10 industries ranked by digital ad spend share

Article by Sara Lebow | Oct 9, 2023

Key stat: Retail will account for more US digital ad spend (27.9%) in 2023 than the five lowest-spending industries combined, according to our forecast.

Beyond the chart:

Retail will spend $73.55 billion on US digital advertising in 2023, $34 billion more than the second-place spender, consumer packaged goods (CPG), as noted in our “US Digital Ad Spending by Industry 2023” report.
Retail digital US ad spend will grow by 12.2% this year, second only to travel at 14.3%, per our forecast.
Retail digital ad spend growth will pick up speed next year, hitting 14.2%.

Use this chart:

Understand the mix of industries buying ads.
Recognize how competitive retail advertising can be.

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Note: Automotive includes all automotive-related categories including the sale and purchase of vehicles and parts and maintenance including, but not limited to, the following categories and segments: new cars, used cars, service, parts, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), dealer associations, franchise dealers, co-ops, independent dealers, aftermarket service, aftermarket parts, auto financing (depending on the source of the ad spending), and wholesale/auction and private-party sales. Automotive includes all automotive-related categories including the sale and purchase of vehicles and parts and maintenance including, but not limited to, the following categories and segments: new cars, used cars, service, parts, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), dealer associations, franchise dealers, co-ops, independent dealers, aftermarket service, aftermarket parts, auto financing (depending on the source of the ad spending), and wholesale/auction and private-party sales. CPG and consumer products includes food and beverage products, household products, packaged goods, tobacco, personal care products, toiletries, and cosmetic products. Entertainment includes amusement and recreation, box office, film, music, OTT video platforms, sporting events and ticketing, and video games (excluding video game hardware). Financial services includes commercial, investment, and retail banks, cooperative banks, and credit unions; property and casualty, life, and mutual insurance; credit agencies, personal and business credit institutions, mortgage lending, tax preparation, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital firms, wealth management, payment platforms, card networks, and companies engaged in the underwriting, purchase, sale, or brokerage of securities and other financial contracts. It also includes fintech companies that have disrupted the industry and leverage the internet, mobile devices, software technology, or cloud services to provide traditional financial services (e.g., banking, insurance, lending) and emerging financial services (e.g., payments, crowdfunding, cryptocurrency, blockchain). Healthcare and pharma includes pharmaceutical products, facilities, services, and researchers, drug manufacturers and marketers, doctors, hospitals, and biological products, as well as establishments providing healthcare services and social assistance for individuals. It also includes health insurance advertising. Travel includes airlines, car rental, hotels and resorts, cruises, and destination marketing organizations. It also includes leisure and unmanaged business travel. Media includes businesses primarily engaged in radio and TV broadcasting (networks and stations), such as educational, commercial, religious, sports, and other radio or TV stations. It also includes print media (newspapers, magazines, and classifieds) and establishments engaged primarily in publishing. Retail includes mail order/catalog, restaurants/fast food, drugstores, retail stores, cosmetics stores, and merchants of apparel, home furnishings/textiles, toys, pet food/supplies, appliances, jewelry, and general merchandise. Telecom includes point-to-point communications services, including telephone voice and data communications, two-way mobile/cellular communications services, and other nonvoice message communications services (e.g., email, fax). It also includes multichannel video providers on a subscription basis (e.g., cable TV, wireless cable TV, direct broadcast satellite services). "Other" industries include categories that fall outside of those mentioned, such as real estate, politics, nonprofit, professional services, energy, manufacturing, industrial, and education.Less

Methodology: Estimates are based on the analysis of various elements related to the ad spending market, including macro-level economic conditions; historical trends of the advertising market; historical trends of each medium in relation to other media; reported revenues from major ad publishers; estimates from other research firms; data from benchmark sources; consumer media consumption trends; consumer device usage trends; and eMarketer interviews with executives at ad agencies, brands, media publishers and other industry leaders.