Stephanie Caldecott, Marketing Manager at Circus PPC, shares new data on rising advertising costs from a selection of the agency’s furniture brand clients, and reveals practical strategies for furniture retailers to stay profitable as CPCs climb.
Digital advertising costs are on the rise – and for furniture retailers, that means every paid click needs to deliver more value than ever before.
New analysis from Circus PPC shows that average Cost-Per-Click (CPC) has climbed significantly over the past year, with sharp spikes during peak retail months.
The graph compares monthly CPC averages from September 2023–August 2024 with the same months in 2024–25. The results are significant:
- Spring surge: April CPCs jumped from around £0.74 in 2023-24 to over £1.05 in 2024-25.
- Across-the-board rise: Overall, there was a 22% rise in CPCs YOY – a huge increase and one that could massively affect ROI.
Why CPCs Are Climbing
This isn’t unique to furniture retail – across the E-Commerce landscape, more brands are competing for ad space, seasonal peaks are pushing up demand, and shifts in consumer behaviour are changing when and how people search.
Four Ways Retailers Can Offset Rising Ad Costs
1. Focus on Best-Selling Products
Not every product needs the spotlight. Some sell better, earn more profit, and attract more interest than others. Identify your best-sellers, strongest campaigns, and highest-margin products, then focus your advertising there. Concentrating spend on proven performers is a smarter way to use your budget and gives you the best chance of driving results.
2. Don’t Let Platforms Make All the Decisions
Automation tools like Google’s Performance Max and Smart Bidding can be useful – but they don’t understand your brand priorities like you do. They may spend budget in areas that don’t truly help. Use automation strategically, with a clear plan and regular reviews to keep campaigns aligned with your goals.
3. Make Your Website Work Harder
If you’re paying to bring visitors to your site, make sure it’s built to convert them into customers! That means fast, mobile-friendly design, clear product descriptions, strong imagery, trust signals like reviews and delivery details, and easy navigation. Even small conversion rate improvements can make a big difference to ROI.
4. Know Where Your Budget Is Really Going
‘Setting and forgetting’ ads can lead to wasted spend on irrelevant audiences, poor-performing products, or traffic that never converts. Regular PPC audits help you identify what’s working, what’s not, and where your budget will have the biggest impact.
The Takeaway
Rising CPCs are unlikely to reverse in the short term. By focusing on profitable products, smarter targeting, strategic campaign management, and better on-site performance, furniture retailers can keep acquisition costs in check and stay competitive in a challenging market.
Discover how PPC can solve today’s biggest challenges for furniture brands
Our latest whitepaper explores how homeware brands can solve e-commerce’s toughest challenges with smarter PPC. In it, we reveal practical, proven ways to boost profitability, drive high-quality traffic, and improve ROI in a competitive market.
From rising advertising costs to shifting consumer behaviour, we address the real struggles of homeware brands, and offer actionable PPC strategies to turn challenges into growth opportunities.
Download it on our website, where you’ll find plenty of other helpful resources to help you run successful PPC campaigns and make every click count!
