Snapchat Business Review: Is It Worth It for Ecommerce in 2025?

I'll be honest, when someone first suggested I look into Snapchat for marketing, I wasn’t sold. There are so many great social media platforms that are perfect for ecommerce sellers, from Instagram and Facebook to TikTok – all with their own sales capabilities. Snapchat seems a little underwhelming.

But, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about ecommerce marketing, is that success doesn’t come from staying where you feel comfortable – it comes from following your audience to wherever they are.

Turns out, quite a lot of people are on Snapchat – actually looking for things they want to buy. Around 432 million people use the app every day – including 75% of 13-34 year olds in 25 countries. That’s a combined spending power of about $5 trillion.

So, I dove into the ecosystem, poked around in the Ads Manager, and set up a few campaigns, to find out if Snapchat Business is really worthwhile for ecommerce.

Quick Verdict: Pros and Cons

If you're an ecommerce brand targeting Gen Z or millennials, Snapchat Business is absolutely worth exploring. Between its dynamic ad formats, seamless Shopify integration, surprisingly strong targeting, and innovative AR shopping features, Snapchat offers a lot.

There’s a learning curve, and it’s not ideal for every audience, but for visual, mobile-first brands willing to experiment, the ROI potential is massive.

Snapchat Business Review: The Platform and Audience

Snapchat Business is Snapchat’s answer to Facebook Ads, TikTok Shop, and every other social commerce tool out there, but with its own flavor.

Through the Ads Manager Platform, companies can create full-screen vertical ads, launch AR shopping experiences, retarget cart abandoners, and even sync up Shopify stores.

Confession: I used to think Snapchat Ads were just for Pepsi and Nike-sized budgets. Back in 2017-ish, that was true, Snap's ad platform was clunky, expensive, and clearly built for agencies, not bootstrappers.

But in the last couple years? Snapchat rebuilt everything.

• Smoother campaign setup
• Better conversion optimization
• More transparent reporting
• Smart bidding strategies
• Automation tools that don’t suck

You don’t need a media-buying PhD to get real results. Whether you’re running a one-person Shopify store or scaling a DTC brand with a small team, Snap now has the tools to give you ROI without the headaches.

Today, a lot of Snapchat’s toolkit feels like it was designed for ecommerce. You’re not just running campaigns to build brand awareness. You can design performance campaigns, optimize for conversions, track purchases, even promote apps.

But it’s worth noting everything on Snapchat moves faster, feels more raw, and demands creative that actually looks like it belongs there. Making the most of this platform is going to take a little work if you’re new to this kind of advertising.

The Audience: Who You’re Targeting

This is important, because while a lot of people use Snapchat – it does appeal to a pretty specific user group. For the most part, you’re going to be reaching Gen Z and millennial customers.

That’s good news, because these are some of the most commercially curious, trend-driven people online right now.

According to Snapchat’s own business data, over 75% of 13–34-year-olds in more than 25 countries use the app.

That’s an insane amount of reach for ecommerce brands selling to a younger crowd, especially fashion, beauty, wellness, or even tech and gadgets.

But it’s not just reach that matters, it’s how people interact. Snapchat’s users don’t just scroll past stuff. They’re clicking, swiping up, trying on products with AR Lenses, and even checking out right inside the app.

I’ve run plenty of paid campaigns across Meta, TikTok, and Google. Snapchat users, when targeted well, can often respond a lot faster, and in more valuable ways.

Why Snapchat Ads (Right Now)

Honestly, attention is getting more expensive. Everyone’s flooding Meta, TikTok, and Google. CPCs are up. ROAS is down. But Snapchat?

It’s still shockingly underpriced, and massively powerful if you’re targeting under-35s. Here are a few things worth keeping in mind right now:

• Brands on Snapchat are viewed as 1.6 times more relatable, and 4.8 less dated than brands on any other platform. So, if you want your brand to feel cool, this is the place to be.
• Snap ads saw a 75% YoY increase in purchase-related conversions lately. Plus, Snapchat ads are just as cost effective (if not more so) than TikTok, Google, or Meta ads.
• 85% of Snapchat users learn about new brands with social content, and they’re 34% more likely to buy from a Snap ad than they are to buy based on an ad hosted elsewhere.
• Snap Ads improve brand recommendations 4.5 times more than competitors. Also, creator-led ads drive an 8% increase in favorability, and 12% longer view times.

This is a rare combo: big reach, wallet-ready audience, and platform trust, all without the insane cost.

Snapchat Business Review: Snapchat Ads

If you’re considering using Snapchat for business, you’re probably going to be starting with Snapchat Ads. Snapchat gives you a few core formats via Snapchat Ads Manager, and they all feel native to the platform. You’ve got:

• Single Image or Video Ads: Full-screen, vertical, fast and flashy. These are what most ecommerce brands will use most often.
• Collection Ads: Product-focused and swipe-friendly. I’ve used these to promote new drops, and they work beautifully if your images pop.
• Story Ads: placed in the Discover feed. Great for brand storytelling, but you’ve got to be thumb-stopping from the first frame.
• Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs): total game-changer. These automatically pull from your product catalog (like Shopify, more on that later) and personalize the ad for the viewer.

You can also create non-skippable 6 second commercials – perfect for forcing customers to pay attention, without being overly annoying.

Targeting & Optimization: More Power Than You'd Expect

Great creative only takes you so far. What really makes a difference is targeting. I personally love is Snap’s deep targeting tools. You can go beyond basic demographics to target by lifestyle, interests, location, even lookalikes based on pixel data.

Honestly, I’ve found their lookalike targeting to be surprisingly smart for such a youth-heavy platform.

You can target by:

• Demographics (age, gender, location, etc.)
• Interests and behaviors (fashion lovers, tech nerds, beauty enthusiasts, etc.)
• Device type and OS (useful for app campaigns!)
• Custom audiences from your pixel data, customer lists, or engagement.

You can also build Lookalike Audiences, which often perform extremely well, particularly when they’re based on active customers, not just visitors. Another thing that stands out is how well Snapchat optimizes campaigns for specific goals.

You can run specific campaigns for lead generation, app installs, and product purchases, and Snapchat will help you every step of the way.

There’s even a new series of campaign objectives specifically tailored to performance marketers these days. You can run Lead gen campaigns to capture high-intent prospects in the apps (without the need for a landing page).

Plus, the TCPA bidding system (Target Cost Per Acquisition) helps to make sure you’re actually spending money to get the outcomes you want – whether that’s leads, signups, or purchases.

Snapchat Business Review: AR Lenses and Filters

One of the most significant things that sets Snapchat apart from other social media platforms is the focus on augmented reality. For ecommerce brands, augmented reality has massive value. One report found 66% of people want to use AR when shopping.

Let me start with AR Lenses. These are Snapchat’s crown jewel. You’ve probably seen them in action. Users open the app, flip the camera, and boom: suddenly they’re wearing dog ears, or a flower crown, or even your latest product.

Snapchat now offers “Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses”. You upload your product catalog, build an AR experience (Snapchat gives you tools to do this without needing to be a 3D design wizard), and suddenly your customers can virtually try on sunglasses, sneakers, makeup, or jewelry.

Sure, it takes a little setup. There’s a learning curve when it comes to AR creation (Snap's Lens Web Builder helps a ton), but once you get past the first campaign, it becomes part of your toolkit.

Now, what about Filters? These are different from AR Lenses but no less important. Filters are branded overlays people can apply to their Snaps, usually more lightweight than AR, but incredibly effective for brand awareness and UGC (user-generated content).

You can geo-target Filters for events, cities, or even product launch zones. They cost less to run than Lenses, and they’re brilliant for viral reach.

Between Lenses and Filters, Snapchat gives you two sides of the AR coin:

• Lenses = immersive try-on and conversion-driving magic
• Filters = simple, viral brand impressions that travel across peer groups

Pro tip: Pair AR lenses with your Shopify integration (more on that next). It creates a seamless, interactive path from try-on to purchase.

Working with Creators on Snapchat for Business

Snapchat isn’t just a place for ads, it’s a creator-fueled ecosystem now. And that shift is a huge opportunity for brands who get it.

You’re not just limited to creating your own ads – as amazing as they might be. You can tap into a huge creator ecosystem – one that’s rapidly expanding.

In the last year, the number of creators publishing content grew by 50% (which means more people for your company to partner with, and more engaging, organic content on the platform).

In the first quarter of 2025, Snap Stars (influencers), also increased spotlight posts (the For You page of Snapchat), by 125%.

Even better? Snapchat’s creator ecosystem outperforms TikTok and Instagram in driving actual purchases. This matters because users don’t want polished, corporate-looking ads. They want content that feels like it came from a friend.

So partner with creators. Run your ads next to theirs. Or just make your ads feel like theirs, low-fi, vertical, raw, and real.

Snapchat Business Review: The Shopify Sync

Shopify is my go-to ecommerce platform, hands-down, so the fact that Shopify syncs with Snapchat Business is a big deal for me.

Snapchat’s dedicated Shopify integration is a breeze to use. After you sync your store, you can automatically pull your product catalog was automatically pulled into Ads Manager, ready to power Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) and shoppable Lenses.

That means you:

• Don’t have to manually update everything when adding new SKUs.
• Can personalize ad creative automatically based on data.
• Have the option to retarget customers who’ve already visited your site.

Snapchat also has full-funnel capabilities built for ecommerce. You can drive awareness with an AR lens, retarget cart abandoners with product-specific ads, or upsell people who bought something last week.

The Shopify connection also helps with pixel tracking.

Snapchat’s pixel isn't as mature as Meta's (yet), but it’s improving fast, and it gives you all the core metrics you probably care about: adds to cart, purchases, ROAS.

You can also integrate your Shopify events directly into the pixel for cleaner data.

And this all feeds into their ecommerce campaign templates, which are pre-optimized for goals like conversions or product views.

If you’re used to the sophistication of Klaviyo or Meta’s back-end, Snapchat’s automations feel a little basic. But for straightforward, ROI-focused campaigns Snapchat holds its own.

Snapchat Business Review: Analytics and Reporting

Analytics aren’t the biggest strength for Snapchat Business. But they’re not terrible. The analytics tools are built into your Ad Manager, and cover essentials for tracking:

• Impressions
• Swipe-ups (your call-to-action)
• Pixel events (purchases, add to cart, etc.)
• eCPM, eCPC, ROAS

In my experience, Snapchat’s analytics are clean and easy to navigate, especially if you’re running direct-to-site conversion campaigns.

I could see how specific creatives performed, where drop-offs happened, and whether certain audiences responded better than others.

Still, there are limitations. There’s less granularity than what you’d get from Meta or TikTok.

You can’t always drill down to see exactly which people swiped up from a specific ad and bought a product within seven days. But you can always pair Snap data with Shopify and maybe something like Google Analytics or a platform like Triple Whale.

One feature I really liked was the ability to track purchases from public profiles, which brings your organic and paid metrics closer together.

You can start to see how organic engagement feeds into paid results. Not many platforms give you that kind of overlap.

Snapchat Business Pricing: What You’ll Spend

So, how much does it actually cost to use Snapchat business? That depends on you.

You don’t need a huge budget to get started. Unlike platforms that push you toward $50/day just to leave the learning phase, Snapchat lets you roll with as little as $5/day.

Snapchat runs on an auction-based system, just like Meta or Google. So you're bidding for impressions against other advertisers in your category, targeting similar audiences. That means pricing will vary based on:

• Audience demand
• Placement type
• Campaign objective
• Seasonality

In my own campaigns, I’ve seen:

• CPCs as low as $0.30–$0.60 for upper-funnel content
• CPMs around $3–$8, depending on targeting and creative quality
• CPA (cost per acquisition) ranging wildly from $5 to $30 depending on how warm the audience was and how optimized my funnel was

Quick tip, Snapchat rewards content that feels native. If your ad looks like a regular snap, you’ll often pay less per result. Snapchat also offers goal-based bidding, so you can tell the algorithm what you care most about, and it’ll aim for that result at the best price.

Overall, Snapchat is one of the cheaper platforms in terms of CPC and CPM, especially when you get the creative right.

It’s actually the most affordable platform out there for reaching Millennial and Gen Z audience at scale – way better than TikTok and Meta, particularly if you’re in industries like CPG, retail, or education.

How to Start Fast (+ Free Ad Credit!)

If you’re keen to try Snap Ads, but you’re anxious, I have good news. Snapchat literally gives you free money to start. Here’s what’s on the table right now:

• 💸 Spend $50, Get $75 in ad credit
• 💸 Spend $350, Get $375 in ad credit

Basically, you’re getting paid to test whether this platform works for you. (Spoiler: it will if you put a little thought into it.) Larger credit offers are also in development right now – so you have endless opportunities so save extra cash on your advertising.

The even better news is it’s incredible easy to get started:

1. Set Up Your Snap Ads Account

Go to ads.snapchat.com and create an account. It’s smoother than Meta’s and takes under 10 minutes. Bonus: you can connect your business public profile for organic + paid synergy later.

2. Install the Snap Pixel

Drop the Snap Pixel on your site (especially if you’re on Shopify, it’s basically plug-and-play). This is what lets Snap track stuff like pageviews, add-to-carts, and purchases.

3. Create Your First Campaign

Once you’re in Ads Manager, hit that “Create Campaign” button. Choose your objective: Lead Gen, Web Conversions, or Brand Awareness are ecommerce favorites.

4. Set Your Budget (Important!)

Here’s the cheat code:

• Set at least $30/day to feed Snap’s learning phase
• Use Autobid (don’t mess with manual bidding yet)
• Let it run untouched for 3–4 days so the algo can calibrate. No premature tweaks!

5. Pick the Right Goal

Choose what you care about:

• Web Conversions = sales
• Lead Gen = emails + opt-ins
• Brand Awareness = cheap eyeballs and reach

Let Snap optimize your delivery based on that one goal: don’t try to do too much at once.

6. Nail the Creative

Snapchat is not the place for boring. Your ad needs to:

• Look like content, not a commercial
• Start strong: the first 1–2 seconds matter most
• Focus on visuals > text
• Use clear CTAs: “Swipe up to shop,” “Tap to try,” “See it in AR”

Native-feeling, direct response-style ads work 10x better than polished, overly branded stuff. Don’t be afraid to get scrappy.

Customer Success Stories: Real World Winners

Still wondering if Snapchat can actually move the needle? Same here, until I saw what brands are pulling off with it. Here's a quick hit of what real-world success looks like:

Crumbl: Cookies + Clicks = Massive Growth

Crumbl went from cult favorite to national phenomenon, and Snapchat played a big role. They leaned hard into app install + purchase campaigns, used eye-catching video ads, and integrated the Conversions API to track across web and app. The results:

• +242% more purchases
• +32.3% boost in ROAS
• +237% SKAN installs
• +428% jump in SKAN (Apple’s attribution) purchases

They didn’t overcomplicate it. Great creative, smart targeting, and clean data were all it took to get phenomenal results.

Bradley University: Gen Z Enrollment, Unlocked

Bradley University teamed up with Snapchat to connect with future students, right where they’re hanging out already. Using in-app lead forms (so no one had to leave Snapchat), they kept friction low and conversions high.

• 81% of undergrad conversions came from Snap
• 30% of all social media impressions came from Snapchat

It just goes to show what happens when you meet your audience where they are.

Laneige: Skincare + UGC + Smart Data = ROAS

Laneige used bold visuals and creator content to promote product drops, and paired it with the Snap x Shopify Conversions API for killer targeting. The end result:

• +142% year-over-year ROAS increase

Proof that Snap + good content + clean data = performance machine.

Snapchat Business Review: The Verdict

If you’ve made it this far in this Snapchat Business Review, here’s what you need to know.

Snapchat isn’t a replacement for Meta or TikTok, but it isn’t trying to be. It’s its own unique marketing platform. When you embrace that, you open up great opportunities, particularly if you’re an ecommerce brand selling to a younger, mobile-first audience.

Honestly, Snapchat Business is built more for ecommerce than I expected. Between the dynamic ads, solid targeting options, and Shopify integration, it gives you a lot of the tools you need for boosting online sales.

If your product is visual, if your audience is under 35, and if you’re willing to experiment with fast-moving, creative-first content, Snapchat is worth your time.

The main thing to remember? This window of opportunity won’t stay open forever.

Right now, Snapchat is one of the last places where you can run ecommerce ads without selling a kidney. I’ve seen CPMs on Snap as low as $3, compare that to $12+ on TikTok or Meta in the same vertical. Why? Because not enough advertisers are using it yet.

But here’s the catch: that’s changing. Fast.

Snap’s active advertisers doubled year-over-year in Q1. As more brands flood in, auctions will tighten and costs will rise. So this is your moment to get involved – particularly with incentives for free ad credit on the table.

In 6 months, Snapchat will still be great, but not this cheap. So if you’ve ever considered running Snap Ads, now is the time to move.