Shopify is a lot like chess.

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Sounds weird, right? But hear us out – both are easy to learn, hard to master, and involve a lot of moving pieces. And when it comes to strategy – the kind that makes you a chess or Shopify grandmaster – standing out from the crowd takes time, patience, and practice.

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And it’s a big crowd: there are currently 2,744,406 active Shopify stores. That’s a lot. This gigantic number is why average online conversion rates are sitting around 2%. 

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To add salt to the ecommerce wound, acquisition is also only getting more expensive. Between Apple’s iOS privacy updates, the phaseout of third-party cookies, and tightening data laws, it’s becoming harder for brands to retarget customers through paid ads and pixel tracking. 

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So how do you promote your Shopify store effectively? The answer is a healthy mix of customer acquisition methods, and we’re breaking down 8 of them in this article. 

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Let’s dive in!

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What is customer acquisition?

Let’s start with the basics: customer acquisition is the process of attracting and converting new shoppers into paying customers through a mix of organic, paid, and owned.

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The key success metric to monitor is Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – the average amount spent to acquire a new customer. This average CAC for stores is rising year-over-year – the current average in 2025 is $70-$80 (up 40% from 2023).

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Customer acquisition isn’t a one-and-done – it’s an ongoing process for you and a multi-touch, omnichannel journey for your customers. A shopper might see an Instagram ad, read a blog post, scan a QR code, and get a push notification – all before finally converting. 

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With this mini lesson out of the way, let’s take a look at how to advertise a Shopify store through 8 powerful customer acquisition methods.

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#1 - Paid ads and retargeting

Remember how we said it’s becoming harder to attract and re-convert customers through paid ads and retargeting? It is, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it.

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Despite the limitations, paid ads are still a key part of acquiring new customers. 

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One big change is the way you use this strategy: with the aforementioned privacy restrictions in place, successful ad campaigns now depend on owned data and hyper-personalized messaging. Instead of casting a wide net, focus on granular targeting to reach specific segments.

Paid ads platforms to try

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• Meta (Facebook/Instagram): great for social proof or product carousel ads
• Google Search & Shopping: powerful when targeting high-intent buyers ready to make a purchase
• TikTok: an impactful platform for discovery-driven audiences

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Using retargeting

Setting up the campaign is only half of the strategy – retargeting is the yin to paid ads’ yang. Retargeting allows you to cash in on your messaging and convert customers who didn’t make a purchase the first time around. While 70.22% of online carts are abandoned, effective retargeting can help you recover around 26% of them. 

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Paid ads and retargeting in action

Good Protein is a good user of paid ads and retargeting. By pairing social ad retargeting with a welcome offer to encourage first-time purchases, they have a customer acquisition plan that comes together as deliciously as a mixture of their chocolate and peanut butter-flavoured shakes.

#2 - Reactiv Clips

Getting a prospective customer to download your app is a tough sell. It’s time-consuming, takes up precious storage on their device, and, honestly, it’s just kind of a whole thing. That’s why Reactiv Clips are such a powerful mobile engagement tool.

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What’s a Reactiv Clip?

Reactiv Clips are lightweight versions of mobile apps. They allow users to access specific parts and features of your app without actually having to download it. 

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With an open rate of over 60%, Reactiv Clips are the perfect way to let potential customers experience your app without the risk of them bouncing before downloading. Plus, once someone engages, you have an 8-hour window to send personalized push notifications – no opt-in needed.

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A typical Reactiv Clip user flow

Here’s a look at how a hypothetical customer (we’ll call him “Bill”) would interact with your brand using Reactiv Clips:

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1. Bill clicks your Instagram ad, leading him to a Reactiv Clip. Hi Bill!
2. This immediately launches your product or collection landing page.
3. Bill leaves the page to respond to his multitude of Instagram DMs.
4. Bill is retargeted with a personalized push notification. He clicks the notification, bringing him directly to the checkout page with the product already in his cart.
5. Bill places the order.
6. He receives a push notification encouraging him to download the full app to track his purchase. Great work, Bill!

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As you can see from Bill’s ecommerce adventure, Reactiv Clips take a few moves off a customer’s path to checkout, providing a streamlined experience for them and a stronger conversion flow for you. Win/win!

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P.S. Social ads are just one of many ways to use Reactiv Clips in your campaign. More use cases can be found here.

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#3 - Conversational commerce: Shopping via LLMs

The rise of AI chat tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini has sparked a new era of shopping called conversational commerce. Instead of scrolling through product pages or sifting through Google results, shoppers are simply asking AI to find what they want.

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And it’s taking off fast: the global conversational‑commerce market is projected to grow from roughly US $8.8 billion in 2025 to about US $32.7 billion by 2035 (CAGR ~14.3 %). Ecommerce brands are clearly betting big on AI-powered shopping. 

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How conversational commerce impacts Shopify stores

Conversational commerce means your Shopify store can now be discovered inside AI chats – where customers are actively making purchase decisions. OpenAI has even made it possible for Shopify brands to let customers check out directly in ChatGPT, effectively consolidating the entire customer journey into one chat. 

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This trend combines personalization, immediacy and conversion. Shoppers get contextual recommendations, while brands gain a new channel to acquire high-intent customers. 

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Improving your visibility on LLMs

To appear more frequently on LLMs, optimize your product descriptions, collections and overall content for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). AEO involves optimizing your content to be better understood, trusted and sourced by LLMs. 

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Strong AEO helps your store and products appear when shoppers ask intent-driven questions like “I’m gluten intolerant. Help me find a probiotic supplement to improve my gut health”. 

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AEO in action

Cozy Earth wraps their customers in comfort – and their content in strong AEO. When our hypothetical friend Bill asked ChatGPT for a “cooling sheet set,” it responded with helpful tips and product recommendations – including a set from Cozy Earth.

Retargeting customers via LLMs

With more and more customers getting product recommendations from LLMs, retargeting them just makes sense. Reactiv is the only platform that lets you do this. With Reactiv, you can:

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• Run Reactiv Clips directly out of ChatGPT and other LLMs
• Send shoppers to a mobile app (without requiring a download!)
• Retarget them for 8 hours with push notifications

Conversational commerce is redefining the customer journey – make sure your pieces are on the board so you’re part of the game.

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#4 - Email marketing

Email marketing predates the modern internet, with the first recorded instance occurring in 1978. There’s a reason it’s still around: it works.

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While the first-ever marketing email was sent unsolicited by Gary Thuerk (giving him the nickname “Father of Spam”), today’s email marketing couldn’t be more different. 

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Powered by owned, zero-party data, customers are now choosing to hear from you by actively showing interest in your brand. This powerful (and profitable - the average ROI per $1 spent is $36 - $40) intent makes them the perfect candidate for future outreach.

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Building your email list

If you don’t already have an email list, it’s never too late to start:

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• Before opening your store, create a pre-launch page: You’ll have to pair this with another strategy to get the word out, but having a list of interested customers before you start selling gives you zero-party data from day zero.
• Add opt-in forms across your site: Make signing up worthwhile by offering perks like early access to new releases, exclusive discounts or product tutorials.
• Run giveaways: Incentivize sign-ups by offering a simple reward or contest entry. It’s a quick, time-tested way to grow your list.

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Remarketing with re-engagement flows

Once a customer creates an account with your store, email becomes a powerful re-engagement tool. Remarket them with re-engagement flows like:

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• Welcome sequences for first-time visitors
• Abandoned cart triggers
• Running promotional or holiday-specific campaigns

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Email marketing in action

Indigo is one of Canada’s favourite bookstores and one of our favourite users of email retargeting. When customers browse a book but don’t purchase, Indigo sends a “Take a second peek” email that’s supplemented with additional books from the customer’s wishlist. This strategy is personal, timely, and a powerful way to encourage customers to take another look.

With email marketing, it’s all about the setup. Start building your list and strategy early, and you’ll keep reaping the rewards.

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#5 - Organic content marketing

While it’s easy to get distracted by flashy new options, organic content remains one of the best strategies to market your Shopify store, especially when you’re just getting started. 

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Why? It’s free. 

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Free is good… And practical. 

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Organic content lets you test your messaging, drive discovery, and build an engaged community before investing in paid ads. Over time, present-day community members can become profitable future customers.

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Organic content marketing formats

Organic content comes in many formats – mix and match to see what resonates most with different segments:

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• Blog posts
• Product tutorials and guides
• YouTube videos
• Social media content
• FAQs
• And more – you’re only limited by your imagination!

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Once you create content in one format, repurpose it across others. For example, a cosmetics brand could turn its YouTube tutorial for its new eyeshadow palette into a TikTok video, an Instagram carousel, a blog post, and an infographic. One great idea, multiple different channels!

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SEO and AEO for organic content

Organic content is also a powerful tool for showing up in both search engines and LLMs. 

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Use search engine optimization (SEO) and AEO best practices across your site – including blogs, product descriptions, and tutorials – to improve visibility and organic discovery. 

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Let’s say you’re a skincare brand writing a holiday product guide – you’d want to include searchable queries like “best winter skincare routine” (you can find these using SEO keyword research tools). This will help you appear in both Google results and AI-driven discovery experiences.

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Content marketing in action

Missouri Star Quilt Company is a star in SEO and AEO content marketing. 

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Beyond their shop, their site features hundreds of quilting tutorials, blogs, and templates to attract new and experienced crafting enthusiasts – all rich with keywords. 

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They also worked with Reactiv to prioritize the in-app tutorial experience through searchable content linked to products and patterns. In less than 2 weeks, they were able to attract 50,000 new app users. That’s a lot of stitches and a lot of app users!

Organic content might take longer to see results, but it builds an essential foundation for your brand. Once it clicks, your board will be set for long-term success.

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#6 - Geolocation-triggered tactics

For years, ecommerce and retail have been treated like opposing forces. But shoppers never saw a difference. They move seamlessly between stores, mobile, and desktop, expecting every interaction to feel like part of one brand experience.

As of 2025, 73% of retail consumers identify as omnichannel shoppers: browsing online, researching on mobile, and buying in person. Yet most acquisition strategies are still built in silos. It’s time to bridge both worlds.

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With Reactiv Clips, brands can bridge that gap effortlessly. 

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Using geolocation triggers, NFC taps, or QR codes, Shopify brands can create fluid, real-world moments that convert on the spot and feed right back into their digital ecosystem.

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Picture this:

• A shopper walking past your store gets a Siri prompt to explore your latest collection.
• Fans at a stadium can buy a jersey instantly from their phone without having to download anything.
• A nearby coffee lover gets a notification to order ahead from your café and skip the line.

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Once a shopper interacts with one of these Reactiv Clip experiences, brands can send push notifications and personalized updates that strengthen the relationship long after that first scan or tap.

Here are some creative ways you can leverage this:

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1. Turning every store shelf into an interactive experience

QR codes on shelves or product tags can instantly unlock:

• sizing guides
• ingredient details
• UGC
• care instructions
• customer reviews
• stock availability (especially for variants not displayed on the floor)

Customers can pull up this information on their phones instantly.

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2. Converting retail visitors into digital subscribers

Clips let shoppers opt into:

• loyalty programs
• product launch notifications
• restock alerts
• limited-time in-store offers

…right from the aisle they’re standing in. (Or seat they’re sitting in, like how we built this experience for a basketball game at Madison Square Garden.)

3. Recovering missed sales in-store

If a location is out of a product or a size, Clips can automatically open a pre-filled cart for:

• ship-to-home
• same-day courier
• pickup at the next-nearest store

It removes the “we’re out” friction and saves an otherwise lost sale.

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4. Turning staff into storytellers, not cashiers

Reactiv Clips give store associates tools they can pull up instantly to:

• demo complex products
• share comparison charts
• guide purchases
• trigger add-ons or bundles
• text a Clip to the customer for later

This turns retail into a high-conversion consultative experience.

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#7 - Influencer marketing and partnerships

If you’ve been on any form of social media or video platform in the last decade, you’ve encountered influencers. 

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And for good reason: influencer marketing has become a staple in many acquisition strategies because it gives you access to one of the most effective ways to reach new audiences – leveraging someone else’s.

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Finding the right influencer

By working with an influencer, you’re able to tap into the trust and engagement a creator has already built with their audience. 

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This makes choosing the right influencer incredibly important – you need to ensure you’re reaching your ideal customers and that your message comes across as authentic. As tempting as it may be, partnering with the right micro-influencer is often a lot more powerful than splurging on Kim Kardashian.

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Play your cards right, and you can see incredible success: 31% of social media users say they prefer discovering new products through influencers they follow over any other format or channel. For Gen Z, this climbs to 43%! 

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Influencer strategies to drive acquisition

There are endless ways to work with influencers to drive acquisition, such as:

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• Using personalized discount codes or affiliate links to track engagement and measure ROI
• Collaborating on unboxings, tutorials or TikToks that drive directly to your Shopify store
• Use Reactiv Clips to sponsor influencer posts from your store’s social accounts to driving users directly to an app-like experience 

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Influencer marketing in action

Mejuri may be a fine jewelry brand, but their influencer marketing is more than fine. 

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Fine jewelry – especially online – is a hyper-competitive market, so Mejuri leverages a wide network of creators and influencers to break through the noise. 

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Just take a look at their #MejuriPartner hashtag, and you’ll find thousands of posts with hauls, unboxing videos, jewelry tours, and more.

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When you find the right creators to partner with, it’s not about spending money on the biggest star you can find – it’s about making the right moves to set you up for success later in the game.

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#8 - Loyalty and referral programs

It makes sense that a referral program is a strong acquisition strategy that doesn’t break the bank – but you might be surprised to learn loyalty programs are, too.

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In fact, they’re more than strong: 79% of customers say they’re willing to create a store account in exchange for loyalty points. 

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Once you have their data, you can add them to segments and re-engage via email, SMS, and other channels to secure that first purchase. Loyalty programs are also an excellent incentive for app downloads – pair them with exclusive app-only offers, bonus points, or personalized content to drive app engagement. 

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With a referral program, you can leverage the loyal customers you already have to do your marketing for you.

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Strategies and tactics for loyalty and referral programs

There are plenty of great Shopify app options to build your loyalty and referral programs in minutes, including:

• Loyalty Lion
• Yotpo
• Smile.io 

Once you have your foundation in place, use these tactics to get started:

• Add referral code prompting post-purchase emails and order confirmation pages.
• Incentivize social shares and repeat purchases with loyalty points.
• Understand and track key referral metrics such as the number of referrers, referred new customers, cost per referral, and the retention rate of referred shoppers.

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Loyalty and referral programs in action

Obvi obvi-ously knows what they’re doing when it comes to loyalty and referral programs. Not only do they offer a robust rewards program with multiple ways to earn points, but their referral program also benefits both sides: referrers and new customers each receive a $15 discount on their next purchase. That’s one healthy discount!

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Sticking with our chess analogy, every customer is another piece on the board – the right loyalty and referral programs let you set them up to play the long game.

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Promote your Shopify stores wherever your customers are

People aren’t monolithic. There’s no magic “one size fits all” approach to customer acquisition, even with the most niche target audience. 

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With omnichannel shopping more common than ever and customers receiving messages on every possible platform, it’s important to capture customers across multiple touchpoints with a strong multichannel strategy. The best way to tie it all together? Reactiv Clips.

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Pairing Reactiv with these customer acquisition strategy examples, like influencer campaigns, paid ads, email, SMS, and geolocation-triggered tactics, will ensure you stay top of mind and can re-engage customers wherever they are.

Interested? Talk to our team today and start turning your acquisition strategy into a winning board.

From a networking site for Harvard University students to a legitimate global social media powerhouse—Facebook has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a dorm room in 2004.

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And especially today, Facebook can offer a lot more for your business than birthday wishes and minions memes. 

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The how, of course, is through paid advertising campaigns on Meta platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and others. Facebook is the third most-visited website behind Google and YouTube as of 2025, after all. 

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Through Meta’s Ads Manager, you can:

• Set up campaigns
• Choose your platforms
• Define your audience
• Upload custom ad creatives
• Track and adjust ad settings to optimize performance

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Now, the big question: When it comes to Meta platforms, how do you optimize your ads? 

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It starts with refining your ad strategies to maximize conversions, impressions, reach, engagement or any other KPI. And in 2025, shoppers expect to see hyper-personalized, relevant ads—as well they should! 

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Let’s go a bit deeper into Meta ads optimization. 

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Why personalization matters for Meta ad optimization

Everyone wants to feel special. But when it comes to making someone feel special through Meta ads, personalization and ad retargeting are the keys. 

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Think of seeing an Instagram carousel ad of those beautiful new boots you were eyeing—a perfect, timely reminder of an item you may have regretted not picking up.

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If a customer spends time on your homepage, showing them awareness ads across multiple platforms also helps keep you top of mind. 

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The advantages aren’t just immaterial, either. Here’s why investing in optimizing your Meta ads pays off:

• 70% of retailers that invested in personalizing saw at least a 400% return on investment (ROI) increase.
• Personalized ads can increase conversion rates by up to 150% compared to standard ads
• Optimizing your ads leads to lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) and a 10x higher return on ad spend (ROAS)

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Meta ads 101: types, terms, and metrics you need to know

Before you can optimize, you need to know what tools you’re working with. Meta offers a variety of ad formats and campaign objectives to serve different points in the ecommerce and app funnel. 

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Here’s a quick rundown:

Terms

• Campaigns: These define your main goal, like increasing website visits or app downloads, or driving sales.
• Ad sets: Grouped ads sets within each campaign. These are based on the target audience. Each ad set can have a different allocated budget. 
• Ads: Individual creatives within each ad set. You can experiment with different ad types and formats to optimize what your audience best responds to. 

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Ad types

• Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs): Automatically retarget people with products they have viewed or added to their cart. Ideal for cart recovery and personalized upsells.
• Carousel and Collection ads: Highlight multiple products or app features in a single ad unit. This lets users swipe through options and explore.
• Image and video ads: A great format for brand storytelling, sales or specific product highlights. Video is a great option for driving engagement. 
• Reels and Stories ads: Full-screen, mobile-first placements that capture attention quickly and are great for discovery.
• App install ads: Drive downloads by highlighting the benefits of your mobile app and what sets it apart from browsing on the web.

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Metrics

• Click-through rate (CTR): Percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it. Average benchmarks depend on your industry, from 1.42% for food and beverage to 2.05% for books.
• Cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand clicks (CPM): How much you’re paying for each click, or thousand clicks. Lower is typically better, but spending more for high intent shoppers (like cart recovery) is valuable. Benchmarks: $0.70 for toys and games to $1.22 for art.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Revenue earned per $1 spent on the ads. Divide the total revenue generated by a campaign by the total cost of that ad campaign to calculate. Keeping an eye on this metric lets you know how efficient your advertising spend is. Benchmarks: 1.83 for food and beverage to 3.90 for sporting goods.
• Conversion rate (CVR): Calculated by dividing total conversions by the total audience and multiplying by 100. Higher is better. One of the most important metrics for ecommerce brands since a conversion-driven campaign strategy must drive actual sales. Benchmarks: 1.97% for pet supplies to 3.71% for home and garden.
• App-install-to-first-purchase rate: Shows what percentage of customers took a desirable action on your app. Critical for ecommerce apps. How many new installs actually become revenue-driving customers?
• Customer lifetime value (LTV): A metric that Meta’s API integrations can track to help tell you which campaigns are bringing in not just buyers, but repeat customers.

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Learn to optimize all of these areas to better achieve your campaign goals.

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13 proven ways to optimize your Meta ads

Now, let’s get into specific strategies you can use to optimize your Meta ads.

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Audience and targeting

1. Behavioural segmentation

How it works: Segment audiences by key shopping behaviors. This includes cart abandoners or people who viewed your app store listing, but didn’t download

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Why it’s great: 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned, making personalized retargeting key for recovering some of that “lost revenue”. Tailoring ad messaging to each segment’s behavior creates more relevance and higher ROI.

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Example: Target someone when a product they previously viewed is back in stock, like Hush.

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2. Lookalike audiences

How it works: Grow your customer base by finding people similar to your best customers with Meta’s lookalike targeting. 

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Why it’s great: Leveraging lookalikes based on high-LTV or repeat purchasers helps ecommerce brands see lower costs per acquisition (CPAs) than broader campaigns. Why? You’re targeting users already predisposed to convert.

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3. Custom audiences for specific offers 

How it works: Building custom audiences from website visitors, app users or past purchasers lets you serve hyper-relevant ads. For example, show a “10% off your next order” ad only to users who’ve bought once but haven’t purchased in 90 days. 

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Why it’s great: Reengaging dormant customers helps you build retention and improve your repeat purchase rates.

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Example: Indigo targets previous customers with new releases from authors they’ve previously purchased from.

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4. Exclusion targeting

How it works: Here’s a simple but often overlooked tactic—exclude users who have already converted. There’s nothing worse than seeing an ad repeatedly for a product or collection you’re not interested in. 

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Why it’s great: Who you target is important, but so is who you don’t. This tactic prevents wasted ad spend and helps avoid fatigue, especially for users who have already converted. Excluding recent purchasers or setting a cool-off period lets you shift budgets toward re-engagement or upsell opportunities for other audience segments.

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Creatives and messaging 

5. Test a variety of creatives 

How it works: Ad fatigue is real. Seeing the same creative over and over again can cause your audience to skip over your ads. Or worse, they might get annoyed and frustrated.

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The solution? Diversify your ad formats. Mix static images, carousels, short-form videos and user-generated content (UGC). You can also run structured A/B tests to compare visuals, messaging, and CTAs. That way, you can identify top-performing elements. 

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Why it’s great: A/B testing your ads can lead to a 12% to 15% improvement in online conversion rates. 

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Example: Blume tries a variety of ad formats across Instagram, Stories and Facebook ads.

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6. App features showcase 

How it works: Apps are everywhere—and for a good reason. A great app is simple and convenient, like having your favourite store in your pocket. So, don’t just sell products. Sell the benefits of your app. 

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Showcase app-only perks like loyalty programs, in-app discounts, community forums, quizzes and games, or early product drops. 

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Why it’s great: Not only does showcasing your app benefits help convert browsers into app users—it encourages existing users to engage more deeply. If you’re not using an app, you’re missing out on a lot of untapped potential.

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7. User-generated content (UGC) and social proof

How it works: UGC-driven ads can drive up to 29% more conversions compared to campaigns without it. Consider that 88% of online customers trust reviews from other customers, and this makes a lot of sense. 

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Why it’s great: Incorporating reviews, star ratings and authentic customer photos and videos in ads builds credibility. It also reduces purchase hesitation.

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Example: Blissy highlights real reviews and customer reviews in its ads, to great results.

8. Mobile-first video formats

How it works: It’s no secret that mobile-first video dominates Meta platforms. This includes Reels, Stories and vertical short-form. Over 98% of daily active users access Facebook on mobile devices. So make sure to match your video format to the platform. 

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Why it’s great: Paying attention to your video format can earn you big returns—vertical Instagram ads get 2 to 3x higher engagement rates than horizontal videos.

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Retargeting and offers

9. Dynamic product retargeting 

How it works: Dynamic creatives automatically populate ad units with products users viewed, added to cart or are most likely to buy. 

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Why it’s great: According to Meta, Dynamic Product Ads often deliver 20% to 30% higher conversion rates compared to static ads. It’s not hard to understand why. The personalization feels natural with that little gentle reminder: “Are you sure you don’t wanna buy those boots?”. 

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Example: Gap ads show product catalogs of previously-viewed products. Also, check out these other 15 retargeting ad examples that successfully converted. 

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10. App re-engagement campaigns

How it works: Use deep links in ads to send dormant users straight into high-value app screens (e.g., cart, wishlist or personalized recommendations). 

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Why it’s great: These campaigns not only bring users back but make the path to conversion that much easier.

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Example: Pela includes several products in its Instagram ads that take users right to the specific product page.

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11. Reactiv Clips for effective retargeting 

How it works: Traditional retargeting often fails because users don’t want to reopen or reinstall apps. Reactiv Clips let people interact with a mini-app instantly from an ad—no full app download required. Let’s break that down step-by-step:

• User discovers Meta ad
• Ad points to Reactiv Clip
• Reactiv Clip product page opens up
• A push notification is sent to everyone who clicked your ad
• Customers can use a one-click checkout with Apple Pay, Shop Pay, etc.
• You can send post-purchase push notification to download app

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Why it’s great: Reactiv Clips help you capture the 95% of ads that lead to nothing—no conversion, no email capture, no SMS capture. You can retarget anonymous clicks with push notifications using Reactiv Clips. How great is that?

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12. Behavior-driven incentives

How it works: Trigger discounts or perks based on specific behaviors. It’s simple, but extremely effective.

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Why it’s great: Adding hyper-personalized promotions gives users that extra incentive of an offer they can’t refuse.

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Example: Offer 10% off for first purchases, loyalty points for repeat buyers, or “welcome back” promos for inactive users. 

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13. App-exclusive offers

How it works: Send personalized push notifications from your app to retarget users based on what they viewed. 

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Why it’s great: Offers help make your app feel indispensable by giving it its own perks: app-only flash sales, early access to drops or points for loyalty programs. 

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Example: Abercrombie uses a combination of personalized Meta ads and push notifications to promote limited time sales.

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Sometimes, it is personal: optimize your Meta ads with Reactiv

To recap: in 2025, Meta ad success comes down to personalization and retargeting. Simple as that.

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The top ways to optimize your ads are:

• Target the right audiences: Segment by behavior, lookalikes or app engagement to deliver relevant ads.
• Test and rotate creatives: Keep ads fresh with diverse formats and messaging to keep up engagement.
• Leverage Reactiv Clips: Allow users to interact with mini-app experiences instantly, driving conversions and app installs.
• Recover lost opportunities: Retarget users who abandoned carts or became inactive to maximize revenue.

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Start making your campaigns smarter and free of friction. Book a chat with our Reactiv team in one simple click to learn more.

It’s a universal certainty: ads are everywhere. And today, there are more opportunities than ever for shoppers to see marketing messages, whether they’re checking emails or scrolling on social media.

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As a result, a lot of marketing messages end up becoming white noise – like seeing another wise, bearded wizard in a fantasy movie (it’s been done). 

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So, how do you stand out?

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The key is actually pretty simple: personalization. Hyper-personalized strategies allow you to run ads that are actually relevant to the customer. And today, we’re breaking down our favourite strategies: retargeting and remarketing.

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Read on because we're breaking down our top 15 remarketing and retargeting ads examples to help inspire your strategy.

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What is remarketing vs. retargeting?

Remarketing and retargeting are personalized marketing approaches that focus on customers who visited your website or mobile app but did not take a specific action.

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Although both terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there are a few key differences:

• Remarketing involves reaching out to a customer whose information you already have. This can be through a previous purchase or an email list sign-up. The goal is to reach out through personalized channels like email, SMS, or push notifications to create customer loyalty. 
• Retargeting focuses on customers who have visited your website but have not yet made a purchase. It uses cookies from when customers visit your site and then serves them ads once they leave your site on third-party websites like the Google Display Network or the Meta Audience Network.  

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BONUS: Track what’s actually working

Running retargeting ads without tracking profitability is like driving with your eyes closed. Just because someone came back to your site doesn’t mean the ad paid off.

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To help you dial in your spend, we put together a free Ads Profitability Tracker Spreadsheet—built specifically for ecommerce teams.

You can use it to:

• Track ROAS across Meta, Google, TikTok, and other channels
• Compare retargeting vs. prospecting campaign efficiency
• Monitor performance by audience, creative, and funnel stage
• Make faster decisions on where to scale or cut back

👉 Grab the spreadsheet here.

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15 top-tier remarketing ad examples for every stage of the customer journey

Time for the fun part! Here are 15 of the best remarketing ads examples we’ve seen.

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1. Good Protein – pair social ad retargeting with welcome offers for first-time customers 

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Good Protein’s approach was to use this collection ad to dynamically display products customers can click on. Customers are taken directly to the product page where they can learn more or add the item to their cart. 

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They also:

• Retargeted customers through the Meta Display network through Instagram Feed Ads and Facebook right column ads 
• Offered first-time customers 20% off their first order to incentivize the first purchase 
• Supplemented the discount with social proof by highlighting 20,000 5-star reviews 

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Top takeaway

Running ads across multiple channels keeps the offer top-of-mind. Varying the format, style, and imagery of each ad also prevents the customer from feeling ad fatigue or annoyance.

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2. Sloane Tea – use carousel ads to show off your best-sellers 

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Sloane Tea used a dynamic social media carousel ad to highlight multiple products based on what the customer had viewed.

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Each slide in the carousel features a different image and caption. Each image also has a “Shop now” CTA, making it easy for customers to visit the product page they’re most interested in.

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Top takeaway

Sloane also wisely used the same ad format on Facebook to reach shoppers across multiple channels.

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3. Journeys  – bring customers back with display ads

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Journeys used this dynamic Google Display ad that shoppers see on a third-party site. The ad shows sneakers they were previously browsing or similar styles.

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Top takeaway

Highlighting the price of each sneaker takes the guesswork out. Calling out “Free in-store returns” can help remove the risk customers feel with online purchases.

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4. Arrae – drive conversions by retargeting customers based on their pain points

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Arrae strategically retargeted customers through this Instagram Feed ad. They called out common symptoms of high cortisol and positioned their Arrae Magnesium as the solution.

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It’s also a collection ad, so customers can click only on the product they’re most interested in.

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Top takeaway

One of the most tried and tested ad formulas is the problem-solution approach, which Arrae has masterfully used in this remarketing ad example.

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5. Levi’s – retarget past shoppers with new product releases 

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Social media retargeting can also work for customers who have shopped with you in the past, but haven’t returned in a while. 

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For example, Levi’s used this Instagram Story ad to serve a message about their new product drop. This creates excitement and has a clear call to action. 

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Top takeaway

Don’t underestimate the power of imagery. Using lifestyle photography makes this ad feel natural in the story feed and non-disruptive to the shopper’s experience.

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6. Blume – inspire customers with social proof

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Customer reviews and testimonials are one of your most effective marketing tools. Blume did a great job of using these through its Instagram ad for its Clear Skin Kit. 

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This ad highlights real before and after pictures from a customer to show how effective the product is at targeting acne and scarring. 

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Top takeaway

Combining this ad with a 30% off discount goes a long way to helping shoppers who are on the fence commit to making a purchase. 

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7. Hush Blankets – take an omnichannel retargeting approach to stay top of mind

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Hush Blankets’ recent “Buy 2, Get 2 Free” pillow campaign was the perfect example of balancing retargeting and remarketing. They used a combination of Instagram Story, Instagram Feed, and Facebook Feed ads through the Meta Ad Network.

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To keep things interesting, each ad used slightly different sizes, images and captions while maintaining a consistent message of “Buy 2, Get 2 Free!” to create cohesiveness and brand recall. Hush also combined these retargeting ad examples with a personalized remarketing email with the same message but more information. 

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Top takeaway

Hush paired this ad with a personalized remarketing email that helped encourage the shopper to take advantage of the deal before it ends. Remember: personalization! 

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8. Loop Earplugs – create FOMO with limited-time-only deals

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Loop Earplugs promoted a buy one, get one 50% off sale through this Instagram Feed ad. The idea is that customers who had browsed specific earplugs or added products to their cart wouldn’t want to miss out on this offer (hence the FOMO).

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Top takeaway

Everyone loves a sale. Creating a sense of urgency with time-constrained offers is one of the best retargeting ad messages you can use.

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9. Oak + Fort – recover abandoned carts with SMS campaigns 

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Oak + Fort re-engaged this customer who abandoned their cart through a hyper-personalized SMS. The message:

• Highlighted the specific trench coat they were browsing
• Created urgency by telling them to check out before it sells out
• Provided a link directly to the customer’s cart, making it as seamless as possible to check out

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Top takeaway

Cart abandonment campaigns are one of the most effective types of remarketing ads – and for good reason. 45% of cart abandonment emails are opened!

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10. Riversol – reduce browse abandonment with personalized outreach 

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Browse abandonment campaigns are for customers who spent a certain amount of time viewing a certain product without adding it to their cart. Riversol’s remarketing email highlighted the product they were browsing and offered a button to buy now.

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It was also followed by a more in-depth explanation of the product benefits and mention of the 60-day money-back guarantee to ease the purchase pressure. They strategically tried to upsell the customer with a “You might also like” section of complementary products too. 

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Top takeaway

While cart abandonment remarketing often gets the spotlight, don’t forget about browse abandonment campaigns for interested customers who may need a little nudge before they commit. 

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11. Anna’s Garden – win back dormant customers with a strategic offer

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Winback campaigns can help re-engage customers who have shopped with you before but haven’t made a purchase in a while. Anna’s Garden did a beautiful job of this through a remarketing email that offered the customer $5 off their next purchase for a limited amount of time. Then, they followed up with curated product recommendations for the customer.

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Top takeaway

Use winback campaigns as an opportunity to remind customers why they shopped with you in the first place.

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12. Kiyoko Beauty – spark excitement with restock notifications 

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Kiyoko Beauty expertly retargeted a customer through a series of SMS messages telling them that the face cream they were looking at was back. 

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They use time-based remarketing to send messages every couple of days. Each message created a more urgent call to action by saying “Hurry” and “Last Chance”. When a customer clicked the link, it automatically placed the item in their cart and brought them right to the checkout page. 

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Top takeaway

If a customer browses a product that’s out of stock, you risk losing them forever – unless you strategically retarget them once that product is back!

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13. Paula’s Choice – drive repeat purchases with smart replenishment remarketing campaigns 

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You have tons of customer data at your disposal, so why not use it? Paula’s Choice's sends an email to a customer when it’s time to restock on their exfoliant, as part of a replenishment remarketing campaign. Using customer shopping behaviors lets you send these types of emails at the right point.

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Paula’s Choice also uses this as a cross-sell opportunity, recommending complementary products to give the customer “next-level results.” 

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Top takeaway

First-party customer data, like previous purchases, is one of the best sources to use in remarketing campaigns.

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14. Summer Fridays – personalize your outreach through quiz follow-up campaigns  

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When customers complete a quiz on your website, you get valuable zero-party data that you can use to retarget them. Summer Fridays capitalized on this through personalized remarketing emails sharing a skincare ritual tailored to the customer. That way, they could target the customer’s unique skin type and concerns while showing off their best products to help.

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Top takeaway

Not to sound like a broken record, but remember: personalization (like a quiz) is key for your remarketing ad strategy!

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15. Crocs – make customers feel special with a gift on their birthday 

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When customers make accounts or loyalty profiles, you collect valuable information about them – like their birthday! Use this information to remarket to them on their special day. 

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Crocs does a great job at this through a personalized birthday email that offers $15 off the customer’s next order over $50. 

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Top takeaway

Everyone loves feeling special on their birthday. Take advantage of the customer information you have on-hand for your remarketing strategy. 

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Retarget customers with Reactiv Clips 

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If you’re ready to take your remarketing strategy to the next level, a Reactiv Clip is a lightweight version of a mobile app that allows users to access a specific part of the app's functionality without having to download the full app. Brands can send push notifications to users up to eight hours after they engage with the mobile app page without requiring a download or an opt-in. 

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That means every single ad click can trigger a personalized follow-up on iOS, helping you reduce customer acquisition cost (CAC) and get more from your ad spend.

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Use this strategy to achieve any of the goals of the remarketing ad examples we’ve shared, like:

• Converting a cart abandoner
• Driving sales during time-sensitive promotions
• Creating excitement for new product drops 

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Take inspiration from the remarketing examples above, have fun with your brand, try a Reactiv Clip and get ready to watch your conversion soar to the stratosphere.