What is Advantage+ Shopping Campaign (ASC)?

Advantage+ Shopping Campaign is Meta's AI-powered campaign type that automates audience targeting, placements, and creative optimization. While it can perform well, it's a 'black box' that often spends heavily on existing customers — people who already bought from you and would likely buy again anyway.

Why does Advantage+ spend so much on existing customers?

Meta's algorithm optimizes for conversions, and existing customers are the easiest to convert — they already know and trust your brand. Without proper exclusions or caps, ASC will naturally gravitate toward this 'low-hanging fruit' even though these conversions aren't truly incremental.

How much of my ASC spend is going to existing customers?

Industry data shows ASC campaigns typically spend 40-70% on existing customers without proper controls. Some brands have reported 80%+ going to existing customers. Our audit analyzes your specific account to show the actual split and dollar amount of potential waste.

How do I limit existing customer spend in ASC?

Three main approaches: 1) Set the 'Existing Customer Budget Cap' in ASC settings (Meta now allows 0-100% caps), 2) Upload and exclude your customer list, 3) Create separate prospecting and retargeting campaigns instead of using ASC. Sam provides specific recommendations based on your audit results.

What's a good new vs existing customer ratio for ASC?

It depends on your goals, but most brands targeting growth should aim for 70-80% new customer spend. If you're spending more than 30% on existing customers in ASC, you're likely paying for conversions that would have happened organically or through cheaper retention channels like email.

Is Advantage+ worse than manual campaigns?

Not necessarily — ASC can be very efficient when properly configured. The problem is the default settings prioritize easy conversions over new customer acquisition. With proper existing customer caps and exclusions, ASC can outperform manual campaigns on both efficiency and scale.

How does this compare to Google Performance Max?

Google PMax has similar issues — it's a black box that often spends heavily on branded search and existing customers. The same principles apply: audit your actual new vs existing split, use customer exclusions, and consider separating prospecting from retargeting if the algorithm isn't allocating optimally.

Advantage+ auditor

See how much ASC is spending on existing customers who would've bought anyway.

Account Name

Platform

Time Period

ASC Campaign Performance

Total Spend *

Total Revenue *

Conversions *

Your data stays privateInstant results

10 seconds • 10 free/day • Sign up for unlimited

The ASC Black Box Problem

Meta's Advantage+ often spends 50-70% of budget on existing customers who would've converted anyway. Sam reveals what ASC is hiding.