Shopify Facebook Ads: Who's Actually Running Meta Ads (and Who's Not) [2,375-Store Study]

TL;DR from 2,375 top Shopify stores cross-referenced with Meta Ad Library:

• 22.5% of top Shopify stores are actively running Meta ads, while 77.5% are not
• Baby & Kids stores have the highest ad adoption (44.3%), Hobby stores the lowest (14%)
• Stores with 5M+ monthly visitors are 4x more likely to run Meta ads than stores under 50K
• Shopify Plus stores are 4.2x more likely to advertise on Meta than non-Plus stores
• The ad-ready threshold is 3+ apps and 5+ pixels. That's where adoption jumps from 11% to 27%
• Heavy advertisers (50+ ads) run Klaviyo at 81%, Gorgias at 41%, and Elevar at 37%

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Every "Shopify Facebook ads" guide tells you the same thing. Set up your pixel. Pick a campaign objective. Start with $5/day. Use lookalike audiences.

The problem? They're instructions, not intelligence. Nobody answers the questions that actually matter: What percentage of Shopify stores run Meta ads? How many ads do successful stores run? What does the tech stack of a heavy advertiser look like compared to a store that doesn't advertise at all?

We decided to find out. We cross-referenced Meta Ad Library data for 2,375 Shopify stores in our database and matched it against their app stacks, tracking pixels, traffic tiers, and store profiles.

This isn't a tutorial on how to set up Facebook ads. It's a data study on what's actually happening across the Shopify ecosystem: who's advertising, who isn't, and what separates the two groups.

Use this data to benchmark your own store, research competitors, or find prospecting opportunities.

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How We Collected This Data

Dataset: 2,375 Shopify stores from the StoreInspect database of 126,000+ stores

Selection: Stores were processed in order of lead fit score (highest first), so this sample skews toward established, marketing-savvy businesses. These are not random Shopify stores. They're the top tier.

Method: For each store, we queried Meta's Ad Library API to find their Facebook Page and count currently active ads. We then cross-referenced this with our existing detection data: apps, tracking pixels, themes, traffic tiers, Shopify Plus status, product pricing, and category.

What we can see: Number of currently active Meta ads, Facebook Page category, and Facebook page likes.

What we can't see: Ad spend, impressions, ROAS, targeting, or creative performance. Meta doesn't expose this data. Neither can anyone else, despite what some tools claim.

Methodology note: Active ad count is a point-in-time snapshot. A store with 0 ads today may have run ads last month. Our data captures who is actively advertising at the time of our scan, not historical advertising behavior.

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How Many Shopify Stores Actually Run Meta Ads?

22.5% of top Shopify stores are actively running Meta ads. That means 77.5% (more than three out of four) are not.

Among the 534 stores that do advertise, the numbers split into two clusters. There's a group of small-scale testers (1-5 ads) and a group of full-scale operations (100+ ads), with fewer stores in the middle.

The median advertiser runs 38 active ads. The mean is 117, skewed by heavy advertisers running 1,000+ ads. The store with the most active ads in our dataset has 1,900 (Quad Lock, the phone mount brand).

Nearly a quarter of all advertisers (24.7%) run 100+ active ads. These aren't stores testing a few creatives. They're running structured campaigns with multiple audiences, placements, and creative variants.

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Which Shopify Stores Run Meta Ads (and Which Don't)?

By Niche

Ad adoption varies widely by category. Baby & Kids leads at 44.3%. Hobby stores trail at 14%.

A few things stand out.

Baby & Kids stores advertise more than any other category (44.3%). This makes sense. Baby products are emotional purchases, visually compelling for ad creative, and often gift purchases, all of which perform well on Meta's algorithm.

Electronics and Sports stores run the most ads when they do advertise (293 and 265 average active ads). These categories have broad product catalogs that lend themselves to dynamic product ads and multiple creative variants per product line.

Hobby stores rarely advertise and run few ads when they do (14% adoption, 16 average ads). Niche audiences are harder to target profitably on Meta at scale. These stores likely rely more on organic, community, and search traffic.

By Traffic Tier

More traffic = more Meta ads. Nearly half of stores with 1M+ monthly visitors run Meta ads.

For stores in the 1M–20M range, Meta advertising is table stakes. Nearly half are running active campaigns. If you're in this tier and not running Meta ads, you're in the minority.

The jump from under 50K (11.5%) to 50K–200K (22.2%) is where stores typically begin advertising seriously. The second jump to 1M+ (44%) is where it becomes the norm.

Note: Higher-traffic stores running more ads doesn't necessarily mean ads caused the traffic. The relationship likely goes both ways: ads drive traffic, and traffic-generating stores invest more in ads.

By Shopify Plus Status

Shopify Plus stores are 4.2x more likely to run Meta ads than non-Plus stores.

One twist: non-Plus stores that do advertise run more ads on average (222 vs 110). This is likely skewed by a small number of aggressive DTC or dropshipping stores that invest heavily in paid acquisition without upgrading to Plus.

For agencies: Shopify Plus status is a strong qualifying signal. If a store is on Plus, there's a 1-in-4 chance they're already running Meta ads. The ones that aren't are prime prospects.

By Country

The US dominates in volume. Australian and UK advertisers run more ads on average.

Australian and UK stores that advertise run 55–60% more ads on average than US stores. Agency insight: don't overlook international Shopify markets. The per-store advertising intensity outside the US can be higher.

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The Meta Ad Maturity Tiers

Based on the data, we can define five tiers of Meta advertising maturity across the Shopify ecosystem. Use this framework to quickly assess any store: your own, a competitor's, or a prospect's.

Dark (32.5% of stores)

These stores have zero active Meta ads and no visible Meta Pixel installed. They're either pre-revenue, selling through other channels (wholesale, Amazon, marketplaces), or deliberately avoiding paid social. Without even basic tracking in place, they're not ready to advertise on Meta.

Dormant (45.1% of stores)

The largest tier. These stores have Meta Pixel installed (they're being tracked) and typically have 3+ apps, but they're running zero active ads. They've invested in their tech stack but haven't activated paid acquisition. This is the biggest opportunity in the dataset. More on this in the prospecting section below.

Testing (6.1%)

Running 1–10 ads, usually with a small daily budget. These stores are experimenting. They have basic tracking but haven't committed to a structured campaign. Common pattern: a store owner running a few boosted posts or a single campaign before deciding whether to scale.

Running (6.6%)

11–50 active ads signals an established advertising program. These stores typically have dedicated ad budgets, possibly a freelancer or small agency managing campaigns. They run multiple ad sets with different audiences and creative variants.

Scaling (4.3%)

51–100 active ads indicates a serious operation. These stores almost always have agency support or an in-house media buyer. Their tech stacks reflect this: they run Elevar for server-side tracking, Gorgias for the increased support volume, and multiple tracking pixels for cross-platform measurement.

Dominant (5.6%)

100+ active ads. These are the brands running structured multi-audience, multi-creative, multi-placement campaigns. They rotate creative constantly, test at scale, and treat Meta as a primary revenue channel. Think Gymshark (1,600 ads), ILIA Beauty (1,200 ads), and True Classic (910 ads).

Quick assessment: Check any store's tier in 60 seconds. Use the free Store Inspector extension to detect their tracking pixels, then look them up in the Meta Ad Library to see their active ad count.

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The Tech Stack of a Meta Advertiser vs. a Non-Advertiser

Here's the cross-analysis that makes this data unique. We matched Meta Ad Library data against each store's detected apps, pixels, and theme to answer: what does the tech stack of a heavy advertiser actually look like?

Heavy advertisers run nearly 2x the apps and 40% more pixels than non-advertisers. They're almost universally on Shopify Plus (97.9%). And they sell at lower price points ($70 vs $148 average), suggesting they rely on volume-driven, ad-fueled acquisition rather than high-AOV organic strategies.

The custom theme rate is worth a look: 67.8% of heavy advertisers use custom themes compared to 40% of non-advertisers. When you're spending significant money driving traffic, you invest in a conversion-optimized storefront, not a free theme.

Pixel Count Is the Strongest Predictor

Tracking pixel count has a clear linear relationship with Meta ad adoption.

The inflection point is 5 pixels. Below 5, fewer than 1 in 5 stores advertise. At 5+, it jumps to roughly 1 in 4. At 8+, nearly 1 in 3.

Stores that invest in tracking (GA4, Meta Pixel, Google Ads, TikTok Pixel, Klaviyo) are the same stores that invest in paid acquisition. Pixel count is a proxy for marketing sophistication.

App Count Follows the Same Pattern

The jump from 1–2 apps (11.4%) to 3–5 apps (26.7%) is where advertising behavior fundamentally changes. That's a 2.3x increase in ad adoption just from having a more built-out app stack.

Stores with 6–10 apps are the most likely advertisers at 37.8%. They've invested in email, reviews, upsell, support, and analytics before pouring money into paid acquisition.

The ad-ready threshold: 3+ apps and 5+ pixels. If a store hits both benchmarks, it's much more likely to be running (or ready to run) Meta ads.

Lead Fit Score Predicts Advertising

Our lead fit score (a 0–100 composite of apps, pixels, theme type, and Plus status) strongly predicts Meta ad behavior.

Stores scoring 80+ are 7x more likely to run Meta ads than stores scoring 20–39. And 90.6% of all advertisers in our sample have a lead fit score of 80 or higher.

If you're prospecting for stores that advertise on Meta, filter by lead fit score first.

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What Apps Do Heavy Advertisers Run?

We looked at the app stacks of stores running 50+ active Meta ads. The pattern is clear: email, support, tracking, reviews, then SMS.

Klaviyo at 81% adoption is the clear winner. When you're driving traffic with Meta ads, you need email and SMS flows to capture, nurture, and retain that traffic. The Shopify tech stack data shows Klaviyo at 25.8% adoption across all stores. Among heavy advertisers, it's 81%. That's a 3.1x premium.

Elevar at 37% is the tracking play. Elevar provides server-side tracking and data layer management, solving the iOS 14+ attribution gap. Heavy advertisers can't afford to lose conversion data, so they invest in tools that ensure Meta's algorithm gets clean signals.

Northbeam at 11% is the attribution layer. Northbeam is a third-party attribution tool that compares Meta-reported conversions against actual Shopify orders. It solves the "Facebook says 50 purchases, Shopify says 30" problem. It's still niche (11%), but its presence among heavy advertisers signals that attribution accuracy matters at scale.

The heavy advertiser stack: Klaviyo (email) + Gorgias (support) + Elevar (tracking) + Yotpo (reviews) + Attentive or Postscript (SMS). If a store is missing these pieces, they're not ready to scale ad spend.

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What Pixels Do Heavy Advertisers Run?

Heavy advertisers don't just run Meta Pixel. They run multi-channel tracking across 7+ platforms.

A few observations.

Meta Pixel at 71% (not 100%) among heavy Meta advertisers. This seems low, but it's explained by how modern tracking works. Many stores load their Meta Pixel through Google Tag Manager (also at 71%) rather than inline. Others use server-side Conversions API through Elevar or Shopify's native integration. Our frontend scan detects inline pixels but may not see every GTM-loaded or server-side implementation.

39% run Microsoft/Bing Ads and 38% run Google Ads pixels. Heavy Meta advertisers are multi-channel. They're not relying on a single platform.

29% run TikTok Pixel, 19% Snapchat, 15% Pinterest. The spread beyond Meta correlates with store size. These are stores hedging against platform risk and testing emerging channels.

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The Biggest Advertisers on Shopify

These are the stores running the most active Meta ads in our dataset.

Every top advertiser is Shopify Plus with a lead fit score of 100. But beyond that, the profiles vary:

• Quad Lock runs 1,900 ads for a single product category (phone mounts). High ad count with a narrow catalog means they're testing extensive creative variants and audiences for the same products.
• Gymshark at 1,600 ads reflects a massive multi-product, multi-market operation. At 5M–20M traffic, Meta ads are one channel in a large mix.
• Jones Road Beauty runs 1,200 ads with only 3 detected apps. A lean tech stack with heavy ad investment. The brand (founded by Bobbi Brown) likely has strong organic demand that ads amplify.
• Act+Acre has the most built-out stack (9 apps, 8 pixels) paired with 960 ads. That's the "full investment" profile: every conversion tool plus aggressive paid acquisition.

You don't need to be Gymshark-sized to run a serious ad operation. Boody and Act+Acre are in the 200K–1M traffic tier with 1,400 and 960 ads respectively. The differentiator is commitment to the channel, not store size.

See any store's full profile: Browse top Shopify stores by category or use the StoreInspect dashboard to search any domain and see its apps, pixels, traffic tier, and Meta ad count.

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77.5% of Top Stores Don't Run Meta Ads. Here's What That Means

The biggest finding in this study isn't who is advertising. It's who isn't.

1,841 of the 2,375 top-tier stores in our sample are running zero active Meta ads. Many of them have the tools to advertise, but they just haven't started. That's a massive opportunity depending on what you do for a living.

The Dormant Opportunity by Category

We checked how many non-advertising stores have Meta Pixel installed (tracking, but not spending) and how many are "ad-ready" (3+ apps, 5+ pixels, the threshold where ad adoption typically jumps).

Beauty stands out: 169 stores not advertising, but 63% of them are ad-ready. They have the tracking, the apps, the tools, but they just haven't turned on Meta campaigns. For an agency specializing in beauty brands, this is a curated prospect list.

Outdoor & Adventure at 58% ad-ready is another strong prospecting niche. These stores have invested in their stacks but haven't activated paid acquisition.

For Agencies: Your Biggest Pipeline

If you sell services to Shopify stores, this data reshapes how you prospect.

Target Dormant stores, not Dark ones. A store with Meta Pixel installed, 5+ tracking pixels, and 3+ apps (email, reviews, etc.) has already invested in their conversion tools. They just need someone to help them activate paid acquisition. That's a much easier conversation than trying to convince a store with zero tracking to start from scratch.

Pitch script inspiration:

"I noticed you're running Klaviyo, Judge.me, and have Meta Pixel installed — but you have zero active ads in Meta Ad Library right now. You've built the race car. Want help driving it?"

That's the gap-based pitch applied to advertising. You're not cold-pitching a stranger. You're pointing out a specific, verifiable gap in their marketing.

For more scripts and frameworks, see our cold email templates for Shopify stores.

For SaaS Vendors: The Pre-Advertiser Stack Gap

Stores about to start advertising need tools before they need ads. The data shows what the heaviest advertisers install:

1. Email marketing (Klaviyo at 81%) - must-have before any ad spend
2. Server-side tracking (Elevar at 37%) - critical for iOS 14+ attribution
3. Reviews (Yotpo at 32%) - social proof for ad landing pages
4. Live chat / support (Gorgias at 41%) - handle increased traffic volume
5. SMS (Attentive at 28%) - secondary capture channel for ad traffic

If you sell any of these tools, target stores in the "Dormant" tier. They have the tracking but are missing key conversion tools.

For Store Owners: Are You Ad-Ready?

Use this checklist to assess your Meta ad readiness:

• Meta Pixel installed (or Conversions API configured)
• Email marketing app active (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend)
• Reviews app installed (Judge.me, Yotpo, Loox)
• 5+ tracking pixels running
• Product pages optimized (not using a default free theme for a funded brand)
• Average product price supports paid acquisition margins

If you check 5 of 6, you're in the "Dormant" tier and likely leaving revenue on the table. Start with 3–5 test ads targeting your best-selling products.

If you check fewer than 3, invest in your stack first. Running Meta ads on a store with no email capture and no social proof is burning money.

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How to Research Any Store's Meta Ads

You can check any Shopify store's Meta advertising activity for free. Here are three methods, ranked by speed.

Method 1: StoreInspect (10 seconds)

Install the free Store Inspector extension to scan any live Shopify store. You'll see its detected apps, tracking pixels, theme, and Shopify Plus status. For stores in our database, you'll also see their active Meta ad count on the StoreInspect dashboard.

Method 2: Meta Ad Library (30 seconds)

Go to facebook.com/ads/library. Search for the brand name. If they have a Facebook Page running ads, you'll see every active ad, including creative, copy, start date, and which platforms it runs on (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network).

What you can see: ad creative, ad copy, start date, active/inactive status, platforms.

What you can't see: targeting, audience, spend, impressions, conversions, ROAS.

Method 3: Browser DevTools (2 minutes)

Open the store's website. Open Chrome DevTools (F12) → Network tab. Filter for facebook.com/tr or connect.facebook.net. If you see requests, the store has Meta Pixel installed. This doesn't tell you if they're running ads, but it confirms they're in the Meta ecosystem.

*For stores in our database. The extension detects pixels and apps on any Shopify store.

For a more detailed walkthrough on competitor ad research, see our guide on how to spy on competitor Facebook and TikTok ads.

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FAQ

What percentage of Shopify stores run Facebook ads?

Based on our analysis of 2,375 top-tier Shopify stores, 22.5% are running active Meta ads at any given time. Among stores with 1M+ monthly visitors, that number jumps to 44–45%. These figures likely understate total advertising activity since they only capture currently active ads, not stores that advertise on and off.

How many Facebook ads should a Shopify store run?

The median advertiser in our dataset runs 38 active ads. But the right number depends on your tier. Stores testing with a small budget typically run 1–10 ads. Established programs run 11–50. Serious operations run 50–100+. The top Shopify advertisers run 900–1,900 active ads with structured multi-audience, multi-creative campaigns.

Are Facebook ads worth it for Shopify stores in 2026?

The data suggests yes, but with caveats. Nearly half (45%) of high-traffic Shopify stores (1M+ visitors) are actively running Meta ads. Industry benchmarks put average ecommerce ROAS at 2–3x, with strong performers hitting 4–6x (per WordStream's Facebook Ads benchmarks). The key is having the right foundation first: Meta Pixel, email marketing, reviews, and a conversion-optimized store.

How can I see what Facebook ads my competitors are running?

Use the Meta Ad Library. It's free and shows every active ad for any Facebook Page. Search by brand name, then filter by country and platform. You can see ad creative, copy, and start dates. Pair this with a StoreInspect scan to see their full tech stack alongside their advertising activity.

What's a good ROAS for Shopify Facebook ads?

External benchmarks (not from our dataset, since we can't see ROAS): the average ecommerce ROAS on Meta is approximately 2–3x. A healthy ROAS for most Shopify stores is 3–5x. Top performers hit 6x+. Your break-even ROAS depends on your margins. For a store with 60% gross margin, anything above 1.7x ROAS is profitable.

Why are my Facebook ads getting clicks but no sales?

This is the #1 complaint on the Shopify Community forums. Our data offers a clue: stores with fewer than 3 apps and under 5 pixels that attempt advertising have much lower success indicators. Before troubleshooting your ads, check your conversion setup. Do you have email capture? Social proof (reviews)? Retargeting pixels? A well-designed product page? The problem is often the store, not the ad.

Should I use Facebook Ads or Google Ads for my Shopify store?

Our data shows that heavy Meta advertisers are almost always multi-channel: 38% also run Google Ads pixels, 29% run TikTok. Meta is generally better for demand creation (reaching people who don't know your brand) while Google captures existing demand (people searching for your product). Most successful Shopify stores use both. If forced to pick one to start, Meta's lower average CPC (~$1.72 vs Google's ~$5.26, per industry benchmarks) makes it more accessible for testing.

Does Shopify Plus matter for running Facebook ads?

Statistically, yes. In our data, Plus stores are 4.2x more likely to run Meta ads (26.6% vs 6.4%). Plus also unlocks Shopify Audiences (first-party data targeting), custom checkout scripts for better conversion tracking, and a higher operational ceiling that supports scaled ad spend. It's not a requirement, but it's a strong indicator.

What apps should I install before running Meta ads?

Based on what heavy advertisers (50+ active ads) actually run: Klaviyo (81% adoption) for email and SMS, Gorgias (41%) for support, Elevar (37%) for server-side tracking, Yotpo (32%) for reviews, and Attentive (28%) or Postscript (16%) for SMS. At minimum, install an email marketing app and a reviews app before spending on ads.

What tracking pixels should I have before running Meta ads?

Heavy advertisers in our data run an average of 7 tracking pixels. At minimum, install: Meta Pixel (or configure Conversions API), Google Analytics 4, and Google Tag Manager. As you scale, add Google Ads, TikTok Pixel, and Microsoft/Bing Ads. The 5-pixel threshold is where ad adoption jumps from ~15% to ~25% in our data.

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Summary

Based on Meta Ad Library data for 2,375 top Shopify stores (February 2026):

The biggest takeaway: The Shopify Meta ads market is top-heavy. Only 22.5% of top stores actively advertise on Meta, and the heaviest advertisers (100+ ads) account for most of the total ad activity. The 45% of stores sitting in the "Dormant" tier (tracking installed but zero active campaigns) represent the largest untapped opportunity for agencies, SaaS vendors, and store owners alike.

The ad-ready formula: Shopify Plus + 3 or more apps + 5 or more tracking pixels + Meta Pixel installed. Stores matching this profile are either already advertising or ready to start.

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Want to research Meta ads across the Shopify ecosystem?

For checking individual stores: Install the free Store Inspector extension to detect any store's apps, pixels, theme, and Shopify Plus status. Pair it with Meta Ad Library to see their active ad count.

For finding leads at scale: StoreInspect lets you filter 126,000+ stores by pixel count, app stack, traffic tier, and category, then export with verified contact emails for outreach.

Get Store Inspector Free → | Browse 126,000+ Stores →

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Related Guides

• How to Spy on Competitor Facebook & TikTok Ads [2026 Guide] - How to use Meta Ad Library and other tools for competitive research
• How to Detect What Pixels a Shopify Store Is Using [108,292-Store Study] - Full breakdown of pixel adoption across the Shopify ecosystem
• Shopify Tech Stack: What Successful Stores Actually Run [120,017-Store Study] - App, theme, and pixel benchmarks by niche and traffic tier
• How to Sell to Shopify Stores [91,694-Store Study + Pitch Scripts] - Gap-based pitch framework and scripts for agency prospecting
• How to Find Shopify Stores by App [Sales Prospecting Guide] - How to prospect stores based on their app stack
• Cold Email Templates for Shopify Stores [10 Scripts + Personalization Guide] - Outreach templates that reference tech stack data