Netshoes is the largest online sporting goods retailer in Brazil. Its mission is to bring sports and a healthy lifestyle into the homes of Brazilians, delivering an e-commerce experience built on safety, reliability, quality, and a highly competitive cost-benefit ratio.
To maintain its leadership in mobile retail, Netshoes partnered with Rocket Lab to strengthen its iOS acquisition strategy and assess how efficiently it was performing.
The objective was to increase both app installs and in-app purchases by taking a closer look at Apple Ads performance.
Netshoes also wanted to expand its reach beyond the keywords already covered in the account and connect with new high-intent users through alternative search terms.
To do so, the team tested two discovery methods: a Maximize Conversions bid strategy and Discovery campaigns with manual bids, comparing how each approach performed.
Rocket Lab worked alongside Monks and the Apple Ads team to design and run this comparison for Netshoes.
Together, the group set out to test a specific tactic: using Max Conversions not only for acquisition, but also as a way to identify new keywords and expand the app’s reach through alternative search terms.
Max Conversions is an Apple Ads campaign type that uses an auto-bidder and Search Match to explore new search opportunities and prioritize those most likely to convert near a target cost. While Discovery campaigns use Search Match with manual bidding, Max Conversions automates bidding based on a target cost.
The test confirmed that while both approaches helped discover more search terms, using a Max Conversions bid strategy could increase install volume while maintaining stronger efficiency. It also helped Netshoes diversify its non-brand keyword portfolio and identify new search terms where the brand could compete more effectively on the App Store.
By expanding into these terms to its strategy, Netshoes expanded its reach beyond the searches already covered in the account and created more opportunities to connect with relevant users.
Comparing performance from December 2025 to May 2026, Max Conversions showed stronger results across the key metrics measured in this test.
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Cost per install dropped by 47%, cutting the cost of acquiring new iOS users nearly in half. Click-through rate increased by 48%, showing a strong response to Max Conversions during the test.
Installs grew by 11%, while the campaign generated 41% savings in media investment. These results showed that Max Conversions could increase volume and improve efficiency at the same time.
For Netshoes, the test showed that Max Conversions could play a broader role within Apple Ads: not only increasing acquisitions, but also identifying new keywords and strengthening the brand’s competitive position on the App Store.
At Rocket Lab, we help apps test, compare, and identify the Apple Ads strategies that deliver the strongest results. If you’re ready to take a closer look at your campaigns, our team can help design the right approach.
“Our biggest challenge was obtaining a clear view of iOS performance while scaling without compromising efficiency. The Max Conversions strategy proved its value, and reducing our CPI by 47% in such a competitive ecosystem was a major milestone for the Netshoes app operation.”
Paulo Cantalice - Marketing Coordinator at Netshoes
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