In short
- Four numbers decide whether ads can pay: conversion rate, order value, gross margin and the cost of a visit.
- Judge ROAS against your margin, never against another store: break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ margin.
- CTR alone means little. Banner ads average 0.37%, search ads several times more - but the click costs a fraction.
- Watch MER when several channels claim the same orders: all revenue ÷ all marketing spend.
Traffic and ads: what your ads buy
Impressions
How many times your ads were shown. Not a goal on its own - it is what a budget buys at a given CPM.
- Formula
ad spend ÷ CPM × 1,000- Typical
- No "good" number: compare it with the visits and orders it brings.
- Work it out
- CPM calculator
CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions)
The price of reach. A low CPM means many views for the money; it says nothing about clicks.
- Formula
ad spend ÷ impressions × 1,000- Typical
- Adeagle $0.97-$1.92; Social ads $11.82-$16.80; Google Ads $12.79.
- Work it out
- CPM calculator
CTR (click-through rate)
The share of views that became a click - how well the ad and the place it shows match the shopper.
- Formula
clicks ÷ impressions × 100- Typical
- banner ads of Shopify products 0.37% (our network, September 1 to October 31, 2026); social ads 1.71%-2.39%, search ads 4.10%.
- Work it out
- CTR calculator
CPC (cost per click)
What one visitor from your ads costs - the number that decides which channels a store can afford.
- Formula
ad spend ÷ clicks- Typical
- Adeagle $0.13-$0.30; Google Shopping $0.66; Facebook and Instagram $0.70-$0.87; Pinterest $0.20-$1.50; TikTok $0.67-$2.13; Google Search $1.16-$4.14; Reddit $0.50-$2.50.
- Work it out
- CPC calculator
Conversion: what visitors do
Conversion rate
The share of visits that end in an order - the single number that decides what every other channel is worth.
- Formula
orders ÷ sessions × 100- Typical
- 1.4% for the average Shopify store; the top 20% pass 3.2% and the top 10% 4.7%; phones 1.2%, desktops 1.9%.
- Work it out
- conversion rate calculator
Add-to-cart rate
How many visitors put something in the cart - the product page doing its job.
- Formula
sessions with an add to cart ÷ sessions × 100- Typical
- about 6%; then about 50% of carts reach checkout and 50% of checkouts end in an order.
- Work it out
- funnel leak finder
Cart abandonment rate
The share of carts left before the order. High everywhere - the useful number is how it moves after a change.
- Formula
(carts − orders) ÷ carts × 100- Typical
- about 70% of online carts are abandoned.
- Work it out
- funnel leak finder
Average order value (AOV)
What one order is worth. It sets how much you can pay for a click and still make money.
- Formula
revenue ÷ orders- Typical
- depends on the kind of store - the customer lifetime value calculator shows the median by store type.
- Work it out
- customer lifetime value calculator
Profit from ads: what the ads earn
ROAS (return on ad spend)
Revenue for every dollar of ads. Good or bad only against your margin.
- Formula
revenue from ads ÷ ad spend- Typical
- median 1.88× on Facebook and Instagram, 2.87× on Google Ads (2026, as the platforms report it).
- Work it out
- ROAS calculator
Break-even ROAS
The ROAS at which the ads pay for themselves and nothing more.
- Formula
1 ÷ gross margin- Typical
- with a 50% margin 2.0×; with 30% about 3.3×.
- Work it out
- ROAS calculator
CPA (cost per acquisition)
What one order from your ads costs. Compare it with the profit of one order, not with other stores.
- Formula
ad spend ÷ orders from ads- Typical
- the most you can pay: order value × gross margin.
- Work it out
- CPA calculator
MER (marketing efficiency ratio)
All revenue for every dollar of all marketing - no attribution needed, so no channel can claim the same order twice.
- Formula
total revenue ÷ total marketing spend- Typical
- watch its trend month to month; it should stay above your break-even ROAS.
- Work it out
- ad budget calculator
POAS (profit on ad spend)
Like ROAS, but with gross profit instead of revenue. Above 1 the ads make money.
- Formula
gross profit from ads ÷ ad spend- Typical
- above 1.0 the ads make money; 2.0 means they return twice their cost in gross profit.
- Work it out
- ROAS calculator
Gross margin
What is left of a sale after the cost of the product. Every ad limit above starts from it.
- Formula
(price − product cost) ÷ price × 100- Typical
- set by your products and prices - use your own.
- Work it out
- ROAS calculator
Customers: what a buyer is worth
Repeat purchase rate
The share of customers who order again. Repeat buyers cost nothing to win a second time.
- Formula
customers with 2+ orders ÷ all customers × 100- Typical
- about 25% for Shopify stores.
- Work it out
- customer lifetime value calculator
Orders per customer
How many orders a customer places over time - the multiplier in lifetime value.
- Formula
orders ÷ customers- Typical
- about 1.8 for Shopify stores.
- Work it out
- customer lifetime value calculator
Customer lifetime value (CLV)
The gross profit one customer brings over time - the most you can pay to win one.
- Formula
order value × orders per customer × gross margin- Typical
- set by the three numbers in it - the calculator works it out for you.
- Work it out
- customer lifetime value calculator
Benchmarks from our own data
Most benchmark pages repeat the same old surveys. These come from the ads we run for Shopify stores, measured every month, with the method on the page:
- Display ad CTR - click rates by banner size, kind of ad and screen (0.37% on average, 0.44% for ads with several products and prices).
- Banner ad sizes - all 15 standard sizes, each with its share of impressions and click rate.
- For order data - how many visits a sale takes, what Black Friday adds - see Black Friday marketing and what is a good ROAS.
Sources: Adeagle network data (September 1 to October 31, 2026); Shopify conversion benchmarks by Littledata (via Nudgify) and Baymard Institute, as cited in our conversion rate guide; the channel costs and ROAS medians cited on the CPC calculator and in what is a good ROAS; Little Stream Software for repeat purchases.