Sponsored Max Not Running or Spending: How to Fix Lazada Ads Issues

If you’ve been running Lazada Ads recently, you may have noticed that their new ad format—Sponsored Max—has been gradually rolled out to select sellers. Many have started switching from Sponsored Discovery to this new format, including us at Digital Break Time.

However, we encountered a common issue: Sponsored Max campaigns, especially for certain products, were barely running or spending any budget at all. After some trial and error, we figured out a few fixes that helped us get the campaigns up and running—and we’re sharing them here in case you’re facing the same Sponsored Max problem.

Target ROAS Too High? Lower It

One of the main reasons your Sponsored Max ads might not be spending is a Target ROAS setting that’s too high. Of course, everyone wants high returns—but setting your Target ROAS too aggressively can prevent your ads from running properly.

Instead of switching away from Target ROAS, try lowering your target slightly—start by reducing it by 20–30%. For example, if your original Target ROAS is set to 10 with a daily budget of 500 THB but only spends 200 THB, try lowering it to around 7–8. Monitor whether spending improves. If the full budget is used, no further change is needed. If not, continue adjusting downward. This applies to both Sponsored Max Store and Sponsored Max Product campaigns.

Try Auto Bidding or Max CPC Instead of Target ROAS

If lowering your Target ROAS still doesn’t help, especially for underperforming products in Sponsored Max Product campaigns, consider switching your bidding type to Auto Bidding or Max CPC.

With Auto Bidding, Lazada automatically sets your bid based on system calculations, offering more flexibility. Max CPC lets you set a ceiling for the maximum cost per click.

⚠️ Be careful: switching to Auto Bidding or Max CPC may cause the opposite problem—your ads might spend too quickly. Try it on select products first instead of changing your entire campaign setup.

Focus on Best-Selling Products for Sponsored Max Product

In general, promoting best-selling products is a more effective use of Sponsored Max Product. These items often have stronger reviews, better pricing, and good SEO on their product pages—all of which support better performance.

Even with Target ROAS bidding, well-performing products will more likely meet sales and ROAS goals. On the other hand, forcing budget into slow-moving items may result in limited spend due to low demand or lack of data. These campaigns may appear stuck, with daily budgets unspent.

That doesn’t mean you should ignore your slower products—but it’s wise to allocate more of your budget toward best-sellers to maintain a balanced ROAS and ensure that ads continue to run efficiently.

Sponsored Max Store: Too Few Products? Add More

If you’re running Sponsored Max Store with only a small number of selected products—such as just high-ticket items—you might be unintentionally limiting your campaign’s performance. While it’s tempting to only promote expensive products to improve ROAS, these items are also harder to sell and may not spend budget efficiently.

Try adding more mid-range, well-performing products to the campaign. This can help improve the overall spend and performance of your Sponsored Max Store ads.

You Can Still Use Sponsored Discovery for Products Not in Sponsored Max

A common misunderstanding is that once you activate Sponsored Max, you can’t run Sponsored Discovery. That’s partly true—but only for products already included in Sponsored Max.

If you’re only using Sponsored Max Product (and not Sponsored Max Store), you can still run Sponsored Discovery for your other products—either with Auto Ads or manual campaigns. Just make sure the same product isn’t being advertised in both formats.

You can use this hybrid strategy to make your Lazada Ads more effective overall.

Summary: How to Fix Sponsored Max Not Running or Spending

Sponsored Max is still a relatively new ad format, and it can come with its own challenges—especially when using Target ROAS bidding. You may find that some campaigns spend very little or don’t generate enough sales.

The tips shared here are based on our real experience and have helped us overcome common Sponsored Max problems. Hopefully, they’ll help you too. If you’ve found additional solutions, we’d love to hear about them!

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Originally in Thai. Translated to English with the help of ChatGPT.