‑year volatility — recurs across the data and underpins the larger swings observed.
Relative to the global benchmark, Retail oscillated between being above and below market. At the start (July 2025) Retail ran about 20% above the global median; it stayed higher through September. November and May were near parity with baseline (within ~1%). The largest divergence was December 2025, when Retail CPL was roughly 50% below the global median. Conversely, in June–July 2026 Retail ran about 27% above global levels. Overall, Retail showed materially more volatility than the baseline — average monthly absolute change about 75% greater — even while the annual mean sat just below the global median.
Understanding Cost‑Per‑Lead benchmarks for Retail across All countries available complements broader Facebook Ads benchmarks and country‑specific ad costs conversations alongside CPC trends, CPM analysis and CTR performance when comparing industry ad performance.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Facebook advertising costs vary by industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objective. In the Retail industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs through regional competition and user engagement. Campaign objectives affect costs because Facebook optimizes delivery for different goals. The data shows median values across multiple campaigns. Results can vary with ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
A small share of campaigns has extremely high CPL values. Those outliers can inflate an average. The median is the midpoint across campaigns, so it better represents a typical result.
The data shows industry median benchmarks. Costs can vary with targeting, creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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The dataset includes over $3B in Facebook ad spend from thousands of ad accounts that use Superads to analyze and improve campaigns. Every data point is anonymized and aggregated. It does not expose an individual advertiser.
The dataset updates as new ad data is available.
A good CPL usually ranges from $10 to $50, depending on your industry and target audience. B2C offers tend to be cheaper, while B2B or high-ticket services may see CPLs over $100.
Weak creative, irrelevant targeting, or an offer that does not resonate can raise CPL. Low engagement or poor landing-page conversion rates can also increase costs.
Yes. Campaigns optimized for conversions or leads tend to generate less expensive, more qualified leads than traffic or engagement objectives. Facebook uses the optimization signal to find users.
Improve the offer, target the right audience, and use high-converting creative. Test native lead forms while continuing to qualify users.
For sales or revenue goals, optimize for deeper-funnel conversions. Optimizing for leads alone can increase volume while reducing quality.
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