Marketing and advertising are key components of a business’s growth. With the number of internet users increasing year after year, many brands have increased their digital marketing spend to reach more consumers.
In 2023, businesses in the United States spent $263.89 billion on online ads, making it the country with the largest digital ad spend. How is the global market expected to perform this year? In this article, we dive into key online ad spend statistics, including its recent growth and a future forecast.
Global digital ad spend: table
Year | Digital advertising spend | Annual change |
2017 | $243.1 billion | |
2018 | $304.9 billion | +25.4% |
2019 | $365.8 billion | +20.0% |
2020 | $433.5 billion | +18.5% |
2021 | $568.6 billion | +31.2% |
2022 | $614.5 billion | +8.1% |
2023 | $679.8 billion | +10.6% |
2024 | $740.3 billion | +8.9% |
2025 | $798.7 billion | +7.9% |
2026 | $854.9 billion | +7.0% |
2027 | $910.3 billion | +6.5% |
2028 | $965.6 billion | +6.1% |
Digital ad spend worldwide: 2017–2024
A recent study reveals that the global digital advertising market is currently valued at $740.3 billion. This includes advertising via online channels such as audio, search, banner, and influencer marketing.
This figure marks an 8.9% rise from the $679.8 billion spent in 2023, reflecting a slight slowdown from the previous year, when growth reached 10.6%. Further analysis indicates that search advertising will continue to dominate the online ad spend market, with projected expenditures of $306.7 billion this year, accounting for 41.4% of the total.
The largest annual increase from 2017 to 2024 came in 2021, when expenditure increased by 31.2% year over year. The following year, its growth slowed by more than one-third, to 8.1%.
Digital ad spend worldwide: 2025–2028 forecast
The study indicates that digital advertising growth is showing no signs of stopping. According to experts’ projections, the online ad spend market will continue to expand over the next few years, albeit with a slight deceleration.
Global digital marketing expenditure is forecast to rise by 7.9% in 2025, to $798.7 billion. In 2026 and 2027, average rises of around 6.8% are anticipated, bringing total spend to $910.3 billion. By 2028, this figure is projected to hit $965.6 billion.
Digital vs. traditional media consumption in the US
As digital ad spend grows, expenditure on print media advertising is expected to decline. Research results already suggest that the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 accelerated the shift to digital advertising.
Media consumption data in the US alone shows that people have been spending more time on digital media. Print media has been impacted significantly by this shift, with the effect particularly felt in print newspapers and magazines.
![Digital Ad Spend (2017–2028) [Updated Aug 2024] | Oberlo (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)