Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Retail CPC across all countries ran consistently below the global all‑industry benchmark in 2025, but with sharper month‑to‑month swings. The year opened near $0.87, dipped through mid‑year, surged into a November high, then reset hard in December. Compared with the global line, Retail’s curve showed a steeper Q4 spike and a deeper year‑end pullback.
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 compared to the global benchmark.
Retail CPC averaged $0.86 for the year (median by month), starting at $0.87 in January and finishing at $0.75 in December, a 13% decline across the period. The low came in December ($0.75), closely preceded by July’s summer trough ($0.76). The high was November at $1.10, the only month to break the dollar mark.
Monthly rhythm was choppy:
Volatility averaged $0.09 in absolute month‑over‑month change, indicating quicker swings than a smooth seasonal slope. The full peak‑to‑trough spread was $0.35 across the year.
Seasonally, Retail CPC was softest in Q3 and highest in Q4:
This mirrors typical Facebook Ads benchmarks where competition intensifies in Q4, lifting costs, with December often carrying a correction as the quarter closes.
Against the global all‑industry baseline (average CPC $1.13), Retail across all countries sat lower every month, averaging roughly 25% below market (Retail at 75% of the global level). The gap narrowed and widened through the year:
Movement was also more volatile for Retail: average absolute monthly change of $0.09 versus the global benchmark’s $0.06. Both lines peaked in November and found their lows in December, but Retail’s December drop was steeper. Over the full year, Retail declined −13% from January to December, versus the global line’s gentler −6%.
While country‑specific ad costs can vary, this global Retail view shows a consistent, below‑market CPC position with a more dramatic Q4 arc than the all‑industry composite.
In short, Facebook Ads cost‑per‑click benchmarks for the Retail industry across all countries show CPC trends that run below the global average, with softer Q3 levels, a pronounced November peak, and a sharper December reset. Understanding Retail CPC performance worldwide helps teams benchmark industry ad performance and compare to global patterns in Facebook Ads benchmarks.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their Facebook ad. In the Retail industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs based on market competition and user engagement in different regions. Different campaign objectives lead to varying costs based on how Facebook optimizes for your specific goals. The data shown represents median values across multiple campaigns, and individual results may vary based on ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
We use the median CTR because the underlying distribution of click-through rates is highly skewed, with a small share of campaigns achieving extremely high CTRs. These outliers can inflate a simple average, making it less representative of what most advertisers actually experience. By using the median—which sits at the midpoint of all campaigns—we provide a more rigorous and realistic benchmark that reflects the true underlying data model and helps you set attainable performance expectations.
Note: This data represents industry median values and benchmarks. Your actual costs may vary based on specific targeting, ad creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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All data is sourced from over $3B in Facebook ad spend, collected across thousands of ad accounts that use Superads daily to analyze and improve their campaigns. Every data point is fully anonymized and aggregated—no individual advertiser is ever exposed.
This dataset updates frequently as new ad data flows in. It will only get bigger and better.
CPC (Cost Per Click) is what you pay each time someone clicks on your ad, on any Facebook Ads placement. It's calculated by dividing your total spend by the number of clicks received. Facebook Ads lists Clicks, Link Clicks and Outbound Clicks separately. The former is the sum of all types of clicks (including, for example, clicks to your profile page, to a link or to a comment).
The truth is that varies, so play with our tool to get some benchmarks that are relevant to you. CPC values are highly dependent on the region, industry and campaign objective. The US is one of the most expensive markets.
Several factors affect CPC: your audience targeting, competition in your industry, ad relevance score, and creative performance. If your ad isn't getting engagement or relevance is low, CPC tends to spike.
CPC spikes usually happen because of increased competition in your target audience, seasonal trends (like holidays), poor ad relevance scores, or algorithm changes. Check if your audience targeting has become too narrow or if your creative is showing fatigue.
Yes, there's a noticeable difference between platforms. Mobile CPCs often run lower than desktop. How many times do check Instagram on your phone and how often do you open it in your computer? There's simply much more mobile inventory. Tip: segment your performance data by placement to understand where your clicks are coming from. Spoiler: it's likely all mobile.
For most businesses, optimizing for conversions will deliver much better ROI than focusing purely on CPC. A low CPC is meaningless if those clicks don't convert. However, if you're running awareness campaigns or some kind content promotion, CPC optimization might potentially make sense, although most experts have switched to conversion optimization by now.
Your specific audience targeting, creative quality, bidding strategy, and account history all influence your CPC. Industry averages provide a reference point, but your historical performance is a more reliable benchmark for setting expectations and measuring improvement.
Instagram CPCs are generally slightly higher due to stronger purchase intent and higher competition among advertisers. But it depends on the audience and creative.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
Average cost per click benchmarks across industries
Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
Benchmark click-through rates for Facebook ads
Cost per lead across different markets
Average cost per purchase benchmarks across industries
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