According to WARC’s latest forecast, global advertising spend is set to soar by 10.5% in 2024, reaching a staggering $1.07 trillion. This updated projection marks a significant 2.3 percentage point increase over previous estimates, largely driven by the burgeoning influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in media tools.
North America leads the charge with an 8.6% rise in ad spend, totaling $348 billion, while Europe is set to see a 5% increase, reaching $165 billion. In Latin America, spending is expected to grow by 6.2% to $32.1 billion, and the Middle East will experience a 4.2% boost, totaling $12.6 billion. Asia Pacific, despite slower growth of 2%, remains a major market with $272 billion in ad spend.
Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet are poised to capture nearly 44% of the global ad expenditure this year, with their combined share expected to exceed 46% over the next three years. This dominance highlights the shifting landscape of ad spend, where digital channels continue to gain ground.
Social media emerges as the largest advertising channel, commanding nearly $242 billion, or 22.6% of global spend. Meta currently dominates this sector with a 63% share, though its position is being challenged by TikTok-owner ByteDance, which now accounts for 20% of social media ad spending—a substantial increase from 9% five years ago. AI’s integration into social media platforms has further fueled this growth, with AI-enabled spending making up over half of social media ad investments.
Search advertising, excluding retail media, represents nearly 22% of global ad spend, totaling $224 billion. Google’s overwhelming market share—more than 84% globally and over 90% outside China—reflects its significant influence, which has recently led to antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. While search spending is expected to plateau, retail media is forecast to experience the fastest growth. In 2024, retail media is projected to account for just over 14% of ad spend, with Amazon expected to dominate this sector, capturing more than a third of the total retail media expenditure.
Legacy media, including print, radio, TV, cinema, and out-of-home, now represents only a quarter of total ad spending, approximately $271 billion. This modest increase of 1.5% from 2023 is largely attributed to political spending in the U.S.
Future projections are equally optimistic, with WARC forecasting a 7.2% increase in 2025 and a 7% rise in 2026, culminating in a global ad market worth $1.23 trillion. The report also notes significant growth in categories such as technology and electronics (13%), alcoholic drinks (12%), clothing and accessories (11%), and business and industrial sectors (18%).
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