Google Ads New Customer and Retention Goals: Why They Can Inflate Your ROAS When You Launch in Czechia
- On 22 October 2026 Google announced it is rolling out retention modes (Re-engagement, Loyalty, Retention Only) to Search, Shopping and Performance Max, and percentage multipliers of 1.1x to 5x for new customer value.
- The added value feeds bidding and reported conversion value. ROAS in the account goes up; revenue does not.
- For a brand entering Czechia, almost every buyer is new, so a new customer multiplier quietly applies to nearly every order and loosens your real ROAS target.
- Retention Only campaigns look brilliant in reports because they reach people who would often buy anyway. Use them later, and only with a holdout.
What actually changed
Google expanded its customer lifecycle goals, the settings that tell a campaign how much more a new, lapsed or loyal customer is worth to you than a regular conversion. The announcement went out on Accelerate with Google on 22 October 2026, framed around the holiday season, and all three changes are described as rolling out “this month”.
| Update | What it does | Campaign types |
|---|---|---|
| Retention modes | Re-engagement bids more for customers who have not ordered in a while; Loyalty targets loyalty programme members; Retention Only restricts a campaign to customer segments you specify | Performance Max, Search, Shopping |
| New Customer High Value Mode | Bids more for new prospects who resemble your most valuable buyers | Now Shopping (already Search and PMax) |
| Percentage multipliers | New customer value scales with basket size, from 1.1x to 5x, instead of a flat amount | Search, Shopping, PMax, Demand Gen |
Retention Only Mode lets you run campaigns that are fully dedicated to customer retention, only reaching the key segments of your customer base that you specify.
Google’s Ads Liaison gave the 1.1x to 5x range and a global rollout in a thread the same day. Three days later the Google Ads help center had still not caught up with the announcement, so what you see in your account may lag.
The mechanism: why ROAS rises when revenue does not
Lifecycle goals work by adding value to a conversion. If you tell Google a new customer is worth 1.5x, a 1,000 CZK first order is treated as 1,500 CZK, and Smart Bidding bids accordingly. Your bank account still receives 1,000 CZK.
Google’s help center describes an Original conv. value column that “displays the unadjusted value before any value rule adjustments”, alongside separate columns for the added new customer and re-engaged customer value. That is the column to watch. Reports built on standard conversion value will show an improvement that never reaches the till.
Why this matters more when you are new to Czechia
Google identifies new customers from your customer lists and tags. Without your own lists, it treats anyone who has not purchased in the last 540 days as new. A brand that has just launched in the Czech Republic has almost no Czech purchase history, so close to every buyer qualifies as new.
That turns the multiplier into a blanket discount on your own target. Set Target ROAS at 400% with a 1.5x new customer multiplier, and when nearly all orders are new, Google can hit the target on adjusted value while delivering roughly 267% on real revenue. If 400% was the number your margin needed, you are now buying growth below cost without anyone deciding to.
New: They haven’t made a purchase within the last 540 days.
There is a fair case for paying more for new customers during market entry. Just make it a deliberate decision: lower the target ROAS openly, with the board’s agreement, rather than letting a multiplier do it invisibly.
Flat amount vs multiplier
The multiplier is a genuine improvement over the flat amount. A flat bonus raises small baskets proportionally more than large ones, which pulls bidding toward cheap first orders.
| Basket | Flat +300 CZK | Multiplier 1.2x |
|---|---|---|
| 500 CZK | 800 CZK (+60%) | 600 CZK (+20%) |
| 1,500 CZK | 1,800 CZK (+20%) | 1,800 CZK (+20%) |
| 5,000 CZK | 5,300 CZK (+6%) | 6,000 CZK (+20%) |
Size it from data. If a first order averages 1,200 CZK and 40% of new customers buy again within a year for 1,000 CZK, expected extra revenue is 400 CZK, so the customer is worth about 1.33x the first order. The 5x ceiling makes sense for high-retention subscriptions, rarely for a typical online shop.
Retention modes: useful later, risky now
A Retention Only campaign aimed at your existing customers will almost certainly post the best ROAS in the account. Many of those people would have bought anyway. Illustratively, a campaign that reports 8x ROAS where 70% of buyers would have purchased regardless is really producing 2.4x, and at a 35% margin it loses money.
For a market entrant the question is mostly theoretical in year one: you have few Czech customers to retain. Re-engagement becomes useful once you have a base and a defined repeat cycle, as a way to win back people email no longer reaches. Loyalty Mode needs a loyalty programme connected to Merchant Center.
What we would do
- Launching in Czechia with value-based bidding: leave the new customer multiplier off, or set the target ROAS to a number you would accept on real revenue, then add a modest multiplier knowingly.
- Already selling in Czechia with mixed basket sizes: replace a flat new customer amount with a multiplier sized from repeat purchase data, typically 1.1x to 1.5x.
- Upload Czech customer lists as soon as you have them, so Google is not guessing who is new from a 540-day default.
- Retention Only campaigns: only with a holdout group, and only after email and SMS have been tried.
- Reporting: judge results on original conversion value, shop revenue and the count of genuinely new customers.
FAQ
What did Google change in customer lifecycle goals in October 2026?
On 22 October 2026 Google announced three updates rolling out during October. Retention modes (Re-engagement, Loyalty and Retention Only) become available in Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns. New Customer High Value Mode extends to Shopping. And percentage multipliers, from 1.1x to 5x, replace flat amounts as an option across Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen.
Why can a new customer multiplier inflate ROAS for a brand new to Czechia?
Because in a new market almost every buyer is a new customer. The multiplier is added to conversion value and bidding uses the adjusted value, so a 1.5x multiplier applied to nearly every order lets Google bid as if revenue were 50% higher. With a 400% Target ROAS, that means accepting roughly 267% on real revenue. Track the Original conv. value column and your shop revenue, not adjusted ROAS.
Should I run Retention Only campaigns on my Czech customers?
Not at launch, and later only with a holdout test. Retention Only restricts a campaign to the customer segments you specify. Those people already know you, so many would buy anyway, and the campaign will show the best ROAS in the account even when it adds little. Email reaches them for a fraction of the cost.
Do these goals work for lead generation?
Mostly not. Google’s help center lists a Purchase conversion goal and Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value as requirements for the value-based modes, including Re-engagement. Lead-generation advertisers can use New Customer Only mode, which also works with Target CPA.
How high should a new customer multiplier be?
Derive it from repeat purchase data, not from the 5x ceiling. If a first order averages 1,200 CZK and 40% of new customers buy again within a year for 1,000 CZK, expected extra revenue is 400 CZK, so a multiplier of about 1.33x. Brands new to Czechia lack this data, so start low and revise after the first repeat cycle.
Sources
- Accelerate with Google, “Three updates to customer lifecycle goals to help you win the holiday season” (22 October 2026). business.google.com
- Google Ads Help, “About customer lifecycle goals”. support.google.com
- Google Ads Help, “Measure your lifecycle goals campaigns”. support.google.com
- Google Ads Liaison thread on X (22 October 2026), as reported by PPC Land. ppc.land
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