Executive Summary

Digital ad spending in the UK will grow by 0.3% in 2020 to reach £15.08 billion ($19.25 billion). We consider how the pandemic will affect digital ad spending across the six largest industries we track in the UK: automotive, computing products and consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods (CPG), financial services, retail, and travel.

Which industries in the UK will spend the most—and the least—on digital ad channels in 2020?

Retail will pull ahead in 2020 to account for 20.0%, or £3.02 billion ($3.85 billion), of all digital ad spending. CPG will be a somewhat distant second, with a 13.5% share. At the other end of the scale, travel will see a massive 36.7% decline in digital spend this year and claim just 6.8% of total digital spend.

How has the pandemic affected spending across industries?

Other than travel and automotive, most industries have weathered the pandemic storm pretty well. Computing products and consumer electronics, for example, has actually grown as the pandemic forced consumers to work from home and entertain themselves indoors. Its digital ad spend growth will be faster in 2020 (14.3%) than it was in 2019 (13.2%).

Have device trends changed as a result of the pandemic?

Mobile continues to capture the lion’s share of digital ad spend, but its growth will be uneven across industries this year. For instance, in computing products and consumer electronics and financial services, ad spending growth for desktop will outstrip that of mobile. As employees begin returning to offices next year, though, the lean toward mobile spending will once again prevail.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report features our latest forecasts for digital ad spending in the six largest sectors we track in the UK and outlines key trends shaping these forecasts.

KEY STAT: Retail will be the biggest digital ad spender in the UK this year, accounting for one in five digital ad pounds. Travel will spend the least, accounting for just 6.8% of total digital ad spending.