2021 BENCHMARKS REPORT

RETAIL INDUSTRY AD PERFORMANCE ON GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, instagram, AND AMAZON

Much has changed in the retail industry over the last year. As a result, marketers have had to reconsider what their digital advertising metrics can and should look like. What’s a good ROAS for their business? How much should they be spending? What does average CPC look like in their vertical? Sidecar’s 2021 Benchmarks Report answers these questions and more.

Now in its fifth year, the 2021 Benchmarks Report is the most comprehensive study on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon ad performance made exclusively for the retail industry. 
skip ahead to the full report

The award-winning report covers:

5
AD PLATFORMS
16
RETAIL SEGMENTS
6
MAJOR KPIs
3
SPEND TIERS
24
MONTHS OF PERFORMANCE

Marketers at retail businesses of all sizes can use these report findings to:

Compare their performance against industry benchmarks
Identify where they are beating the competition
Understand where they need to catch up
Evaluate expected performance through the rest of 2021

Scroll for the Overview

Google Shopping Benchmarks

A global pandemic ushered in a period of sustained online shopping. This behavioral uptick was apparent on Google Shopping in 2020. The channel saw average CPC drop while ROAS improved year over year, indicating efficiency gains as clicks came at a lower cost to retailers.

Get more Google Shopping benchmarks

Get more Google Shopping benchmarks

Google Paid Search Benchmarks

Retail marketers continued retooling their Google paid search campaigns for efficiency in 2020. Spending ad dollars on high-converting terms and less on general keywords paid off: conversion rate, click-through rate, and ROAS all experienced year-over-year growth while CPC dropped 14%.

Get more Google PAID SEARCH benchmarks

Get more Google PAID SEARCH benchmarks

Facebook Advertising Benchmarks

Consumers gained confidence in shopping online in 2020. This was apparent on social media sites like Facebook, where they can interact with businesses of all sizes and offerings. This increased confidence led to lower CPCs (-18%) and improved ROAS (29%) year over year.

Get more Facebook Advertising benchmarks

Get more Facebook Advertising benchmarks

Instagram Advertising Benchmarks

Historically, Instagram ads own higher CPCs than Facebook ads. That trend continued in 2020. Note that Facebook click-through rate was nearly three times higher than Instagram. This could mean retailers were willing to spend more for less return on Instagram, perhaps looking to gain exposure rather than increase revenue.

Get more Instagram Advertising benchmarks

Get more Instagram Advertising benchmarks

Amazon Advertising Benchmarks

Retail marketers with efficiency goals on Amazon had a notable 2020. Average CPC and CPA were the lowest across all five examined channels, while conversion rate and ROAS remained strong.

Get more AMAZON Advertising benchmarks

Get more AMAZON Advertising benchmarks

Access the complete 2021 Benchmarks Report

Get the full look at your industry’s ad performance on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.

You’ll receive:
  • Vertical-specific data across five performance channels
  • Performance data by monthly spend
  • Year-over-year KPI comparisons, by vertical and spend
  • Monthly views of major metrics for 2020
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2021 Benchmarks Report

Retail Industry Ad Performance on Google, Facebook, and Amazon

2021 Benchmarks Report

Retail Industry Ad Performance on Google, Facebook, and Amazon

Much has changed in the retail industry over the last year. As a result, marketers have had to reconsider what their digital advertising metrics can and should look like. What’s a good ROAS for their business? How much should they be spending? What does average CPC look like in their vertical? Sidecar’s 2021 Benchmarks Report answers these questions and more.

Now in its fifth year, the 2021 Benchmarks Report is the most comprehensive study on Google, Facebook, and Amazon ad performance made exclusively for the retail industry. The award-winning report covers: 
skip ahead to the full report

5x

AD PLATFORMS

16x

RETAIL SEGMENTS

6x

MAJOR KPIs

3x

SPEND TIERS

24x

MONTHS OF PERFORMANCE

5x
AD PLATFORMS
16x
RETAIL SEGMENTS
6x
MAJOR KPIs
3x
SPEND TIERS
24x
MONTHS OF PERFORMANCE
5
ad platforms
16
retail segments
6
major KPIs
3
spend tiers
24
months of performance

2021 Benchmarks Report

Retail Industry Ad Performance on Google, Facebook, and Amazon

skip ahead to the full report
Much has changed in the retail industry over the last year. As a result, marketers have had to reconsider what their digital advertising metrics can and should look like. What’s a good ROAS for their business? How much should they be spending? What does average CPC look like in their vertical? Sidecar’s 2021 Benchmarks Report answers these questions and more.

Now in its fifth year, the 2021 Benchmarks Report is the most comprehensive study on Google, Facebook, and Amazon ad performance made exclusively for the retail industry. The award-winning report covers: 

CHAPTER 1

Behind the Benchmarks: Google Shopping

How did retailers fare on Google Shopping in 2020? Many retailers dropped their bids in the channel, contributing to lower CPCs. Retailers were still able to convert traffic efficiently in this new normal, leading to growth in conversion rate and ROAS for many verticals.

Google Shopping CPCs were lower year over year in the majority of examined verticals. This was likely the result of many retailers rethinking their spend in the channel during the pandemic. Along with lower CPCs came sustained ROAS in many verticals, indicating stable return while spending less on clicks.  

Callout: Average CPC on Google Shopping decreased 9% year over year in 2020.

Google Shopping Benchmarks

By Spend Tier 2020

<$5,000

 CPC - $0.28

 CVR - 2.24%

CTR - 0.82%

ROAS - 8.30

AOV - $101.97

CPA - $12.16

$5,000-25,000

 CPC - $0.32

 CVR - 2.47%

CTR - 0.87%

ROAS - 8.03

AOV - $105.09

CPA - $13.24

$25,000+

 CPC - $0.61

 CVR - 2.74%

CTR - 0.83%

ROAS - 6.26

AOV - $144.07

CPA - $22.41

ALL

 CPC - $0.56

 CVR - 2.68%

CTR - 0.84%

ROAS - 6.43

AOV - $134.96

CPA - $21.00

Google Shopping Benchmarks YoY Change

By Spend Tier 2019-2020 

<$5,000

 CPC:  -8%

 CVR:  +13%

CTR:  -1%

ROAS:  +3%

AOV:  -16%

CPA:  -20%

$5,000-25,000

 CPC:  -5%

 CVR:  +7%

CTR:  -7%

ROAS:  +13%

AOV:  0%

CPA:  -12%

$25,000+

 CPC:  -9%

 CVR:  +2%

CTR:  -6%

ROAS:  +2%

AOV:  -8%

CPA:  -10%

ALL

 CPC:  -9%

 CVR:  +3%

CTR:  -6%

ROAS:  +3%

AOV:  -8%

CPA:  -11%

Are you hitting your Google Shopping benchmarks?

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