Digital Ad Spend (2021–2027)
Marketing and advertising are key components of a business’s growth. With more and more internet users year after year, many brands have increased their digital marketing spend in an effort to reach more consumers.
The global digital advertising market in 2024 is valued at $667.6 billion—68.9% of the overall expenditure on media ads. This refers to advertising on internet-connected devices such as computers, mobile devices, and smart devices. Media ads include everything from email marketing and video content to search engine results and more.
Digital ad spend worldwide: 2021–2027
The digital advertising spend in 2024 marks a 10.9% rise from the $601.8 billion spent in 2023. 2023 was the first year global digital ad spend crossed the $600 billion mark, after a 9.5% annual increase.
The largest annual growth from 2021 to 2027 came in 2021, when digital ad spend increased by 29.8% year over year. The following year, its growth slowed by nearly one-third to 8.5%.
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Digital advertising growth is showing no signs of stopping. Experts’ projections indicate that the digital advertising market will continue to grow over the next few years, albeit with a slight slowdown in its pace.
Here are the annual digital advertising growth rates forecast for the next few years:
- 2025: 10%
- 2026: 9.2%
- 2027: 8.6%
Looking ahead, the digital advertising market is forecast to reach $734.6 billion in 2025, accounting for 70.8% of the overall ad spend worldwide. Experts predict that in 2026, global digital ad spend will exceed $8 billion. By 2027, this figure will have risen to $870.9 billion. Not only is this a 72% overall increase from 2021, but it will also make up 73.8% of the overall expenditure on media ads. In other words, in 2027, for every $4 spent on ads, nearly $1 will be on digital ads. From 2021 to 2027, digital ad spend worldwide is forecast to grow at an average annual growth rate of 12.4%.
As digital ad spend grows, expenditure on print media advertising declines. Research results already suggest that the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has accelerated the shift to digital advertising.
Media consumption data in the United States alone shows that people have been spending increasing amounts of time on digital media. Print media is being impacted badly by this shift, with the effect particularly hard felt on print newspapers and magazines.