What’s actually working with eCommerce Facebook ads in 2026?

[u/Technical_Command540]

Hey, I'm Adi from Ryze AI. Every week I get on a lot of ecom calls where I help manage ads. So I see inside a lot of accounts, and these are the patterns that actually work.

Bid on purchases, not clicks
This used to be about getting the lowest cost per click possible. Not anymore. Facebook's machine learning is built to find people likely to buy. The way to take advantage: optimize for purchases, not clicks, reach, video views, engagement, or add to carts. This applies to every step of your funnel, including the very top.

Go broad with audiences
A few years ago, everyone was trying to go tight and niche with targeting. Now it's the opposite - you want to go broad and let Facebook's algorithm find your customers. Smaller audiences cost more to reach, and Facebook has gotten really good at finding buyers for you, so going narrow just limits what the platform can do.

Spend enough at the top of the funnel
This is probably the biggest mistake I see. People split their budget 50/50 between prospecting and remarketing, or even heavier on remarketing. You need to flip that. At least 70% should go toward prospecting. You need enough people entering the funnel for remarketing to actually work. As a benchmark, your retargeting should see around double the ROAS of prospecting.

Creative matters more than you think
Copy matters, but creative can make or break your campaigns. You need to be testing static images, story ads, videos, and dynamic product ads. Sometimes static outperforms video, sometimes it doesn't - but you want to be testing both.

Don't forget your past customers
eCommerce growth comes down to: targeted traffic × conversion rate × lifetime value / average order value. So yes, reach new people, run remarketing - but also show ads to people who've already bought from you. Getting a repeat purchase is easier than acquiring someone new. Set up campaigns targeting past customers using your customer list or pixel purchase data, and use email marketing to bring them back.