Executive Summary

Among the largest industries spending on digital advertising in Germany are the automotive, consumer-packaged goods (CPG), financial services, retail and travel sectors. We forecast that the percentage of overall digital spending in Germany will grow 5.5% in 2018. This report breaks out spending by industry, as well as growth in mobile and desktop.

How much will be spent on digital advertising in Germany?

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is the second-largest market for ad spending in the region, behind the UK. In 2018, we forecast that advertisers in Germany will spend $21.13 billion on advertising, with 31.9%—$6.74 billion—spent in digital channels. Spending will increase 4.1% in 2019 to $7.01 billion.

What sector will spend the most on digital advertising in Germany?

The retail sector will lead digital ad spending in Germany, where it will reach $1.55 billion in 2018, far above the automotive industry, which is set to spend $964 million in digital channels. Retail brands are targeting consumers closer to purchase with mobile and in ecommerce channels, while automotive brands continue to invest in traditional TV for brand campaigns.

How much of digital ad spending in Germany will go to mobile?

We expect most of Germany’s growth in ad spending via digital channels through 2019 to come from mobile, up 18.2% in 2018, followed by a 14.5% increase in 2019.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? We updated our forecast of cross-industry digital ad spending in Germany, including projections for the automotive, CPG, financial services, retail and travel industries for 2018-2019. Ad spending is also broken out by device.

KEY STAT: Of the industries we measured in Germany, retail leads digital ad spending, where it will reach $1.55 billion in 2018.