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Global ad spend to rise 11.9% to USD $1.34 trillion

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Global ad spend to rise 11.9% to USD $1.34 trillion

Global advertising spend will rise 11.9% to USD $1.34 trillion in 2026, according to WARC Media's forecast based on data from 100 markets.

The increase is expected despite consumer caution and geopolitical uncertainty, following 10.0% growth in both 2024 and 2025. Heavy corporate spending linked to artificial intelligence and major events, including the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup and the US mid-term elections, is supporting investment.

WARC's latest outlook points to continued strength in digital channels closely tied to performance marketing. Social media, search and retail media are expected to account for 66.4% of total global advertising spend in 2026, rising to 70.0% by 2028.

Among individual channels, social media is forecast to post the fastest growth this year, rising 21.3% to USD $394.6 billion. Video on-demand is expected to increase 15.1% to USD $48.4 billion, retail media 14.3% to USD $202.1 billion, search 14.2% to USD $295.7 billion, and digital out-of-home 13.7% to USD $21.7 billion.

The figures suggest advertisers continue to favour formats that can be adjusted quickly as trading conditions shift. Traditional concerns over household budgets have not stopped companies from increasing media investment, although further escalation in global tensions could still create downside risks.

At an industry level, technology and electronics are expected to be the fastest-growing product category in 2026, with ad spend up 20.7% on the previous year. Travel and transport is forecast to expand by 19.3%, while automotive is set to rise 17.8%.

2% of all technology and electronics advertising spend this year, underlining the sector's importance to platform revenues.


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