US Retail Industry Ad Spending 2025​

Tariffs Hit Advertising’s Biggest Players Hard​

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About This Report
This year, retail will underperform overall US ad spending growth for the first time since 2018 as advertisers cut budgets amid tariffs and economic uncertainty. But the outlook for 2026 is more optimistic.

Retailers have been under enormous pressure in 2025 as new tariffs and unsteady consumer demand trigger a slowdown in industry ad spending. While retail will retain its status as the largest contributor to digital ad revenues, spending growth will take an unusual dip in 2025.​

Key Question: What is the outlook for US retail industry ad spending through 2027?

This deck covers:

  • The outlook for US traditional media and digital ad spending by retailers through 2027​
  • How retail digital ad spending is allocated across channels and formats​
  • Which retail categories are over- and underperforming in digital ad spending​

This deck can help you:

  • Benchmark marketing performance (brands and retailers)​
  • Allocate budget for campaigns and develop media strategy (agencies)​
  • Determine market sizing (media platforms)​
  • Showcase opportunities to customers (solution providers

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Sky Canaves

Contributors

Suzy Davidkhanian
VP, Content
Blake Droesch
Zach Goldner
Senior Forecasting Analyst
Wendy Malloy
Director, Reports Editor
Emma Noyes
Graphic Designer, Data Visualization
Oscar Orozco
Senior Director, Forecasting
Sakina Thanawala
Copy Editor
Matt Torpey
Senior Chart Editor
Emman Velasco
Chart Editor
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