Facebook Ads Cost Per Lead Benchmarks for Retail

Key takeaways

• Retail cost-per-lead sits well above the global baseline: the Retail average is $62.76 versus $35.80 globally, about 75% higher.
• Volatility in Retail is elevated: average month-to-month movement is $10.42 (≈17% of the average) versus $4.50 for the global trend.
• Seasonal patterns are visible: costs rose into October–November, pulled back in December, dipped again in January, then spiked in February and peaked in April.
• From the first to last month, Retail edged down 6.5%, while the global baseline fell 37.3%, indicating Retail remained relatively resilient.
• Retail stayed above market every month, with the monthly gap ranging from $7.59 to $41.95.

This analysis looks at cost-per-lead trends for industry Retail and target country All countries available compared to the global trend. The analysis is based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks.

Retail cost-per-lead trend highlights

• Average across the period: $62.76
• High and low:
• High: $80.55 in April 2025
• Low: $45.94 in June 2025
• First-to-last change: from $61.61 (September 2024) to $57.59 (September 2025), a decrease of 6.5%.
• Notable spikes/dips:
• Upward surges: January→February +$20.39 (+43%); March→April +$13.60.
• Pullbacks: November→December -$14.72; April→May -$13.89; May→June -$20.72.
• Volatility: average absolute month-to-month change of $10.42, indicating meaningful fluctuation in monthly acquisition costs.

Baseline overview (global, all industries and countries)

• Average: $35.80
• High and low:
• High: $41.58 in November 2024
• Low: $20.63 in September 2025
• First-to-last change: down 37.3% (from $32.88 to $20.63).
• Volatility: average absolute month-to-month change of $4.50.

Comparison to the global trend

• Level: Retail is consistently above market in every month. The monthly premium versus the baseline spans from $7.59 (June 2025) to $41.95 (April 2025).
• Averages: Retail’s $62.76 is about 75% above the global $35.80, clearly above market.
• Highs and lows: Retail’s peak ($80.55) is nearly double the global high ($41.58). Retail’s low ($45.94) is also above the global average and more than double the global low ($20.63).
• Volatility: Retail’s month-to-month variability is about 2.3× the global baseline, signaling more pronounced swings in cost-per-lead for Retail campaigns across all countries available.

Seasonality and patterning

• Q4: Costs climbed into October ($69.21) and November ($75.30), then eased in December ($60.58), aligning with typical holiday-period dynamics.
• New year dip and rebound: A January trough ($47.47) was followed by a sharp February rebound ($67.86), in line with broader seasonality where costs often firm after the new year.
• Spring peak and summer softness: The period culminated in an April peak ($80.55) before stepping down into early summer, bottoming in June ($45.94), and stabilizing through August–September.

Understanding COST_PER_LEAD benchmarks on Facebook Ads in industry Retail and All countries available helps advertisers make more efficient budget and creative choices.