Retargeting Ads on Meta: Bring Back Lost Customers and Boost Conversions

Someone visits your website, browses several products, adds one to their cart, then gets distracted and leaves. Hours later, they're scrolling Instagram and see an ad for the exact product they were considering. They click, return to your site, and complete the purchase. That's retargeting in action.

Retargeting ads (also called remarketing) target people who've already interacted with your business, whether by visiting your website, engaging with your Facebook or Instagram page, or watching your videos. These warm audiences convert at dramatically higher rates than cold audiences because they already know your brand.

For New Zealand businesses, retargeting often delivers the highest return on ad spend of any Meta campaign type. In 2026, with increasing privacy restrictions and cookie limitations, Meta's retargeting has evolved significantly. The platform now uses modelled audiences and AI predictions to maintain effectiveness even as direct tracking becomes more limited.

What is retargeting exactly and why does it work?

Retargeting is the practice of showing ads specifically to people who've already engaged with your business in some way. Instead of casting a wide net hoping to find interested customers, you focus your ad spend on people who've already demonstrated interest.

Retargeting works because most people don't buy on their first visit. Studies consistently show 97 to 98% of website visitors leave without purchasing. They get distracted, want to compare options, need to think about it, or simply aren't ready to buy that moment. Retargeting brings them back when the time is right.

The psychology behind retargeting is simple. People need multiple exposures to a brand before trusting enough to purchase. Seeing your ad after visiting your website creates familiarity. It reminds them of products they were interested in. It builds the repeated exposure that leads to conversion.

Retargeting audiences convert 2 to 5 times higher than cold audiences. Someone who's never heard of you might convert at 1 to 2%. Someone who visited your website last week might convert at 5 to 10%. This dramatically better performance means your ad budget goes much further.

In 2026, privacy changes have made retargeting more challenging but not impossible. Apple's iOS privacy features and cookie restrictions limit pixel tracking. However, Meta has adapted by using modelled audiences, aggregated data, and privacy preserving technologies that maintain targeting effectiveness while respecting user privacy.

What types of retargeting audiences can you create?

Meta offers several retargeting audience types, each suited for different marketing objectives.

Website visitor retargeting targets anyone who visited your website in a specific timeframe (typically 30 to 180 days). You can create broad audiences (all visitors) or specific audiences (people who visited particular pages).

Target homepage visitors with brand awareness messages. Target product page visitors with those specific products. Target cart abandoners with cart recovery offers. The more specific your audience, the more relevant your messaging.

Engagement retargeting targets people who engaged with your Facebook or Instagram content. This includes people who watched your videos, liked or commented on posts, sent messages, or saved your content.

These audiences are warm but haven't visited your website yet. They're perfect for driving first visits with compelling offers or content that moves them down the funnel.

Customer list retargeting lets you upload email addresses or phone numbers of existing customers or leads. Meta matches these to user accounts and lets you target those specific people.

Use this for VIP customer campaigns, reactivation offers for lapsed customers, or upselling existing customers on new products. Since you know exactly who these people are, you can craft highly personalised messaging.

Lookalike audiences aren't technically retargeting but build off your retargeting data. Meta finds new people who look similar to your website visitors, customers, or engagers. This expands your reach to cold audiences likely to respond well.

Start with 1% lookalikes (most similar) and expand to 5 to 10% as you scale. Lookalikes based on purchaser data typically outperform lookalikes based on website visitor data.

Dynamic retargeting automatically shows people ads featuring the exact products they viewed on your website. This is the most personalised form of retargeting and typically delivers the best performance for ecommerce stores.

Someone viewed running shoes on your site? They see ads featuring those exact shoes plus similar products. This one to one personalisation drives significantly higher conversion than generic retargeting.

How do you set up retargeting on Meta?

Setting up retargeting requires installing Meta's tracking pixel on your website and configuring audiences in Ads Manager.

Install the Meta Pixel on your website. This is a small piece of code that tracks visitor behaviour. Most ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce) have simple one click pixel installation. For custom websites, add the pixel code to your site header.

Configure standard events like Page View, Add to Cart, Initiate Checkout, and Purchase. These events tell Meta which actions people take on your site, enabling specific audience creation.

Create Custom Audiences in Ads Manager based on pixel data. Go to Audiences, click Create Audience, select Custom Audience, then choose Website as your source.

Define your audience parameters. You might create audiences like "Visited in last 30 days," "Added to cart but didn't purchase in last 7 days," or "Purchased in last 60 days."

Set appropriate timeframes. Recent visitors (last 7 to 14 days) are hottest and should get more aggressive retargeting. Older visitors (30 to 180 days) need softer reintroduction campaigns.

Exclude converters from retargeting. If someone already purchased, don't keep showing them the same product. Exclude purchasers from cart abandonment campaigns to avoid wasting budget and annoying customers.

Create layered audiences for specificity. Target people who viewed products AND added to cart AND didn't purchase. This highly specific audience likely just needs a small nudge to convert.

Test audience sizes. Very small audiences (under 1,000) limit delivery. Very large audiences (500,000+) might lack focus. Aim for audiences of 5,000 to 50,000 for most campaigns.

What should you show in retargeting ads?

The creative you show retargeting audiences should differ from cold audience creative because these people already know you.

For website visitors who didn't engage deeply, show brand building content that reinforces why you're worth considering. Customer reviews, unique value propositions, or problem solution messaging works well.

For product page viewers, show them the specific products they viewed plus similar items. Dynamic product ads automate this at scale. Include trust signals like reviews, free shipping, or easy returns to overcome purchase hesitations.

For cart abandoners, remind them what they left behind. Show the products from their cart with strong calls to action. Consider offering limited time discounts (10 to 15% off if they return within 24 hours) to create urgency.

For past purchasers, show complementary products or upgrades. Someone who bought a camera might want lenses. Someone who bought running shoes might want running clothes. Cross selling to existing customers is highly profitable.

For email subscribers who haven't purchased, treat them as warm but hesitant. Show social proof, customer testimonials, or limited time offers that overcome objections.

Keep messaging personal but not creepy. "Welcome back" or "Still thinking about it?" feels friendly. "We noticed you viewed this product at 2:47pm yesterday" feels invasive.

Test different ad formats for retargeting. Carousel Ads work well for showcasing the specific products someone viewed. Video ads work for reintroducing your brand story. Single image ads with strong offers drive direct conversions.

When should you show retargeting ads?

Timing significantly impacts retargeting effectiveness. Too soon feels aggressive. Too late misses the window.

For cart abandoners, start retargeting within 1 to 3 hours. Interest is still hot. They might have just gotten distracted. A quick reminder can recover the sale before they move on.

For product page viewers, wait 24 hours before retargeting. Give them time to complete their research naturally. Retargeting too quickly can feel pushy.

For general website visitors, wait 3 to 7 days. This gives them time to consider your brand while keeping you fresh in their mind when they're ready to engage.

For video viewers or social engagers, retarget within 3 to 14 days. They've shown interest in your content but haven't visited your website yet. Use retargeting to drive that first visit.

For past purchasers, timing depends on product type. Fast moving consumer goods might see cross sell ads within days. Considered purchases might wait 30 to 90 days before upselling.

Run retargeting campaigns continuously, not as one off efforts. As long as you're driving traffic to your website, people are entering your retargeting audiences. Continuous campaigns catch them at the right moment.

Use frequency capping to avoid ad fatigue. Showing the same ad 20 times in one week annoys people. Cap frequency at 3 to 5 impressions per week per person to stay visible without becoming irritating.

How much should you budget for retargeting?

Retargeting typically requires less budget than cold audience campaigns because audiences are smaller but highly valuable.

For most NZ businesses, allocating 20 to 40% of total Meta ad budget to retargeting makes sense. If you spend $1,000 monthly on Meta Ads, $200 to $400 should go toward retargeting.

Retargeting costs less per click than cold audience campaigns. CPCs for retargeting might be $0.50 to $2, while cold audience CPCs might be $2 to $5. You get more clicks for the same budget.

However, retargeting audiences are limited by your website traffic. If only 1,000 people visit your site monthly, your retargeting audience stays small. You can't spend $5,000 monthly retargeting 1,000 people without extreme frequency.

Scale cold audience campaigns to grow your retargeting pool. More website visitors means larger retargeting audiences means more retargeting budget capacity. The two work together.

Start with modest retargeting budgets ($10 to $20 daily) and increase as you see results. Don't overspend on small audiences, but don't underspend on proven high performers.

Monitor return on ad spend (ROAS) closely. Retargeting should deliver 3x to 10x ROAS for most businesses. If your retargeting ROAS drops below 2x, either creative, audience, or offer needs refreshing.

What about retargeting beyond Meta?

While this article focuses on Meta (Facebook and Instagram), retargeting extends across multiple platforms.

Google Display Network retargeting works similarly, showing ads across millions of websites to people who visited yours. This expands your retargeting reach beyond social media.

YouTube retargeting can show video ads to website visitors as they watch videos. This format works well for explaining complex products or telling brand stories.

Google Search retargeting (RLSA) adjusts your search ads and bids for people who've visited your website. Someone who visited your site and later searches "buy running shoes" sees your ad more prominently.

Email retargeting (through your email service provider, not Meta) reaches people who abandoned carts or browsed without purchasing. This owned channel complements paid retargeting.

The most sophisticated marketing strategies use multi channel retargeting. Someone visits your website, sees Meta retargeting ads, receives an abandoned cart email, and encounters Google Display retargeting. Multiple touchpoints dramatically improve conversion.

However, start with Meta retargeting before expanding to other platforms. Master one channel first, then scale across multiple platforms for comprehensive reach.

Ready to set up your retargeting campaigns?

Retargeting ads on Meta offer New Zealand businesses the highest converting audiences available in paid advertising. Instead of hoping cold audiences will purchase, you focus budget on people who've already demonstrated interest in your brand, products, or content.

Success with retargeting comes down to proper pixel installation, strategic audience creation, relevant creative tailored to each audience segment, and appropriate timing that brings people back at the right moment. The businesses generating serious revenue from retargeting in 2026 treat it as an always on recovery system that recaptures interest that would otherwise disappear.

Book a free discovery session with Bump Digital and we'll show you exactly how retargeting could work for your business. We'll review your pixel setup, identify your highest value audiences, and give you a clear retargeting strategy, whether you work with us or not. No sales pitch, just practical advice from a team that manages Meta retargeting campaigns for NZ businesses every day.

‍