How to Use Ads

GMV Max

1. What is the difference between GMV Max Auto Bidding and GMV Max Custom ROAS?

By default, all campaigns created with a Manual Product Selection and GMV Max model will now be GMV Max. Sellers can choose a ROAS target as GMV MaxAuto Bidding or GMV Max Custom ROAS. However, it should be noted that a product cannot run both GMV Max Auto Bidding and GMV Max Custom ROAS at the same time. Choose the optimal bidding method based on your product maturity and objectives.

Auto Bidding Ad performance will be system-optimized by Shopee, while GMV Max Custom ROAS campaigns allow Sellers to set a specific ROAS goal for their Products, giving Sellers more clarity on the upside. Sellers also have better opportunities to scale their GMV potential by leveraging broader traffic.

1. When to use GMV Max Auto Bidding vs GMV Max Custom ROAS? 

 GMV Max Auto Bidding is recommended if you would like to maximize sales automatically without a specific Target ROAS value.

 If you would like to maximize sales while keeping to a specific ROAS goal, GMV Max Custom ROAS will be the recommended campaign feature.

GMV Max Traffic

1. What traffic does GMV Max run on?

GMV Max allows sellers to tap into the broader traffic, providing more opportunities for Sellers to obtain visibility from their targeted audience and scale their GMV potential more effectively.

2. Where does GMV Max run?

GMV Max runs on Product Feeds across all Platform Traffic. This includes Search, Discovery, Video, Games, and Coins environments. You cannot select the placements to deliver your ad, however the system will optimize towards the best performing placements for your item to achieve your GMV Max goals.

GMV Max Custom ROAS: Setting Target ROAS

1. How are the recommended ROAS targets determined?

ROAS recommendations are customized based on the selected Product and are calculated based on the competitive insights for similar products and categories within Shopee. Shopee also takes into consideration the historical performance of the Product and Shop when suggesting the custom ROAS goals. 

Sellers are recommended to use the suggested ROAS values by Shopee as much as possible. We compared market-wide data and found that sellers who use the system-recommended ROAS generally achieve better results in overall traffic and order levels compared to those who do not follow the recommendation.

2. How to determine what Custom ROAS value to set?

Sellers can set a Custom ROAS value and should refer to the Product’s historical ROAS performance as a starting baseline to determine the custom ROAS goal. In general, we do not recommend Sellers indicate an ROAS goal that is 25% higher than the maximum Shopee suggested ROAS value. 

To guide sellers from setting an unrealistic ROAS goal, a text prompt will appear when the submitted goal is significantly higher than recommended.

3. What happens if I set a high target ROAS?

When sellers set a high ROAS target, there will be stricter spending monitoring and GMV Max will become more selective to focus more on efficiency. As it prioritizes performance efficiency over volume, GMV Max will inadvertently limit spend, thereby limiting the potential GMV performance that the Product can receive.  

For example, 

When the Seller sets a high ROAS target of 14 versus the average achieved ROAS value of 10, GMV Max will become more selective and efficient to ensure that the higher ROAS target can be achieved. This means that volume will be affected accordingly. The drop in volume limits the opportunities for Shopee to scale the GMV potential of the Product. 

4. Why is there still no traffic and clicks even though the set ROAS target is very low?

First, it's important to note that enabling GMV Max does not guarantee high traffic or orders, as the system prioritizes achieving the target ROAS goals. For regular product listings (such as new products, those with long conversion cycles, or small budgets), it is recommended to prioritize using Auto Bidding. The system will leverage the product's competitiveness to explore an optimal ROI range and drive traffic accordingly.

5. What if the Shopee suggested ROAS value is lower than preferred? 

Shopee will provide 3 levels of Target ROAS suggestions for Sellers to select from. If the options are lower than preferred, you may choose to create a Custom ROAS goal for your campaign. For guidance on how to set a reasonable ROAS target, please refer to point 2 above.

6. How should I adjust and optimize when the actual ROAS falls short of expectations and there is significant data volatility?

It is recommended to assess performance over a longer timeframe: Observe the overall performance over 7-14 days and ignore daily fluctuations. Typically, after 7 days of activation, the actual ROAS can reach 80%-120% of the target ROAS. If performance consistently falls short of expectations, sellers should judge based on their actual situation:

1. To protect ROAS, moderately increase the target ROAS;
2. To protect traffic, maintain the status quo or lower the target ROAS.

7. How should I adjust ROAS before and during major promotions?

1) Avoid overly frequent ROI adjustments: Limit changes to 1-2 times daily, with an increase/decrease magnitude of no more than 20% to minimize impact on the system.

2) During promotions, lowering the ROI target can further stimulate traffic and orders, simply ensuring adjustments are controlled in terms of frequency and magnitude.

GMV Max Product Suitability

1. Is GMV Max better suited for new products or hero products?

GMV Max can be effectively used for both new and hero products. It is recommended to enable platform-wide promotion for all products (hero/regular/new products) to capture the platform’s traffic dividends. 

1. For new products, it's best to start with GMV Max Auto Bidding to boost visibility and accelerate orders in the first month. From 2025, selected sellers will enjoy boosted ads traffic for new products using this method.
2. For regular products (items with long conversion cycles, small budgets, etc.), it’s recommended to begin with GMV Max Custom ROAS. This strategy helps ensure good visibility while maintaining a positive ROAS for your items.
3. For hero products (items that are the top sales driver for your shop), it's best to use GMV Max Auto Bidding. This allows for flexible optimization to boost sales volume while maintaining a positive ROAS. The estimated ROAS is based on historical performance, ensuring alignment with past results while scaling ad reach and GMV.

GMV Max Set-Up

1. If an Item already has an ongoing ad, can a GMV Max still be created for it? 

Sellers can set up GMV Max for any product, including those with an ongoing Ad. 

If the ongoing Ad has an overlapping campaign duration, a prompt will appear to inform Seller that the GMV Max campaign will cause ongoing Ads for this Product to be paused automatically. 

2. If I have an ongoing ad for item A, can it be changed to GMV Max? 

Yes, it can be simply done by clicking on the “Upgrade to GMV Max” button within the Ads Listing page for the selected campaign. 

Entrypoint via Ads Listing Page

Entrypoint via Ads Detail Page

3. Can GMV Max be deactivated? 

To deactivate GMV Max, Sellers can pause or stop the setup. Sellers can then create a new Ad for the product. 

4. Why did my product receive a notification about limited ad traffic when creating my GMV Max campaign?

Certain products may be subject to local advertising safety restrictions (example “Adult” categories). While these items can run on GMV Max from Q1’25, the ad may experience limited ad delivery based on the applicable local restrictions in place.

5. Why do I get different performance estimates on GMV Max Auto Bidding when I edit my budget setting?

GMV Max Auto Bidding system estimates will vary based on the budget input in the campaign setting. The system projects the potential ROAS range the ad can achieve based on historical item-level ROAS and shop-level performance to date within the specified budget. Limiting ad budget may lead to lower GMV and limit ROAS potential vice versa.

6. Can I change my ROAS goal after my GMV Max campaign is launched? 

It is not recommended to change your ROAS goal during its initial launch as it will go through at least 7 days of Learning Phase, which allows for the System to learn and stabilize your campaign more efficiently to achieve your campaign goals. Sellers will be informed of when their campaigns have exited the Learning Phase through the Ad Detail page. 

Once the campaign has stabilized, Sellers may choose to edit the ROAS goals. However, do note that doing so will result in another cycle of learning phase as Shopee optimizes towards the new ROAS targets. 

GMV Max Performance

1. I am currently running manual bidding ads. If I start running GMV Max, will the GMV Max algorithm be able to learn anything from my ongoing ads? 

All GMV Max campaigns are separate and have their unique campaign ID. But Shopee can leverage prior data to optimize performance during the Learning Phase. 

During the Learning Phase, Sellers should refrain from making any changes to the campaign setup for at least 7 days as the system explores the optimal ways to achieve campaign goals. 

2. Where can I see the performance of GMV Max? 

Sellers may see the performance of all GMV Max campaigns by going to the Product Ads Listing section on Shopee Ads Homepage, and filtering the campaigns by Type to “GMV Max Auto Bidding and GMV Max Custom ROAS (GMV Max)”. From here, sellers may click on the individual campaigns to view their respective performance details. From Q2 2025, sellers can now easily monitor their GMV Max ROAS setting against Actual ROAS on Ads Homepage.

1. GMV Max Auto Bidding: Displays an estimated ROAS range.
2. GMV Max Custom ROAS: Displays the latest Target ROAS setting. To edit, there is a pencil icon to adjust Target ROAS.

3. How long does it take for the GMV Max campaign performance to stabilize?

It is advisable to wait at least 7 days for the system to learn and complete the Learning Phase after launching a new GMV Max campaign. 

During this time, you may notice performance fluctuations due to insufficient 7-day order attribution data. To help the system gather reliable results, it's best to limit or avoid making changes. As more orders come in, the performance of GMV Max will become more stable, and the system will aim to meet the campaign's target ROAS.

4. What should I do when my GMV Max campaign is starting to have a decline in traffic / ROAS?

The principle of optimizing GMV Max is to seek a balance between budget and target ROAS. Noted that the adjustment should be within +/-20% to avoid causing performance instability.

1. If you observe traffic declining, you can try lowering target ROAS or raise budget.
2. If you observe the ROAS declining for over a long period (>7 days), you can monitor whether it is due to post seasonality (campaign vs BAU period) or whether the item is priced competitively. Consider switching to GMV Max Custom ROAS if you require tighter ROAS controls

5. What should I do when my GMV Max campaign CPC is higher than expected?

As the system automatically adjusts and optimizes bid prices, it may place higher bids for high-value audiences and traffic where it expects greater potential to secure the conversion for your ad. It is advisable to shift the focus away from the CPC of the GMV Max campaign and instead concentrate on key performance metrics such as CPA or ROAS against the targets set to assess the effectiveness of your GMV Max campaign.

6. Why does my Ads GMV do not match confirmed in-store order GMV? 

Their measurement scopes differ and cannot be directly compared: 

1. Ads GMV is based on "placed orders" (including unpaid/refunded/returned orders).
2. Store GMV is based on "confirmed orders" (completed transactions).