/Advertising
Question
Getting sales but ROAS is 1.2... how do I improve this to actually make profit?
Posted by •11/20/2025
I'm finally getting consistent sales but I'm barely breaking even and I don't know how to improve my numbers.
Current situation:
- Spending $80/day on Facebook ads
- Getting 4-6 sales per day
- Product price: $39.99
- Product + shipping cost: $14.50
- ROAS: 1.2 (so for every $80 spent, I'm getting $96 in sales)
So I'm making like $16/day in revenue but after product costs I'm basically at zero or slightly negative when you factor in Shopify fees, transaction fees, etc.
I know people say you need at least 2.5-3 ROAS to be profitable but I'm stuck at 1.2 and I don't know what to change.
Things I've tried:
- Different ad creatives (tested 5 variations)
- Different audiences (broad vs interest-based)
- Different ad copy
- Raising and lowering budget
Nothing seems to improve the ROAS significantly. I get more sales when I spend more, but the ratio stays about the same.
Is 1.2 ROAS fixable or does this mean the product just isn't viable? What actually makes ROAS improve - better ads or better store?
I feel like I'm SO close to profitability but can't figure out what lever to pull to get there.
Current situation:
- Spending $80/day on Facebook ads
- Getting 4-6 sales per day
- Product price: $39.99
- Product + shipping cost: $14.50
- ROAS: 1.2 (so for every $80 spent, I'm getting $96 in sales)
So I'm making like $16/day in revenue but after product costs I'm basically at zero or slightly negative when you factor in Shopify fees, transaction fees, etc.
I know people say you need at least 2.5-3 ROAS to be profitable but I'm stuck at 1.2 and I don't know what to change.
Things I've tried:
- Different ad creatives (tested 5 variations)
- Different audiences (broad vs interest-based)
- Different ad copy
- Raising and lowering budget
Nothing seems to improve the ROAS significantly. I get more sales when I spend more, but the ratio stays about the same.
Is 1.2 ROAS fixable or does this mean the product just isn't viable? What actually makes ROAS improve - better ads or better store?
I feel like I'm SO close to profitability but can't figure out what lever to pull to get there.
3 Replies
•11/20/2025
Mind blown. I just checked and my conversion rate is 1.3%. So you're saying if I can get that to 2.5-3%, my ROAS would basically double without spending more on ads?
I've been obsessing over ad creative and audiences this whole time when I should have been fixing my store. This changes everything.
Going to audit my entire store/checkout flow and focus on improving conversion rate first. Thank you!
I've been obsessing over ad creative and audiences this whole time when I should have been fixing my store. This changes everything.
Going to audit my entire store/checkout flow and focus on improving conversion rate first. Thank you!
•11/20/2025
this was my exact situation 2 months ago. ROAS stuck at 1.3, tried everything with ads.
finally just focused on making my store convert better. added reviews, fixed mobile checkout, added urgency timers. conversion rate went from 1.4% to 2.8%.
ROAS jumped to 2.3 without changing a single thing about my ads. the store was holding me back the whole time.
finally just focused on making my store convert better. added reviews, fixed mobile checkout, added urgency timers. conversion rate went from 1.4% to 2.8%.
ROAS jumped to 2.3 without changing a single thing about my ads. the store was holding me back the whole time.
•11/20/2025
ROAS of 1.2 isn't an ad problem - it's a conversion rate problem. Let me explain why and how to fix it.
**Understanding ROAS:**
ROAS = Revenue ÷ Ad Spend
Your ROAS is low because you're spending too much to acquire each customer relative to your revenue. Let's do the math:
- $80 ad spend ÷ 5 sales = $16 cost per acquisition (CPA)
- $39.99 product price
- You're spending 40% of revenue on ads
**That's WAY too high.** You need CPA to be 20-25% of revenue max for profitability.
**Why is your CPA so high?**
CPA = Ad Spend ÷ Number of Sales
High CPA comes from:
1. Expensive clicks (high CPM/CPC)
2. Low conversion rate
You can't really control #1 (Facebook sets CPMs), but you CAN control #2.
**Here's the brutal truth:**
Your conversion rate is probably 1-1.5%. If it was 3%, you'd have 2X more sales with the same ad spend, and your ROAS would be 2.4 instead of 1.2.
**Check your conversion rate:**
- Go to Shopify Analytics
- Sessions ÷ Sales = Conversion Rate
If it's under 2%, your store is the bottleneck, not your ads.
**How to improve ROAS by fixing conversion rate:**
**1. Page Speed**
Slow = death. Check mobile speed. If over 3 seconds, fix it. Could instantly boost conversions 20-30%.
**2. Checkout Friction**
- Guest checkout enabled?
- Shipping cost transparent?
- Multiple payment options?
- Minimal form fields?
Each friction point costs 10-20% of conversions.
**3. Trust & Urgency**
For a $40 product from an unknown store:
- Need reviews/social proof
- Money-back guarantee
- "Limited stock" urgency
- "Free shipping over $50" incentive for upsells
**4. Mobile Experience**
80% of your traffic is mobile. Buy your own product on your phone. Is it annoying? Fix it.
**5. Product Page Conversion Elements**
- Clear, benefit-focused headline
- High-quality images (multiple angles)
- Video if possible
- Bullet points showing benefits not features
- FAQ addressing objections
- Reviews with photos
**The math if you improve conversion rate:**
**Current:** 2% conversion
- $80 spend → 100 clicks → 2 sales → $80 revenue → 1.0 ROAS
**Improved:** 3% conversion
- $80 spend → 100 clicks → 3 sales → $120 revenue → 1.5 ROAS
**Optimized:** 4% conversion
- $80 spend → 100 clicks → 4 sales → $160 revenue → 2.0 ROAS
Same ads, same traffic, just a better store.
**Also consider:**
**A) Average Order Value (AOV)**
- Add product bundles
- "Frequently bought together"
- "Free shipping on orders $60+" to encourage multiple items
- Post-purchase upsells
If you increase AOV from $40 to $55, your ROAS goes from 1.2 to 1.65 instantly.
**B) Email/SMS Marketing**
Your ROAS is only measuring first purchase. If you:
- Collect emails
- Send abandoned cart sequences
- Send post-purchase campaigns for repeat orders
Your TRUE ROAS over 30 days might be 2.5-3.0.
**Don't try to fix ROAS by tweaking ads. Fix it by converting traffic better.**
**Understanding ROAS:**
ROAS = Revenue ÷ Ad Spend
Your ROAS is low because you're spending too much to acquire each customer relative to your revenue. Let's do the math:
- $80 ad spend ÷ 5 sales = $16 cost per acquisition (CPA)
- $39.99 product price
- You're spending 40% of revenue on ads
**That's WAY too high.** You need CPA to be 20-25% of revenue max for profitability.
**Why is your CPA so high?**
CPA = Ad Spend ÷ Number of Sales
High CPA comes from:
1. Expensive clicks (high CPM/CPC)
2. Low conversion rate
You can't really control #1 (Facebook sets CPMs), but you CAN control #2.
**Here's the brutal truth:**
Your conversion rate is probably 1-1.5%. If it was 3%, you'd have 2X more sales with the same ad spend, and your ROAS would be 2.4 instead of 1.2.
**Check your conversion rate:**
- Go to Shopify Analytics
- Sessions ÷ Sales = Conversion Rate
If it's under 2%, your store is the bottleneck, not your ads.
**How to improve ROAS by fixing conversion rate:**
**1. Page Speed**
Slow = death. Check mobile speed. If over 3 seconds, fix it. Could instantly boost conversions 20-30%.
**2. Checkout Friction**
- Guest checkout enabled?
- Shipping cost transparent?
- Multiple payment options?
- Minimal form fields?
Each friction point costs 10-20% of conversions.
**3. Trust & Urgency**
For a $40 product from an unknown store:
- Need reviews/social proof
- Money-back guarantee
- "Limited stock" urgency
- "Free shipping over $50" incentive for upsells
**4. Mobile Experience**
80% of your traffic is mobile. Buy your own product on your phone. Is it annoying? Fix it.
**5. Product Page Conversion Elements**
- Clear, benefit-focused headline
- High-quality images (multiple angles)
- Video if possible
- Bullet points showing benefits not features
- FAQ addressing objections
- Reviews with photos
**The math if you improve conversion rate:**
**Current:** 2% conversion
- $80 spend → 100 clicks → 2 sales → $80 revenue → 1.0 ROAS
**Improved:** 3% conversion
- $80 spend → 100 clicks → 3 sales → $120 revenue → 1.5 ROAS
**Optimized:** 4% conversion
- $80 spend → 100 clicks → 4 sales → $160 revenue → 2.0 ROAS
Same ads, same traffic, just a better store.
**Also consider:**
**A) Average Order Value (AOV)**
- Add product bundles
- "Frequently bought together"
- "Free shipping on orders $60+" to encourage multiple items
- Post-purchase upsells
If you increase AOV from $40 to $55, your ROAS goes from 1.2 to 1.65 instantly.
**B) Email/SMS Marketing**
Your ROAS is only measuring first purchase. If you:
- Collect emails
- Send abandoned cart sequences
- Send post-purchase campaigns for repeat orders
Your TRUE ROAS over 30 days might be 2.5-3.0.
**Don't try to fix ROAS by tweaking ads. Fix it by converting traffic better.**