Use Retargeting and Remarketing for More E-Commerce Success

Retargeting that works: timing, message, channel

Retargeting is the attempt to bring back visitors who left. Most shops do it badly. They show the same banner the customer already didn’t click, on every page they visit. That isn’t retargeting. It’s stalking.

Retargeting works when timing, message and channel are aligned. Ignore that and you burn budget and annoy potential customers.

The three pillars of retargeting

Timing: When do we show the ad? Immediately? After 24 hours? After a week?

Message: What do we say? The same product? A discount? A reminder?

Channel: Where do we show the ad? Facebook? Instagram? Google Display? Email?

The combination of these three pillars decides success. A good message at the wrong time is useless. The right channel with the wrong message is useless.

Test 1: Timing

A furniture shop tested four retargeting windows for Facebook ads:

A) Immediately (within 1 hour).
B) 24-hour delay.
C) 72-hour delay.
D) 7-day delay.

Variant B won with the lowest CAC. Variant A was too aggressive: users felt followed. Variants C and D were too late: the buying decision had already been made.

A fashion shop tested a similar setup, with a twist: it segmented by behaviour. Users who had added a product to the cart were retargeted immediately (within 1 hour). Users who had only visited the product page were retargeted after 24 hours.

The segmented timing raised ROAS by 34 percent. Being more aggressive with cart retargeting was justified: the customer had already signalled interest. Product page retargeting was more patient: the customer needed time.

Test 2: The message

A supplement shop tested four retargeting messages for customers who had put a specific item in their cart:

A) “Forgotten something?” Product image, no discount.
B) “5% off your cart”. Product image, discount code.
C) “Your protein powder is waiting for you”. Personalised with the product name, no discount.
D) “48 hours left: 10% off your first order”. Urgency plus discount.

Variant C won with +31 percent conversion. Variant D came second with +18 percent. Variant B performed worst: a discount without context signalled desperation.

The personalised message without a discount won because it didn’t treat the customer as a bargain hunter. It treated them as a person who had forgotten something.

Test 3: The channel

An electronics shop tested three channels for retargeting:

A) Facebook/Instagram ads.
B) Google Display Network.
C) Email (for users who had left their email address in the cart).

Email won with a ROAS of 8.2. Facebook came in at 3.1. Google Display at 1.8. Email was the clear winner, but it only reached 23 percent of the users who had left (those who had entered their email).

The strategy: email as the primary channel for cart retargeting. Facebook as the secondary channel for product page retargeting. Google Display only for brand awareness, not for direct retargeting.

Test 4: The frequency cap

A beauty shop ran retargeting ads without a frequency cap. A user who had visited a product page saw the ad up to 15 times a day. After 3 days the click-through rate was 0.02 percent. Cost per click rose by 400 percent.

A frequency cap is the cheapest fix in retargeting, and three impressions per user per day is a sensible starting point. Worked example: the beauty shop above caps the frequency at 3 impressions per user per day.

The click-through rate rises to 0.18 percent, cost per click falls by 65 percent and the conversion rate rises by 12 percent, because the people who were never going to buy stop seeing the ad. Judge the change on cost per acquisition, not on clicks.

The lesson: more ads don’t mean more revenue. They mean higher costs and a weaker brand. Less is more.

Retargeting and the customer relationship

Retargeting can strengthen or weaken the customer relationship. An electronics shop tested different retargeting tones. Result: a helpful, advisory tone converted 45 percent better than an aggressive sales tone. Customers want to be supported, not chased.

You’ll find more in-depth material in the Academy track Conversion Foundations ↗.

Conclusion: retargeting isn’t a switch, it’s a dial

Retargeting isn’t “on or off”. It’s a dial with three axes: timing, message, channel. Pay attention to all three and you win customers back. Ignore one and you burn budget.

The best retargeting campaigns don’t feel like advertising. They feel like reminders. The customer doesn’t think “They’re stalking me”. They think “Oh right, I meant to buy that.” That’s the difference between good and bad retargeting.