Global advertising market set to cross $1.22 trillion in 2026

Global advertising revenue is projected to climb to about $1.22 trillion in 2026, marking year-on-year growth of roughly 7.1% as digital channels tighten their grip on marketing budgets and traditional linear television continues to lose ground. Digital formats are expected to command close to 83% of total spend, underscoring a structural shift that has been gathering pace for more than a decade but is now accelerating through advances in data, automation and commerce-linked media.

Industry estimates indicate that growth will be driven primarily by online video, retail media networks, paid search and social platforms, even as overall economic conditions remain uneven across regions. Advertisers are prioritising channels that offer measurable outcomes, granular targeting and closer proximity to transactions, prompting a reallocation of budgets away from broad-reach legacy formats.

Retail media is emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments, with global spend forecast to exceed $190 billion in 2026. Supermarkets, e-commerce platforms and omnichannel retailers are monetising their first-party shopper data by selling advertising inventory across websites, apps and in-store screens. Brands are drawn by the ability to influence purchase decisions at or near the point of sale, while retailers benefit from high-margin revenue streams that supplement core retail operations. Major global retailers, alongside large online marketplaces, now operate sophisticated advertising businesses that rival established digital players in scale within specific categories.

Connected television is another area posting strong gains, reshaping the video advertising landscape. As audiences migrate from scheduled broadcasts to streaming services, advertisers are following, attracted by the combination of premium video environments and digital-style targeting. Global CTV ad spend is expected to grow at a double-digit rate in 2026, outpacing overall market growth. While CTV remains smaller than mobile or desktop video, its share of total video advertising continues to rise, aided by improvements in programmatic buying and audience measurement.

This shift is contributing to a sharp erosion of linear television’s share of global ad revenue. Traditional TV is projected to account for less than one-tenth of total advertising spend by 2026, down markedly from its dominance in the early 2000s. Declines are most pronounced in mature markets where cord-cutting is advanced, although some emerging markets still see television play a significant role due to scale and reach. Even there, growth is lagging behind digital alternatives.

Technology giants remain central to the global advertising economy. A small group of platforms continues to capture the majority of incremental growth, leveraging vast user bases, advanced ad-tech stacks and integrated ecosystems spanning search, social media, video and commerce. Their dominance has raised questions among regulators and advertisers alike about market concentration, data usage and pricing power, yet their ability to deliver reach and performance keeps them firmly embedded in media plans.

At the same time, the market is fragmenting beneath the surface. Hundreds of retail media networks, streaming services and niche digital publishers are competing for attention, forcing advertisers to balance scale with efficiency. This complexity is fuelling demand for unified planning tools, cross-channel measurement and artificial intelligence-driven optimisation. Agencies and brands are investing heavily in technology and talent to manage campaigns across an expanding array of platforms.

Geographically, growth prospects vary. North America is expected to remain the largest advertising market by value, supported by mature digital infrastructure and high per-capita spend. Asia-Pacific is projected to deliver some of the fastest growth rates, buoyed by expanding e-commerce, mobile-first audiences and rising consumer spending in several economies. Europe is forecast to grow more modestly, reflecting slower economic momentum and tighter regulation, though digital formats still account for the bulk of gains.

Advertisers are also grappling with structural changes in data and privacy. The gradual withdrawal of third-party cookies, stricter consent rules and platform-level changes to data access are reshaping targeting strategies. First-party data, contextual advertising and clean-room environments are becoming more prominent, reinforcing the appeal of retail media and logged-in platforms that can offer compliant, addressable audiences at scale.