Report Finds Reddit Ads Drive Strong Performance for Retailers

A new report has found that Reddit likely has a more significant influence on purchase activity than is generally recognized when taking in the totality of the modern purchase journey.

According to Fospha's State of Retail Commerce 2026 report—which compared engagement data from Fospha's user base of retailers across Jan–Dec 2025 versus Jan–Dec 2024—Reddit now drives more purchase activity as users turn to the platform for real human insights on potential purchases.

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The hidden ROAS problem

Using marketing mix modeling (MMM) data, Fospha's team was able to better map retail conversions to their source, providing more insight into how modern shoppers discover products that they then go on to buy.

Within this analysis, Reddit showed the largest hidden impact: ROAS increased by 82% once Amazon sales were included in the attribution model. That gap exists because last-click attribution, the dominant measurement approach at most retailers, simply cannot see the full purchase path.

Fospha concluded that Reddit is the most undervalued channel in the mix—its influence routinely missed because last-click models record only the final tap before purchase, not the research thread that shaped the decision two days earlier.

Revenue impact: 257% growth in a single year

In 2025, revenue influenced by Reddit increased 257% year-over-year. That magnitude is hard to ignore, and it aligns with something practitioners have observed for a while: Reddit threads appear prominently in both Google results and AI-generated answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

That presence compounds the platform's influence. A shopper who asks an AI assistant "What running shoe should I buy for overpronation?" is increasingly likely to receive an answer drawn from a Reddit thread—meaning the platform's reach now extends well beyond users who visit Reddit directly.

For brands looking to capitalize on this, the playbook involves both organic Reddit participation and paid Reddit Ads working together. See our guide on Reddit Ads vs Organic Reddit: When to Use Each for a breakdown of when each approach earns its budget.

What else the Fospha report found

Fospha's data covered the full retail media landscape, not just Reddit. Several other signals stood out:

Short-form video consistently drove significant uplift in purchase activity across the period studied.

Google Demand Gen drove a 53% increase in purchase actions year-over-year, confirming the format's growing role in upper-funnel retail media.

Pinterest saw one of the fastest adoption jumps of any channel in 2025, with spend up 131% year-over-year. Last-click attribution captures just 5% of Pinterest's total impact—a similar story to Reddit's hidden influence problem.

Snapchat is driving significant results for beauty brands in particular.

Meta remains the leader in new customer conversions. Fospha described it as "a full-funnel engine for acquiring new customers," with reach across Facebook and Instagram enabling brands to generate and capture demand within one platform. Meta's Advantage+ offerings drove a 41% higher ROAS and a 17% lower cost per purchase on average compared to manual campaigns.

TikTok's AI-powered Smart+ and GMV Max ad products are also driving significant uplift in sales.

What this means for your Reddit strategy

The Fospha report reinforces a straightforward conclusion: if your measurement approach relies on last-click attribution, you are almost certainly underinvesting in Reddit and Pinterest.

For ecommerce and retail brands, the immediate actions worth considering are:

1. –Audit your attribution model. If you are not running marketing mix modeling or incrementality testing, you are likely making budget decisions with incomplete data.
2. –Separate brand-search lift from direct conversions. Reddit activity often shows up as branded search before it shows up in direct revenue—tracking that signal helps make the case for the channel.
3. –Pair organic Reddit with paid. Organic participation builds the trust and community signal that makes Reddit Ads more effective. Running one without the other leaves value on the table.

For a deeper look at how to structure Reddit measurement beyond vanity metrics, see our guide on measuring Reddit ROI and pipeline. And if you are evaluating whether to run campaigns in-house or through an agency, our Reddit marketing agency buyer's guide covers what to look for.

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Source: Fospha State of Retail Commerce 2026 report. Original coverage by Andrew Hutchinson, Social Media Today, March 17, 2026.