How a supplements brand grew sales 14.5% while cutting Amazon ad spend 62%
A supplements brand on Amazon was losing money on ads with ACOS at 77.24% and daily spend near $700 on unprofitable days. Cutting spend to about $200/day and killing wasteful targets improved ACOS to 35.51%, grew total sales 14.5%, and freed roughly $2,535 a week that had been wasted.
- ACOS
- 77.24% → 35.51%
- Daily ad spend
- -62%
- Total sales
- +14.5%
- ACOS · 1 week
- 77.24% → 35.51%
- Daily ad spend
- ~$700 → ~$200
- Total sales
- +14.5%
- TACoS
- 8.9% → 2.9%
01The challenge
A supplements brand on Amazon was in a recovery phase, with ACOS running at 77.24% and daily ad spend around $700 on days that were losing money on every sale. Continuing to spend at that rate was not a growth plan, it was a slow bleed.
The account needed a hard efficiency reset, cutting the spend that wasn't working before any conversation about scaling back up could happen.
02The approach: The Spend-Cut Efficiency Reset
The Spend-Cut Efficiency Reset cuts what's losing money first, then lets organic performance prove the product can carry the top line before spend comes back.
Cut spend on the worst days
Cut spend on 100%+ ACOS days specifically, pulling daily spend from about $700 to about $200 rather than trimming evenly across the board.
Kill the wasteful targets
Identified and killed the specific targets dragging efficiency down, which is what let ACOS fall from 77% to 35% rather than just spending less on the same mix.
Let organic hold the top line
Let strong organic performance carry sales while spend was cut, rather than propping up revenue with more ad dollars during the reset.
03The results
ACOS improved from 77.24% to 35.51%. Total sales grew 14.5% on 62% less ad spend, and TACoS dropped from 8.9% to 2.9%, meaning far more of each sale is now profit.
Why it worked: the reset freed roughly $2,535 a week that had been wasted, cash the client can redeploy into inventory or into campaigns that are actually profitable. It also proves the account doesn't need heavy spend to grow, which sets a healthier baseline to scale from.
04FAQ
How can sales grow while ad spend is cut 62%?
When most of the cut spend was funding an ACOS over 77% (money lost on every sale), removing it doesn't remove demand, it removes waste. Organic sales carried the top line while spend was cut, and total sales still grew 14.5%.
What is the Spend-Cut Efficiency Reset?
A three-step reset: cut spend specifically on the highest-ACOS days rather than trimming evenly, kill the individual targets dragging efficiency down, and let organic performance hold sales while the account resets.
Is a 77% ACOS always a sign to pause ads entirely?
Not always, but it is a sign to cut the specific spend that's losing money before scaling anything. On this account, targeted cuts (not a full pause) took ACOS to 35.51% while sales still grew.
How much can be saved by cutting wasted ad spend?
On this account, the reset freed approximately $2,535 a week that had previously been spent at a loss, cash that could be redeployed into inventory or into campaigns that were actually converting.
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Mike Begg
E-commerce operator and business acquirer. Founder of AMZ Commerce Advisers (100+ active Amazon brands, 500+ managed since 2016) and GoAvance. Owner of Reach Social Commerce (50+ TikTok Shop launches). Amazon Ads Advanced Partner. Based in Guadalajara, Mexico.
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