Retargeting Is Dead. Here's What the Data Says.
CAC is up 74% in three years. Third-party signals are gone. Post-session re-engagement is losing ground fast. For heads of growth and e-commerce, the numbers are pointing in one direction and it isn't back to the ad dashboard. Convertive Research · March 31, 2025 · 12 min read · Industry Analysis KEY DATA POINTS CAC increase since 2021 +74% Post-iOS 14 ROAS drop −57% Anon traffic share 90%+ Median e-com CVR 2.1% 3P cookie status Deprecated In-session signal window ~90 seconds Time to RPS lift 30 days CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COST INDEX (2021 = 100 BASELINE) 2021 100 2022 131 (+31%) 2023 158 (+58%) 2024 165 (+65%) 2025 174 (+74%) −57% Meta ROAS drop post-iOS 14 (from avg 3.9× to 1.8×) 90%+ Traffic invisible to your CRM (no email, no profile) 30 days To measurable RPS lift (in-session AI)
Convertive Team



