CSS Program Results Overview for Q1 2026

Excellent CTR and a February Sales Explosion

Prvý kvartál býva vo svete e-commerce často o „hľadaní dychu“ po náročnom vianočnom šialenstve. Výsledky z CSS Shopping in EU za prvé tri mesiace roka 2026 nám však jasne ukázali jednu vec. Zákazníci nestratili apetít. Zatiaľ čo celkový trh sa po sviatkoch plynule stabilizoval, my sme videli kampaňové výsledky, ktoré e-shopom priniesli obrovskú pridanú hodnotu.

The focus has once again shifted from mindlessly chasing traffic to efficiency, feed optimization, and intelligent bidding.

The result? Ads that truly work.

A classic strong start. New Year’s promotions and the redemption of gift cards did their job. With over 8.2 million clicks and impressions exceeding 404 million, it was the strongest month of the quarter in terms of traffic. People were actively searching and clicking.

Something highly interesting happened here. Since it’s the shortest month, we naturally recorded a drop in traffic (6.7 million clicks). However, the conversion value skyrocketed to an incredible €931 million. Customers might have been “window-shopping” less, but when they did buy, it involved higher-value baskets. For e-shops, this meant killer campaign efficiency.

The market stabilized perfectly. The number of clicks (7.2 million) and impressions (362 million) grew again. Users started gearing up for spring, and e-shops that adjusted the seasonality in their XML feeds in time were able to capitalize on this immediately.

When we look at the language of numbers, the quarterly report card looks excellent for the participating e-shops:

This is a massive win. A click-through rate of 2.02% tells us that Google isn’t displaying your products blindly. The ads are highly relevant to users. The visuals, pricing, and precision of search queries aligned perfectly. Customers saw exactly what they were looking for and wanted to click on it.

The campaign reach remains massive (1.1 billion impressions). For e-shops, this means a constant presence in the “top-of-mind” phase of the buying process. Even if a customer doesn’t purchase right away, your product is in plain sight.

The average CPC stopped at a very pleasant €0.25. At a time when ad prices are continuously rising across other channels, CSS Shopping in EU provides a stable and safe environment for your budgets. You can scale your campaigns without auctions eating into your margins.

Although a 1.56% conversion rate is completely standard for the first quarter (it’s naturally higher during Christmas), the total value of generated purchases nearing €2.1 billion is great news.

The beginning of 2026 clearly confirmed that performance advertising right now is about quality, not quantity. February’s success showed us that even with fewer clicks, you can achieve historic revenues if you target the right audience with the right offer. With a growing CTR and a stable CPC, e-shops have an ideal starting line for the upcoming, strategically more demanding months of the year. The market is alive, the demand is there—you just need to carve out your slice.