Understand how your CPM compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
November 2024 - November 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
Retail CPMs across all countries ran consistently below the overall market, with a sharp holiday spike in November followed by a reset into the new year and a steady, modest rebuild through 2025. The pattern is recognizable: a Q4 surge, a Q1 trough, then mid-year stability with a late-summer lift and a firmer October. Variability was present but measured, with most months clustering in a tight band. 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 across all countries compared to the global benchmark.
Retail CPM (cost per thousand impressions) opened at $21.14 in November 2024 and closed at $17.03 by October 2025, a 19% decline across the period. The median sat at an average of $15.96, with a low of $14.46 in February and a high in November. Outside that November peak, monthly CPMs largely held between $14.5 and $16.5.
The biggest single move was the November-to-December reset: -31% month over month (from $21.14 to $14.66). Early 2025 stayed muted—January ($14.74) and February ($14.46) formed the trough—before a spring lift in April ($16.16). Mid-year was stable: May to July hovered near $15.2–$15.9. August posted a noticeable pop to $16.48 (+8% from July), cooled in September ($15.51), then firmed into October at $17.03 (+10% month over month).
Volatility averaged 1.20 CPM points per month across the period. Excluding the November reset, monthly movement decelerated to 0.67 points, underscoring a relatively tight operating range for Retail CPMs after the holiday surge.
Seasonality showed a clear rhythm. Performance peaked in November (holiday competition), softened materially in December, and found its floor in February. Q1 2025 averaged $14.69; Q2 rose to $15.80 and Q3 held a similar $15.74, indicating mid-year stability. August stood out as the late-summer lift, while October signaled the start of Q4 firmness.
This cadence mirrors broader marketplace patterns—pressure into the holidays, a demand lull into the new year, then a gradual normalization—though Retail’s December pullback was sharper than its spring and summer fluctuations.
Compared to the global benchmark, Retail CPMs across all countries were persistently below market. Retail averaged $15.96 versus the global $19.96, about 20% lower. In 2025 year-to-date (Jan–Oct), Retail averaged $15.57 while the global benchmark held $19.45, sustaining the ~20% discount.
The gap varied by month: narrowest in April (Retail 14% below global) and widest in December (29% below). Month by month, Retail trailed global levels by roughly 14%–29% throughout. Trend-wise, the global benchmark fell 13% from November to October (24.53 to 21.43), while Retail declined 19% (21.14 to 17.03), indicating a slightly steeper slide for Retail over the full window. In volatility terms, Retail was marginally less choppy than the market: average monthly movement of 1.20 points vs. 1.27 globally; excluding the November reset, 0.67 vs. 0.81.
In sum, this CPM analysis shows Retail Facebook Ads benchmarks across all countries running about 20% below the global market, with a pronounced November peak, a sharp December reset, and steady mid-year consolidation. Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-thousand-impressions benchmarks for the Retail industry across all countries helps marketers gauge country-specific ad costs and compare industry ad performance to the broader global trend.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Mille (CPM) is the cost advertisers pay for 1,000 impressions of 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.
CPMs are heavily influenced by competition, seasonality (e.g., Q4 costs more), audience size, and ad quality. Smaller audiences and lower relevance scores often lead to higher CPMs.
Different campaign objectives, bidding strategies, and even time of day can change your CPM. For example, conversion campaigns usually have higher CPMs than traffic ones. Also, broad targeting tends to drive lower CPMs.
In most industries, CPMs range from $5 to $18 depending on the region and objective. Retail and e-comm campaigns often sit at the higher end. Our live data above shows a breakdown by country and industry.
Both matter, but audience quality (intent + match with your offer) usually has more impact than pure size. However, extremely tight audiences often lead to expensive CPMs due to limited delivery opportunities.
Depends on your goal. For awareness, CPM is more relevant. For performance campaigns, CPC and CPA matter more. But all are connected—inefficient CPMs can inflate your entire funnel.
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Cost per lead across different markets
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