Understand how your CPM compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
United States retail CPMs spent most of the year below the global benchmark, tracking a familiar retail rhythm: quiet through midyear, a sharp Q4 lift centered on November, and a pronounced post‑holiday drop. Median CPM averaged $17.29 in the United States versus $19.81 globally, with the gap narrowing early in the year and widening sharply into late Q4 and January. Volatility was modest for most months, then spiked around the holiday period, with November as the clear high point and January as the trough.
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 the United States compared to the global benchmark.
United States retail CPMs were steady across Q1–Q3, hovering near $17:
Across the period, United States retail CPMs underperformed the global Facebook Ads benchmarks by about 13% on average. The gap moved within a clear band:
Trendline differences were also notable: the global series rose steadily through Q3 and Q4 (+16% from January to October) before stepping down, while the United States path was flatter into Q3 and far choppier in the holiday and immediate post‑holiday window (−7% from January to September, +13% in October, +27% in November, then −28% and −29% in December and January).
Overall, this CPM analysis shows United States retail media costs tracking below the global market most months, with volatility clustering around the holidays and the steepest discounts arriving in January. Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for CPM in the Retail industry in the United States helps teams interpret country-specific ad costs, contextualize industry ad performance, and compare spend dynamics to global patterns.
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. For campaigns targeting United States, advertisers often face higher costs due to high competition and purchasing power. 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.
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Late November (Thanksgiving & Black Friday weekend), December (Christmas), Back-to-school (July–September), Summer travel season (Memorial Day onwards)
CPM and CPC might rise around major holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, especially in travel and entertainment. Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend triggers massive spikes in retail ad competition. December ad demand typically peaks—retail campaigns require significantly higher budgets. Back-to-school promotions drive increased competition. Juneteenth may see regional engagement rise.
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 thousand impressions across different markets
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Cost per lead across different markets
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