Since its wide rollout in 2024, Advantage+ Shopping Campaign (ASC) has become Meta's flagship format for e-commerce brands. But after analysing performance across 15 e-commerce accounts over 6 months, the picture is more nuanced than the hype suggests.
What is Advantage+ Shopping?
ASC is Meta's answer to Google's Performance Max. The idea: you provide creative assets and your product catalogue, and Meta handles everything — targeting, placements, bid optimisation. The algorithm manages both acquisition and retargeting end to end.
💡 In short: ASC merges into one campaign what used to be split between your prospecting and retargeting campaigns.
Results across 15 accounts
Here are the aggregated figures from our account panel, comparing performance before and after migrating to ASC:
| Métrique | Avant ASC | Après ASC | Évolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average ROAS | 3.8× | 4.6× | +21% |
| CPA | 42€ | 36€ | −14% |
| CPM | 8.2€ | 11.4€ | +39% |
| Conversion rate | 2.1% | 2.8% | +33% |
| New customer share | 68% | 52% | −16pts |
Advantage+ Shopping's strengths
- Excellent performance on accounts with a strong conversion history (+1,000 conversions/month)
- Significant time savings — less manual management
- Very effective during peak periods (Black Friday, Christmas)
- Strong automated management of warm retargeting
The limitations to be aware of
- CPM increases significantly — reach becomes more expensive
- New customer share tends to drop: ASC often over-optimises for retargeting
- Very little control over the budget split between prospecting and retargeting
- Performance reports are still insufficient to understand what's truly working
My recommendation
Advantage+ Shopping isn't a silver bullet, but it's a powerful tool if used correctly. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
The structure I recommend
Rather than shifting 100% of your budget to ASC, adopt a hybrid approach:
- 60–70% of budget on Advantage+ Shopping for algorithmic efficiency
- 20–30% of budget on manual campaigns to control your prospecting
- 10% of budget on manual retargeting for high-value abandoned carts
⚠️ Watch out: if your account has fewer than 500 conversions per month, ASC is likely to underperform. Wait until you have enough historical data before making the switch.
Conclusion
Advantage+ Shopping is an excellent tool for mature accounts with solid data history. For newer accounts or limited budgets, a hybrid approach remains the safest bet. Either way, don't sacrifice all control at the altar of automation.
Not sure whether to migrate to ASC?
I can audit your Meta Ads account and recommend the best strategy for your situation.
Request a free audit →