A few months ago, we were working with a marketplace client—not unlike eBay—who was absolutely crushing it on buyer counts. We were bringing in more new buyers than ever, hitting all-time highs on transactions and site traffic.
But there was a problem. AOV was dropping fast.
Instead of purchasing high-ticket items, buyers were checking out with low-value products. And while conversion rates looked strong, profitability was taking a hit. If we kept scaling like this, our ROAS would inevitably nosedive.
We knew we had to change our approach. The goal wasn’t just to get more buyers—it was to get buyers who spent more. If we could shift our campaign focus without hurting conversion rates, our ROAS would take off.
The fix: shifting focus to high-AOV campaigns
We needed a new approach—one that prioritized revenue per transaction, not just transaction volume. So, we restructured our entire Meta ad strategy:
1. create product sets in meta’s catalog
Meta allows you to segment your catalog into product sets, which means you don’t have to let the algorithm pick at random. Instead, we:
- Filtered by price, creating a product set for items above a certain threshold (e.g., only items above $100).
- Segmented by category, ensuring we were pushing high-ticket categories rather than just letting Meta default to the easiest conversions.
- Used past purchase data, identifying which products historically led to higher order values and grouping them.
2. prioritize these sets in ad campaigns
Once we had high-AOV product sets, we ensured they got the majority of the budget and impressions by:
- Excluding lower AOV products from our main campaigns. If our goal was maximizing revenue, we didn’t want to waste ad spend pushing $5 impulse buys.
3. leverage AI & machine learning
Meta’s AI is strong, but it needs clean signals. We optimized for purchase value rather than just purchase volume, which led to:
- Lookalike audiences based on past high-AOV buyers, ensuring we weren’t just recycling low-spending shoppers.
- Advantage+ shopping campaigns with tight value-based optimizations, allowing Meta to prioritize the highest-value transactions.
The result: ROAS shot up
Conversion rates stayed steady, but order values increased—and so did our ROAS. The same budget that was previously fueling low-margin transactions was now driving far more profitable purchases.
This wasn’t about spending more. It was about spending smarter.
If you’re running catalog ads, don’t let Meta default to low-ticket items. Take control. Prioritize your high-AOV products, optimize for value, and let Meta’s AI work in your favor.
Want higher ROAS? Focus on bigger checkouts, not just more checkouts.
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