Pet brandPet · Australia
Cost per purchase
Cost of ads for each purchase
Case study · Pet · Australia
More purchases for less than half the cost each
This Australian pet brand worked with us on new ads. Its cost per purchase fell from AU$145 to AU$66, a drop of 55%, and the number of purchases rose from 45 to 86.
The results
Pet brandPet · Australia
Purchases
Same comparison periods
Why both numbers matter together
A lower cost per purchase on its own can hide a problem. Some accounts get cheaper by spending less and selling less: the few remaining sales are the easy ones. That isn't growth.
Here both moved the right way at once. Each purchase cost less than half as much, and there were nearly twice as many purchases. That combination usually means the ads were reaching new buyers and convincing them, not just picking up people who were already going to order.
How to read cost per purchase
Cost per purchase is total ad spend divided by the number of purchases the ads drove. Media buyers often call it CPA, cost per acquisition. If you spend AU$1,000 and get 10 orders, your cost per purchase is AU$100.
It is the number most small brands should watch first, because it compares directly with your margin. If a purchase earns you less profit than it costs to win, more ad spend only loses more money. Bringing it down, as here, is what makes it safe to spend more.
Our glossary has fuller entries on CPA and ROAS, which is return on ad spend: the revenue you get back for each dollar spent.
What we can and can't share
The brand has approved these figures. We have kept this page to the numbers it signed off rather than filling it with detail we can't back up. If you want to know how we would approach a pet brand like yours, the free ad audit on the demo call is the quickest way: we look at your live ads and your competitors' longest-running ads, and tell you which angles we would test first.
For a fuller picture of the ad formats we make for pet brands, see the pet accessories brand case study and the examples page.
Questions, answered.
What is a good cost per purchase?
It depends on your margin and order value. A purchase should cost less to win than the profit it brings in, ideally including repeat orders.
Did purchases go up or only the cost go down?
Both improved. Purchases rose from 45 to 86 while cost per purchase fell from AU$145 to AU$66.
Do you only work with pet brands?
No. We have also made ads for fashion, kids' rainwear and a property app. Pet brands just happen to be our two published results.