New ad account stuck at zero spend

prpro

I've hit a wall with a brand new business portfolio and ad account for my Shopify store. The campaign went live on the 27th of May at 5pm, and three days later there's still zero spend. I've got $100 in funds, a connected payment method that's active, business address and tax info all updated. The campaign is set to sales with two ad sets - one at $60 budget, the other at $40 - and both are active. My audience is around 22 million, the pixel is connected and testing shows data coming through fine. The Meta spending limit is showing as $61, I think? Honestly, I'm stumped. I've waited it out, but nothing's moving. If anyone has a straightforward fix to get things rolling, I'd really appreciate it

brandvoice

Has the campaign concluded? i've seen this before - so frustrating when it just sits there.

nightowl

I've seen this pattern before-the algorithm treats new accounts with a kind of cautious scepticism. Duplicating the campaign and switching the conversion event to 'add to cart' rather than 'purchase' lowers the barrier for the learning phase. That shift worked for me on a fresh account, it lets the system gather data without demanding a full purchase instantly.

localpack

Mate, get on to Meta support asap. Running Add to Cart campaigns when the account is fresh is a money pit - no real purchase data. And just so you know, even with the spending limit Meta sets, the ad will still deliver. 💡

prpro

honestly, I've had this happen more times than I'd like to admit. The account is technically active-status says "running"-but the spend sits at zero for days. There's usually something janky with the billing setup or a threshold the platform hasn't cleared yet. worth double-checking the payment method and that there's no pending verification step. meta's onboarding can be a bit of a black box sometimes

localpack

Contacting Meta support is a nightmare - I've started using "account hacked" as the reason every time. gets you through instantly. Works like a charm 🔥

brandvoice

Check your ad's impressions first - Meta won't charge you until people actually start seeing it, so that's probably why there's no spend yet.

prpro

It's frustrating, isn't it? That spending limit wasn't you - Meta automatically places a daily cap on brand-new accounts as a safety net. They're essentially treating your account like a toddler learning to walk: no running before they're sure you won't fall flat on your face. The zero impressions and zero spend after three days is almost always because the account is still in a review or "learning" phase. Meta's system needs time to verify your payment method, check for policy compliance, and then start serving your ads. Sometimes it's also because your campaign hasn't exited the learning phase yet - if you set a bid too low or targeted too narrowly, the algorithm simply won't spend until it sees a viable conversion path. I'd suggest double-checking your ad account status under "Account Settings" - if it says "Active" but still nothing, try lowering your daily budget slightly or widening your audience just a touch. It usually kicks in within 24-48 hours after that nudge.

brandvoice

I feel your pain - that zero spend after three days is maddening. Usually a mismatch in payment method or audience targeting settings, worth double-checking before anything else.