Optimizing to first-purchase ROAS makes you underbid your best customers

Optimizing to first-purchase ROAS makes you underbid your best customers

Most buyers judge campaigns on day-0 ROAS and cap spend there. But for repeat-purchase products, the first sale isn't the customer's value.

First-order vs 90-day ROAS (22 subscription/ecom accounts):
— Day-0 ROAS: 1.4× (looks unprofitable)
— 90-day ROAS w/ repeat orders: 3.1×
— Buyers who paused at 1.4×: left 2.2× on the table

You're killing acquisition that's profitable on a customer-lifetime basis (LTV = lifetime value).

Fix: set your ROAS target on blended 60–90 day LTV, not first order, for any product with repeats. Feed value events back so Meta optimizes toward repeat buyers, not one-and-dones.

Read: a 1.4× first order that becomes 3.1× by day 90 isn't a loss — it's a customer you refused to buy.