+9.8%
Own-account ad count
7,909 in April; 8,682 in September.
Q3 2026 · Advertising activity
Compare the advertising retailers run.
Explore ad counts, platform mix and creative by store size and business type. Each comparison keeps brand-run ads separate.
Compare retailers like you.
Choose your group, then examine its ad counts, platform mix and messages. Your selections stay in the link.
1 store · All business types
66 retailers in this group · Q3 2026
- Typical Google + Meta ad count
- 27 Median among 50 qualifying advertisers
- Run 8+ own-account ads
- 76% 50 of 66 retailers · both platforms combined
- Use both Google and Meta
- 66% Of the 50 qualifying advertisers
- Ads started since April
- 7 Combined-platform median among 50 advertisers
A qualifying advertiser runs at least 8 own-account ads across Google and Meta combined. The platform filter changes the typical ad count only. Google and Meta medians are calculated separately and may not add up to the combined median.
See the comparison across groups.
Keep one filter and compare the other. Select a row to explore that group above.
All business types · Typical counts on Google + Meta · 5 published groups
| Store size | Retailers | Run 8+ ads | Typical Google + Meta ads | Use both | Started since April |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small sample | 5 | 4 of 580% | 570 | 75% | 73.5 |
| 15 | 14 of 1593% | 131 | 100% | 80 | |
| Small sample | 5 | 4 of 580% | 99 | 100% | 27 |
| 44 | 36 of 4482% | 35.5 | 89% | 18 | |
| 66 | 50 of 6676% | 27 | 66% | 7 |
What this group’s ads say.
See the mix of subjects and selling points across the selected group’s labeled creative.
1,001 labeled ads · 66 retailers in the selected group · Google + Meta combined
These shares count ads, so retailers with more creative carry more weight. The platform selector above does not change this combined view.
Use these counts to review the amount and mix of advertising you have running. An account can add ad versions while reducing its budget. The study doesn’t measure what a retailer spent or whether an ad brought in a sale.
Retailer activity grew. Brand activity fell.
April to September 2026, across the same 93 retailers. These figures cover Google and Meta combined and are separate from the filters above.
−14.2%
Brand-account ad count
8,850 in April; 7,591 in September.
93
Retailers in both reviews
Only businesses present in both captures are included in these changes.
April-Sept.
Comparison window
April was collected over two weeks. The September review took place in a day.
Put it to work
What to review in your store.
Start with the work each platform does.
Check which products and services your Google ads cover, and what your Meta ads give a shopper to consider. A higher ad count can simply mean more versions of the same creative.
Give your own store room in the message.
Compare the selected group’s subjects and selling points with your own ads. Look for specific reasons to visit: what you carry, the work you do, your staff’s knowledge or your inspection process.
Review what changed since April.
Use the started-ad count to discuss how often your creative is being replaced or expanded. It’s a description of observed activity, not a recommended production schedule.
Method
How the retailer comparisons work.
The review observed 142 retailers; 136 are included in the category comparisons. Six with different business models were set aside. A group needs at least four retailers with eight or more own-account ads before its metrics appear here.
Typical counts are medians among those qualifying advertisers. The Google median includes their zero-Google counts, and the Meta median includes their zero-Meta counts. Separate medians need not add up to the combined median.
Participation is the share of the whole group meeting the eight-ad threshold. Use of both platforms is a share of qualifying advertisers. The subject and message charts count labeled ads across the whole selected group, including retailers below the activity threshold.
Read the collection and comparison notes
The sources are the Google Ads Transparency Center and Meta Ad Library, reviewed on September 20, 2026. Recent activity is assessed over 14 days for Google and 40 days for Meta.
“Started since April” includes Google ads that began after the previous capture, including those that ended before September. Meta includes only newly started ads still live at the September capture. This combined count is a guide to observed creative turnover.
Meta was captured once in September, so campaigns that ran only in July or August are outside the review. Five accounts reached an ad-library search limit, making their counts minimums.
The April-to-September figures cover only the 93 retailers present in both reviews. Changing the recent-activity window changes the size of the reported movements. April and September were collected over different lengths of time.
Brand-account ads are excluded from the retailer counts. Brand reimbursement is invisible in the libraries. Neither library reports budgets or sales outcomes. Groups below the sample threshold are withheld rather than replaced with another group.