Display advertising in 5 charts: From programmatic to retail media

According to our forecast, US display ad spend will grow by 15.7% this year, reaching $163.29 billion. Here are five charts that offer a closer look at what display ad spending looks like in 2023.

1. Programmatic will account for 9 in 10 digital display dollars

With ad dollars tight, marketers are focusing spend on areas where they have the most control. For that reason, programmatic is still in decent shape despite an overall ad downturn.

In her “Programmatic Ad Spending Forecast Q1 2023,” our analyst Evelyn Mitchell attributed programmatic display’s prowess to the category’s spending flexibility, low upfront costs, and its use of third-party cookies. But that last advantage could change when Chrome deprecates cookies next year.

2. Programmatic digital display ads are biggest in the US

Programmatic ads will account for 91.1% of digital display ad spend in the US this year, compared to 80.7% in China, according to our forecast.

Overall display ad spend in China is also far lower. It will hit $84.62 billion in 2023, about half of total spend in the US.

3. Native spend is high, but it’s losing share

US native ad spending will account for 59.7% of total display ad spending this year as advertisers pivot from social media. In its place, connected TV (CTV) and mobile in-app video are taking over, part of a greater trend of display advertising pivoting to video.

4. Retail accounts for the biggest portion of display

Retail accounted for 24.7% of US display ad spend as of July 2022. Retail is both the second-fastest-growing and largest category for display ad spend. Consumer packaged goods account for the second-largest piece of US display ad spending.

5. Display is growing within retail media

Display ad spending accounts for an increasing portion of ecommerce channel ad spend, a large subset and close proxy of retail media, though search is also growing steadily.

Just like with overall digital display, expect retail media to double down on video, with Amazon and The Kroger Co. both focusing on CTV ads.

Learn more about how to seize the retail media opportunity in our “Attention!” webinar this Friday.

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