If you’re running Meta ads for your eCommerce brand and finding the cost per result creeping higher than you’d like, you’re not alone. It’s a common frustration especially when you’re doing all the right things but still seeing underwhelming returns.
When clients come to me struggling with high cost per purchase, the instinct is often to blame the algorithm, CPMs, or “saturated audiences.” But more often than not, it’s about refining your strategy, not reinventing the wheel.
In this post, I’ll walk you through seven proven ways to reduce your cost per purchase using practical, data-driven decisions that actually move the needle.
1. Fix the Funnel Before You Touch the Ads
Let’s get one thing straight: Meta can send you traffic, but your website needs to convert that traffic. If your landing page is slow, the mobile experience is clunky, or your checkout is confusing, your ads will always underperform.
✔️ Check site speed (especially on mobile)
✔️ Audit your checkout experience
✔️ Review cart abandonment rates and drop-offs
If people are clicking but not buying, the problem isn’t your ad, it’s your funnel.
2. Refresh Creatives to Improve CTR
Click-through rate (CTR) is an underrated goldmine of insight. A low CTR means your audience isn’t finding the creative compelling enough to take the first step. That’s your sign to test new creatives.
🎥 Try showing your products in a different way, e.g. grid style, flat lays, BTS, Founder videos.
📸 Add trust-building overlays: “Over 50,000 sold” or “As seen in…”
🪄 Test hook-first copy in your primary text: “Dry skin? This £18 cream sells every 3 mins.”
Higher CTR = More traffic = More opportunities to convert.
3. Let Broad Targeting Work, but Feed Meta the Right Signals
Gone are the days of stacking detailed interests or obsessing over micro-targeting. Meta now recommends broad targeting (especially with Advantage+ campaigns), allowing the algorithm to use real-time signals to find likely buyers. That means:
Use Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns when you’ve got a strong catalogue and purchase history
Your creative does the targeting — so test multiple formats, products, and angles
Give Meta clear conversion signals (Purchase events from Shopify orders and pixel data, etc.)
4. Optimise for Purchase, Not Vanity Metrics
It’s tempting to run campaigns optimised for link clicks or landing page views especially at the top of the funnel. But if your goal is to drive sales, those metrics can mislead you.
5. Cut Underperformers Early
Don’t wait weeks to pull the plug. One of the simplest ways to reduce cost per result is to cut budget wastage faster.
🧮 If an ad has spent 2x your AOV with no purchase? Turn it off.
📉 If ROAS drops below break-even for 3+ days? Pause and assess.
📊 Use your columns: sort by Amount Spent, ROAS, CTR, and Cost per Purchase to guide decisions.
Meta will naturally push spend toward higher-performing ads, but you still need to steer the ship.
6. Exclude Poor Performers from Product Sets
When using Advantage+ or catalogue-based ads, Meta will automatically promote what it thinks will perform best. But sometimes it keeps showing products that are:
🚫 Out of stock (technically out of stock products shouldn’t show but the system can sometimes be glitchy)
😬 Poor converters
🧾 Low margin
💡 Regularly review your product feed and exclude products that are dragging your results down.
7. Boost AOV to Offset Rising Ad Costs
If cost per purchase isn’t coming down, sometimes the better solution is to increase what each customer spends.
💥 Introduce bundles or multi-buy discounts
🚚 Offer free shipping above a certain threshold
🛒 Use post-purchase upsells to raise overall revenue per customer
This way, even if your cost per result stays the same, your profit margin increases.
Conclusion:
Lowering your Meta ads cost per purchase isn’t about quick hacks. It’s about consistently making smart decisions across your creative, targeting, and website experience.
By focusing on what you can control like ad testing, data signals, and customer journey. you’ll start to see more stable performance and better return on spend.
Managing your own ads and would benefit from expert eyes on your ad account? This is exactly what we help eCom brands with every day.
Feel free to get in touch. Email us at, hello@adanswersforecom.co.uk or join us on our socials – we like to hang out on Instagram 🙂
