Why Snapchat Might Be Worth Budgeting Ad Dollars for This Year

By Brittany Siminitz | July 21, 2025

If your business isn’t on Snapchat—the multimedia, disappearing-messaging app favored by Gen Z and younger millennials—new research suggests it might be worth considering.

Between TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, businesses have a lot of choices as to where to spend their ad dollars, and Snapchat doesn’t always seem to enter the conversation. But research commissioned by the app and performed by analytics platform Triple Whale suggests that Snapchat is one of the most efficient platforms for scaling e-commerce brands.

The study—which incorporates research from roughly 20,000 advertisers and about $3 billion in ad spend across platforms—found that while being a smaller platform by spend share, Snapchat achieved a 7.5% ROAS (return on ad spend) improvement, while most platforms declined. In layman’s terms, Snapchat helped advertisers make 7.5% more money per ad dollar than most other platforms.

“It’s critical advertisers pay close attention to efficiency in today’s ever-evolving landscape,” said Anthony DelPizzo, Triple Whale’s director of product marketing, in a statement. “Snapchat’s 7.5% improvement makes it a standout opportunity.”

There are a couple of reasons why small- and medium-size businesses might consider advertising and growing their presence on Snapchat—particularly with TikTok in seemingly endless limbo. For starters, it’s one of the first platforms to really utilize augmented reality, which brands already have been using essentially as a virtual try-on room. For shoppers buying jewelry online, the technology can help in the decision-making process (it allows them to see what a pair of earrings might look like on their ears, for example).

Like many social apps at this point, Snapchat is set up to accommodate e-commerce, with click-to-purchase ads and a fairly immersive shopping environment. According to a report from the platform, 92% of daily Snapchatters include their friends in their shopping journey, and more than half send pictures or messages via Snapchat when shopping.

In terms of bang for your buck, advertising rates tend to be lower on Snapchat than other platforms. And if the TikTok ban finally does happen, who knows if Snapchat’s rates might end up soaring to match the likes of Instagram and Facebook?

Is Snapchat worth considering in this upcoming holiday season’s ad dollars spend? The data sounds promising, and if it’s in the budget, it might not hurt to try and find out.

Find more information on the Triple Whale report here.

Image via Snapchat