The news: Marketers are feeling less optimistic about business conditions for 2026 than they were a year ago, per a new WARC report.
- 54% of marketers believe that conditions will improve next year, down from 65% who felt this way about 2025.
- Budget expectations are going down: 42% anticipate lower budgets in 2026, up sharply from the 22% who felt this way last year.
What is pressuring ad budgets? Marketers are anticipating more conservative budgets due to economic uncertainty, tariff impacts, and slower ad spend growth.
- Inflation and rising costs are putting pressure on marketers. As the cost of living rises and brands anticipate tighter margins from inflation, marketers are shifting strategies to keep up with economic volatility. And recession fears linger, raising questions on how marketers can defend budgets in the future.
- Tariffs continue to cause concerns. Ninety-four percent of advertisers expressed worries about the impact of tariffs on ad budgets earlier this year, per IAB, and WARC’s findings indicate that these concerns are only rising. Social media, a key touchpoint for marketers, is a particular area of concern for marketers anticipating ad spending cuts.
- Economic worries are already slowing ad spending. Total media ad spending growth in the US slowed to 7% this year, and will only climb 8% in 2026.