Shopify Facebook Retargeting Guide: Boost Sales with Smart Ads

Shopping cart abandonment is a nightmare—70% of potential sales vanish before checkout. Even worse, most visitors never return.

But with Shopify Facebook retargeting, brands are slashing abandonment by 26% and boosting brand recall by 57%. It's not just about recovering sales—it's about staying top of mind.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up powerful retargeting campaigns that bring customers back and turn missed opportunities into revenue.

What is facebook retargeting for Shopify stores?

Facebook retargeting is a way to advertise to people who’ve already interacted with your Shopify store. This includes people who visited a product page, added an item to cart, or simply scrolled your site.

Instead of spending more money chasing cold leads, retargeting gives you a second chance to win over warm prospects—those already familiar with your brand.

It works by tracking user actions through the Meta Pixel and then showing relevant ads based on their behavior. This means better engagement, higher conversion, and a lower cost per sale.

How to install the Meta Pixel on Shopify

The Meta Pixel is a small piece of code that tracks visitors on your site. It’s essential for Facebook retargeting.

Here’s how to install the Meta Pixel in Shopify:

1. Go to Settings > Apps and sales channels in your Shopify admin.
2. Click Facebook and open the sales channel.
3. Under Data sharing settings, toggle Enable data-sharing.
4. Choose your data-sharing level: Standard, Enhanced, or Maximum.
5. Select your Pixel ID from the list and click Confirm.

For best results, choose Maximum. This setting helps track more data for retargeting across devices and platforms.

You can also use Shopify apps like AdNabu’s Facebook Pixel App to make setup easier. It automatically handles events, conversion tracking, and works around iOS14 limitations using the Conversions API.

Creating custom audiences for Shopify ads

Custom Audiences let you group people based on their behavior—so you can serve ads that match their interest.

Here are the most common audience types:

• All website visitors (default)
• Viewed specific pages
• Spent time on site (percentile-based)
• Viewed product content
• Added to cart
• Initiated checkout
• Customer list uploads (email, phone, etc.)
• Facebook/Instagram engagement

For example, if someone viewed a product but didn’t add it to cart, you can show them a reminder ad.

Use retention periods to control how far back you want to go:

• 7 days = hot leads (checkout, cart)
• 14–30 days = warm leads (viewed content)
• 90–180 days = colder leads (social engagers, visitors)

To create a Custom Audience, go to Meta Ads Manager > Audiences > Create Audience > Custom Audience, and follow the prompts based on website activity, customer lists, or engagement.

Using dynamic product ads on Shopify

Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) are Facebook ads that show users exact products they viewed or interacted with on your Shopify store.

Instead of guessing what to show, Meta pulls info—like product image, price, and name—straight from your Shopify product catalog.

To run DPAs:

1. Upload your product feed to Facebook (can use AdNabu’s feed URL generator).
2. Choose the Catalog Sales objective.
3. Use your Custom Audiences to retarget shoppers who interacted with those products.

These ads are especially effective for:

• Cart abandoners
• Product viewers
• Recent visitors

DPAs are now part of Advantage+ Catalog Ads, which use machine learning to optimize delivery for each user.

Scale with Facebook lookalike audiences

Once you have Custom Audiences, you can create Lookalike Audiences—new people who behave like your existing customers.

You tell Facebook to find users who are similar to:

• Past buyers
• Email subscribers
• High-LTV customers
• Cart abandoners

Facebook analyzes hundreds of signals to find similar people across its platforms.

Use 1%–3% audience sizes to balance reach and accuracy. Start with 1% (most similar), and test wider ranges if performance is strong.

Lookalikes are great for scaling without losing targeting precision.

Best ad creatives for Facebook retargeting

Ad copy and visuals make or break your retargeting campaigns.

For best performance, mix and test:

• Catalog ads for product-specific retargeting
• Video demos for product education
• UGC (user-generated content) for trust
• Social proof, like reviews or ratings
• Urgent CTAs, like “Low Stock” or “Ends Today”

Brands like Reformation highlight free shipping. Piglet in Bed uses “1,000+ 5-star reviews” as proof.

Make sure your copy answers key pre-purchase concerns:

• Is it worth the price?
• Is it easy to return?
• Is it high quality?

A retargeting ad should remind, reassure, and re-engage.

Shopify retargeting funnel strategy

A solid Facebook retargeting funnel for Shopify breaks down your audience based on how close they are to buying. This way, you can deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

There are three main stages in the funnel:

1. Upper funnel: brand-aware but not product-engaged

Target users who’ve engaged with your Facebook or Instagram page in the past 90 days or visited your website in the past 30 days.

Exclude product viewers and cart abandoners to avoid overlap.

Use creative focused on storytelling, benefits, and social proof—this builds trust before the pitch.

2. Middle funnel: product-engaged visitors

These are users who viewed a product page (viewed content) in the last 14 days.

They’re interested but didn’t add to cart—so now’s the time to show off features, value, and reviews.

Use carousel or video ads with testimonials, FAQs, and comparisons to help them decide.

3. Lower funnel: high-intent visitors

This includes those who added to cart or initiated checkout in the past 7 days. They’re close to buying—your ads should focus on urgency, trust, and easy returns.

Run Dynamic Product Ads (DPA) that remind them what they left behind.

Segment each level with exclusions

Exclude lower-funnel audiences from upper-funnel targeting to avoid duplicate impressions. For example, exclude "added to cart" from the “viewed product” group.

Budget and optimization

Start small: $20–$60/day per funnel stage. Scale based on performance. Track frequency to make sure users aren’t seeing the same ad too often.

Top Facebook retargeting mistakes to avoid

Mistake #1: Not setting exclusions

If you don’t exclude overlapping audiences, users may see multiple ads at once. This burns your budget fast and skews data.

Mistake #2: Using the same ad creative for all stages

Upper-funnel users need education. Lower-funnel needs urgency. Don’t use the same message for both—it kills relevance and results.

Mistake #3: Underusing time-based segmentation

Different actions = different buying intent. Use 7 days for checkout abandoners, 14–30 days for browsers, and longer for cold traffic.

Mistake #4: Wrong budget allocation

Spending too much on small audiences like recent cart abandoners can lead to ad fatigue and poor ROAS.

Mistake #5: Ignoring ad frequency

High frequency means users see your ad too often. That leads to banner blindness or even negative feedback.

Mistake #6: Skipping creative testing

Only running one version of your ad? You’ll never know what performs better. Test images, videos, headlines, and CTAs regularly.

Mistake #7: Neglecting mobile-first design

Most users browse Facebook on mobile. If your ad layout doesn’t look good on phones, you’re losing attention and clicks.

Facebook ads compliance for Shopify

Selling in the EU or California? You must follow GDPR and CCPA regulations—especially when using retargeting.

1. Get consent for tracking

Add a cookie consent banner to your Shopify store. Users must opt-in before you track them with the Meta Pixel.

Shopify apps like GDPR Cookie Banner help with this. You’ll need to make sure the pixel only fires after consent is given.

2. Use privacy-safe settings in Meta

In Meta Ads Manager, enable Limited Data Use if targeting users in California. This ensures you follow CCPA restrictions.

Use data-sharing levels (Standard, Enhanced, Maximum) wisely. Choose the level based on how much customer data you collect.

3. Be transparent in your ad and site

Link to your privacy policy from your ad landing page and store footer. Clearly explain how user data is collected, stored, and used for advertising.

4. Use first-party data responsibly

If you upload customer lists, make sure you’ve collected consent for marketing. Meta will hash this data, but you’re still responsible for handling it legally.

5. Keep records of consent

Always document who opted in and when. If a user opts out, remove them from your Custom Audiences.

Failing to do this can get your ad account restricted or fined under GDPR.

FAQs

Final thoughts

If you want more sales from your existing traffic, Shopify Facebook retargeting is the most cost-effective move you can make. And with Dynamic Product Ads, you can automatically show the exact products your visitors viewed—at the right time, in the right place.

With the Cropink tool, you can create product feed-based ads perfectly suited for Meta, so your catalog syncs seamlessly and your campaigns run smoothly.

Whether you're recovering abandoned carts or scaling proven products, Cropink gives you the tools to retarget smarter and sell more—without the guesswork.

Start your high-ROI retargeting campaign with Cropink today. 

Sources

1. Cropink. 50+ Retargeting Statistics Marketers Need to Know