Digital Marketing Statistics 2026: Spend, Budgets, Creators, E-commerce and AI Search
US internet advertising revenue reached $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9% year on year, according to IAB and PwC. IAB expects total US ad spend to grow 12.3% in 2026, led by social media at 16.5%. Creator ad spend grew 27.8% a year from 2021 to 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data. Marketing budgets stayed flat at 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, according to Gartner. E-commerce made up 17.1% of US retail sales in the second quarter of 2026, according to the US Census Bureau.
Key statistics
- US internet advertising revenue reached $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9% year on year, according to IAB and PwC.
- US ad spend is forecast to grow 12.3% in 2026, up from a January forecast of 9.5%, according to IAB.
- US creator ad spend grew at a compound rate of 27.8% a year from 2021 to 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data.
- Marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025, according to Gartner.
- E-commerce made up 17.1% of US retail sales in the second quarter of 2026, according to the US Census Bureau.
Digital advertising spend statistics
Paid media is the biggest line in most digital marketing plans. The IAB/PwC report is the main record of US internet ad revenue. It counts what sellers of ads report, not what marketers say they spend.
US internet advertising revenue reached $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9% on 2024, according to IAB and PwC. Social media brought in $117.7 billion, up 32.6%. That was $3.5 billion more than search, calculated by StatisticsGlobal. Digital video was the fastest growing format, up 25.4% to $78.0 billion.
IAB still describes search as the largest format, with a 38.8% share. The two claims fit because IAB reports social as a separate cut that overlaps its format table. A social video ad, for example, can sit in both social and video. Read the format shares and the social total side by side, not added together.
Commerce media, meaning ads sold by retailers and other commerce platforms, reached $63.4 billion. That is 21.5% of all US internet ad revenue, calculated by StatisticsGlobal. Spend is also concentrated. The top 10 companies took 84.1% of revenue in 2025. Year-by-year totals since 2022 and European data are on our digital advertising statistics page.
Source: IAB and PwC. Categories overlap and should not be summed.
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US internet advertising revenue reached $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9% year on year, according to IAB and PwC.
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US search advertising revenue reached $114.2 billion in 2025, a 38.8% share of internet ad revenue, according to IAB and PwC.
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US digital video advertising revenue reached $78.0 billion in 2025, up 25.4% year on year, according to IAB and PwC.
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US commerce media advertising revenue reached $63.4 billion in 2025, according to IAB and PwC.
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The top 10 companies took 84.1% of US internet advertising revenue in 2025, according to IAB and PwC.
| Format or cut | Revenue 2025 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total internet advertising | $294.6 billion | Up 13.9% on 2024 |
| Social media (separate cut) | $117.7 billion | Up 32.6% on 2024 |
| Search | $114.2 billion | 38.8% share of total |
| Digital video | $78.0 billion | Up 25.4% on 2024 |
| Commerce media (separate cut) | $63.4 billion | 21.5% of total (our calculation) |
Digital ad spend by channel in 2026
IAB surveys US ad buyers twice a year on where spend is heading. The September 2026 update raised the full-year forecast after a strong first half.
IAB now expects total US ad spend to grow 12.3% in 2026, up from 9.5% in its January forecast. Social media leads at 16.5%, followed by connected TV at 15.6% and commerce media at 13.6%. Linear TV is the only channel expected to shrink, by 1.5%.
Buyers grew more confident in the fast channels and slightly less in the slow ones. IAB raised its forecast for 5 of 8 channels between January and September, calculated by StatisticsGlobal. Social got the biggest lift, 1.9 points. Paid search, DOOH and digital video outside CTV were all trimmed a little. The gap between social and search forecasts is now 8.4 points.
Goals moved too. Customer acquisition was a top priority for 63% of buyers in September, up nine points since January. These are forecasts from a buyer survey of about 200 people. They cover all media, so they are not directly comparable with the IAB/PwC revenue series above.
Source: IAB, 2026 Outlook Study: September Update. Linear TV (forecast -1.5%) is in the table above.
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US ad spend is forecast to grow 12.3% in 2026, up from a January forecast of 9.5%, according to IAB.
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US connected TV ad spend is forecast to grow 15.6% in 2026, according to IAB.
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US paid search ad spend is forecast to grow 8.1% in 2026, according to IAB.
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US linear TV ad spend is forecast to fall 1.5% in 2026, according to IAB.
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IAB raised its 2026 US growth forecast for 5 of 8 ad channels between January and September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data.
How we calculated it: Compared January and September 2026 forecasts for 8 channels. Raised: social (+1.9 points), CTV (+1.8), commerce media (+1.5), linear TV (+0.2), podcasts (+0.1). Cut: DOOH (-0.4), digital video excluding CTV (-0.2), paid search (-0.1).
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Customer acquisition was a top priority for 63% of US ad buyers in September 2026, up nine points since January, according to IAB.
| Channel | January forecast | September forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media | 14.6% | 16.5% | +1.9 points |
| Connected TV | 13.8% | 15.6% | +1.8 points |
| Commerce media | 12.1% | 13.6% | +1.5 points |
| Digital video excluding CTV | 9.6% | 9.4% | -0.2 points |
| Podcasts | 8.6% | 8.7% | +0.1 points |
| Paid search | 8.2% | 8.1% | -0.1 points |
| Digital out of home | 7.4% | 7.0% | -0.4 points |
| Linear TV | -1.7% | -1.5% | +0.2 points |
Creator and influencer ad spend statistics
IAB counts only ad money brands pay to creators for sponsored content and planned placements. Affiliate income, tips, subscriptions and merchandise are left out, so its totals are lower than broad "creator economy" estimates.
US creator ad spend rose from $13.9 billion in 2021 to a projected $37.1 billion in 2025, according to IAB. That is a compound rate of 27.8% a year, calculated by StatisticsGlobal, about twice the 13.9% growth in total internet ad revenue in 2025. Spend in 2025 was 2.7 times its 2021 level.
Growth is slowing from a high base. IAB projects 26% growth in 2025 and 18% in 2026, to $43.9 billion. Even so, the 2025 rate was 4.6 times IAB's 5.7% estimate for the whole US media industry. IAB's press release rounds the 2025 figure to $37 billion. The report chart gives $37.1 billion, which we use.
Buyers treat creators as a core channel now. 48% of ad spenders called creators a "must buy" in 2025, behind only social media and paid search. In IAB's September 2026 outlook, 54% of buyers named creator partnerships as an area of more focus. Creator spend is not a separate line in IAB/PwC revenue data, and much of it runs on social platforms, so the two series overlap.
Source: IAB with Advertiser Perceptions.
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US creator economy ad spend is projected to reach $37.1 billion in 2025, up 26% year on year, according to IAB.
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US creator economy ad spend was $13.9 billion in 2021, according to IAB.
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US creator economy ad spend reached $29.5 billion in 2024, according to IAB.
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US creator economy ad spend is projected to reach $43.9 billion in 2026, according to IAB.
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US creator ad spend grew at a compound rate of 27.8% a year from 2021 to 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data.
How we calculated it: ($37.1 billion in 2025 / $13.9 billion in 2021) ^ (1/4) - 1 = 27.8%. The 2025 figure is an IAB projection.
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US creator ad spend in 2025 was 2.7 times its 2021 level, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data.
How we calculated it: $37.1 billion (2025 projection) / $13.9 billion (2021) = 2.67.
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US creator ad spend was projected to grow 4.6 times as fast as the total US media industry in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data.
How we calculated it: Creator ad spend growth of 26% / total media growth of 5.7% (IAB 2025 Outlook Study, September update, cited in the creator report) = 4.56.
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US creator ad spend is projected to grow 18.3% in 2026, slower than in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from IAB data.
How we calculated it: $43.9 billion (2026 projection) / $37.1 billion (2025 projection) - 1 = 18.3%. IAB labels it +18%.
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48% of US ad spenders considered creators a "must buy" in 2025, behind only social media and paid search, according to IAB.
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54% of US ad buyers named creator and influencer partnerships as an area of increased focus in 2026, according to IAB.
| Year | Ad spend | Growth on previous year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $13.9 billion | Not stated |
| 2022 | $18.4 billion | 32% |
| 2023 | $22.1 billion | 20% |
| 2024 | $29.5 billion | 34% |
| 2025 (projected) | $37.1 billion | 26% |
| 2026 (projected) | $43.9 billion | 18% |
Marketing budget statistics
Gartner's CMO Spend Survey asks about 400 marketing leaders at mostly large firms in North America, the UK and Europe how big their budgets are and where the money goes.
Marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025, according to Gartner. Gartner calls this effectively flat. 56% of CMOs said they lacked the budget they needed. Ad markets grew far faster than that, but Gartner measures budgets as a share of revenue at large firms, not total spend.
AI now takes a real share of the money. CMOs put an average of 15.3% of marketing budgets into AI initiatives. The 30% of teams that reported mature AI readiness put in 21.3%, or 6.0 points more, calculated by StatisticsGlobal. Those teams also had bigger budgets, at 8.9% of revenue. More on AI use in marketing is on our AI marketing statistics page.
People cost more too. Labour rose from 21.9% to 24.5% of marketing budgets, up 2.6 points in a year. Within media, awareness and conversion goals took 62.6% of spend. Gartner says loyalty and retention fell to less than 15%.
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Marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025, according to Gartner.
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56% of CMOs said their marketing organisation lacked the budget it needed in 2026, according to Gartner.
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CMOs allocated an average of 15.3% of marketing budgets to AI initiatives in 2026, according to Gartner.
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AI-ready marketing organisations allocated 21.3% of marketing budgets to AI in 2026, according to Gartner.
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AI-ready marketing teams put 6.0 points more of their budget into AI than the average in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Gartner data.
How we calculated it: 21.3% (AI-ready organisations) minus 15.3% (survey average) = 6.0 percentage points.
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AI-ready marketing organisations had budgets of 8.9% of revenue in 2026, 1.1 points above the average, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Gartner data.
How we calculated it: Gartner reports 8.9% of revenue for AI-ready organisations and a 7.8% average. 8.9 minus 7.8 = 1.1 percentage points.
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Only 30% of CMOs reported mature or fully developed AI readiness in 2026, according to Gartner.
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Labour took 24.5% of total marketing budgets in 2026, up from 21.9% in 2025, according to Gartner.
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Labour share of marketing budgets rose 2.6 points from 2025 to 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Gartner data.
How we calculated it: 24.5% (2026) minus 21.9% (2025) = 2.6 percentage points.
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Awareness and conversion goals took 62.6% of total media spend in 2026, according to Gartner.
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing budget as share of company revenue | 7.7% | 7.8% |
| Labour as share of marketing budget | 21.9% | 24.5% |
| Share of marketing budget for AI, all respondents | Not reported | 15.3% |
| Share of marketing budget for AI, AI-ready teams | Not reported | 21.3% |
E-commerce sales statistics (US)
Online sales are where much digital marketing ends up. The US Census Bureau publishes quarterly retail e-commerce estimates from its Monthly Retail Trade Survey.
US retail e-commerce sales reached $340.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted, according to the US Census Bureau. That was 17.1% of all retail sales and 12.2% more than a year earlier. Total retail grew 6.7%, so online grew 5.5 points faster, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
Over the four quarters to June 2026, online retail sales came to $1.30 trillion, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from the seasonally adjusted quarters. The online share rose 0.8 points in a year, from 16.3% to 17.1%.
The two Census releases do not line up exactly. The Q4 2025 release put 2025 sales at $1,233.7 billion, up 5.4%, and the fourth quarter at $316.1 billion. The Q2 2026 release revised that quarter to $318.0 billion and shows growth of 12.2%, much faster than the 5.3% reported for the fourth quarter of 2025. Census revises past quarters between releases, so use one release for any comparison. More e-commerce data is on our multichannel marketing statistics page.
Source: US Census Bureau.
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US retail e-commerce sales reached $340.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted, according to the US Census Bureau.
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US retail e-commerce sales grew 12.2% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the US Census Bureau.
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US e-commerce sales grew 5.5 points faster than total retail sales in the year to the second quarter of 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US Census Bureau data.
How we calculated it: E-commerce growth of 12.2% minus total retail growth of 6.7%, second quarter 2026 on second quarter 2025.
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US retail e-commerce sales totalled $1.30 trillion in the four quarters to June 2026, seasonally adjusted, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US Census Bureau data.
How we calculated it: Sum of seasonally adjusted quarters in the Q2 2026 release: Q3 2025 $310,817m + Q4 2025 $317,999m + Q1 2026 $327,861m + Q2 2026 $340,244m = $1,296,921m.
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US retail e-commerce sales totalled $1,233.7 billion in 2025, up 5.4% on 2024, according to the US Census Bureau.
| Quarter | E-commerce sales | Share of total retail |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 (revised) | $303.3 billion | 16.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $310.8 billion | 16.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $318.0 billion | 16.7% |
| Q1 2026 (revised) | $327.9 billion | 17.0% |
| Q2 2026 (preliminary) | $340.2 billion | 17.1% |
How businesses use social media and online ads (EU)
Eurostat's annual survey of ICT use in enterprises is one of the few official counts of how many firms do digital marketing at all. It covers firms with 10 or more employees.
63.6% of EU enterprises used social media in 2025, up from 61.1% in 2023, according to Eurostat. Size matters a lot. 60.6% of small firms used it against 89.1% of large ones, a gap of 28.5 points, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
Country gaps are wider still. Malta led at 88.2%, ahead of Finland at 87.6% and Denmark at 86.1%. Bulgaria was lowest at 41.5%, 46.7 points behind Malta. Croatia and Hungary were also below 50%.
Paying for ads is much less common than posting. 32.6% of EU enterprises bought internet ads in 2024, about half the share that used social media a year later. Most of those advertisers used contextual ads, at 76.8%. 41.6% used behavioural targeting based on cookies and past activity.
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32.6% of EU enterprises used paid internet advertising in 2024, according to Eurostat.
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About one in three EU enterprises paid for internet ads in 2024, half the 63.6% that used social media in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Eurostat data.
How we calculated it: 32.6% (paid internet ads, 2024) / 63.6% (social media use, 2025) = 0.51. Different survey years, both for enterprises with 10 or more employees.
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76.8% of EU enterprises paying for internet ads used contextual advertising in 2024, according to Eurostat.
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41.6% of EU enterprises paying for internet ads used behavioural targeting in 2024, according to Eurostat.
| Measure | Share of enterprises | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Used social media, all enterprises | 63.6% | 2025 |
| Used social media, small enterprises | 60.6% | 2025 |
| Used social media, medium enterprises | 76.2% | 2025 |
| Used social media, large enterprises | 89.1% | 2025 |
| Paid for internet advertising | 32.6% | 2024 |
AI search impact on digital marketing
AI answers in search change how many people click through to websites. Buyers are already shifting money and measurement in response.
Pew Research Center tracked the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025. 18% of their Google searches produced an AI summary. When a summary appeared, users clicked a regular search result on 8% of visits, against 15% without one. That is 46.7% fewer clicks, calculated by StatisticsGlobal. They clicked a link inside the summary on just 1% of visits.
Buyers see the same shift. Adapting to consumer behaviour, including AI-driven search, was the top media investment challenge for 44% of US buyers in IAB's September 2026 survey. 76% named optimising content for AI-generated answers as an area of more focus, the top answer. 48% planned to measure brand visibility and citations inside AI tools.
The Pew study is a single month in 2025 and a small panel, so the exact click gap will have moved since. The IAB figures describe intentions, not results. Both point the same way. Search clicks are harder to win, and marketers are starting to count mentions in AI answers as well. More click data is on our click-through rate benchmarks page.
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Adapting to consumer behaviour, including AI-driven search, was the top media investment challenge for 44% of US ad buyers in 2026, according to IAB.
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76% of US ad buyers named optimising content for AI-generated answers as an area of increased focus in 2026, according to IAB.
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48% of US ad buyers planned to measure brand visibility and citations inside AI tools in 2026, according to IAB.
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86% of US ad buyers were changing or expected to change how they measure media performance in 2026, according to IAB.
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US Google users clicked a search result link on 8% of visits with an AI summary in March 2025, against 15% without one, according to Pew Research Center.
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Search result clicks were 46.7% lower on US Google visits with an AI summary in March 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: (15% click rate without AI summary - 8% with AI summary) / 15% = 46.7% lower.
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US Google users clicked a link inside the AI summary on 1% of visits in March 2025, according to Pew Research Center.
Digital marketing jobs and pay (US)
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay and job projections for marketing managers. It does not have a separate code for digital marketing roles.
US marketing managers held about 421,600 jobs in 2025 and earned a median $166,790 in May 2025, according to the BLS. Advertising and promotions managers were a much smaller group, at 33,200 jobs, and earned $133,660. That is $33,130 less at the median, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
The two groups are heading in different directions. BLS projects marketing manager jobs to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, while advertising and promotions manager jobs fall 4%. About 36,300 openings a year are expected across both.
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US marketing managers held about 421,600 jobs in 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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US marketing managers earned a median annual wage of $166,790 in May 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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US advertising and promotions managers earned a median annual wage of $133,660 in May 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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US marketing managers earned $33,130 more than advertising and promotions managers at the median in May 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
How we calculated it: $166,790 (marketing managers) minus $133,660 (advertising and promotions managers), median annual wages, May 2025.
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US marketing manager jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, while advertising and promotions manager jobs fall 4%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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About 36,300 US openings for advertising, promotions and marketing managers are projected each year from 2025 to 2035, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| Occupation | Jobs 2025 | Median pay May 2025 | Projected change 2025 to 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing managers | 421,600 | $166,790 | +7% |
| Advertising and promotions managers | 33,200 | $133,660 | -4% |
How these sources measure digital marketing
No single source measures digital marketing as a whole. Each covers one slice, in one place, with its own method.
IAB/PwC revenue figures are what US ad sellers report to PwC, plus public filings. PwC does not audit them. IAB's outlook and creator figures come from buyer surveys and modelling, so they are forecasts and estimates, not reported revenue. The creator report used 453 US decision-makers surveyed in July and August 2025.
Gartner's budget data comes from 401 CMOs, mostly at companies with over $1 billion in revenue. Smaller firms may spend a very different share of revenue.
Census e-commerce estimates cover sales by US retailers of goods ordered online. They are not adjusted for prices, and past quarters are revised. Eurostat counts enterprises with 10 or more employees, so the smallest firms are missing. Pew measured real browsing, not survey answers, but for one month and 900 adults. BLS has no separate code for digital marketing jobs.
Frequently asked questions
How much is spent on digital marketing in the US?
US internet advertising revenue reached $294.6 billion in 2025, up 13.9% year on year, according to IAB and PwC. That covers paid ads only, not marketing staff, tools or owned content.
Is digital ad spend growing faster than last year?
US internet ad revenue grew 13.9% in 2025, according to IAB and PwC. For 2026, IAB forecasts 12.3% growth in total US ad spend, up from its January forecast of 9.5%. The forecast covers all media, so it is not a like-for-like comparison.
Which digital marketing channel is growing fastest?
Social media, at a forecast 16.5% in 2026, ahead of connected TV at 15.6% and commerce media at 13.6%, according to IAB. In 2025 revenue, digital video grew fastest among formats, up 25.4%.
What percentage of revenue do companies spend on marketing?
Marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025, according to Gartner's survey of 401 CMOs at mostly large firms in North America, the UK and Europe.
How does AI search affect website traffic?
In a Pew Research Center study of US adults in March 2025, Google users clicked a search result on 8% of visits with an AI summary, against 15% without one. That is 46.7% fewer clicks, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
How big will creator marketing get?
IAB projects US creator ad spend at $43.9 billion in 2026, up from a projected $37.1 billion in 2025 and $13.9 billion in 2021.
Sources
- IAB and PwC, Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full-year 2025 results, April 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- IAB, IAB Raises 2026 U.S. Ad Spend Forecast to +12.3% YoY Growth (2026 Outlook Study: September Update), 10 September 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- IAB, Creator Economy 2025: Ad Spend & Strategies, 20 November 2025, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Gartner, Gartner 2026 CMO Spend Survey Finds CMOs Allocate 15.3% of Marketing Budgets to AI, 11 May 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- US Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, 2nd Quarter 2026, 18 August 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: Public domain (US government work)
- Gartner, Gartner Marketing Survey Finds Awareness and Conversion Account for 62.6% of Total Media Spend, 8 June 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- US Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, 4th Quarter 2025, 10 March 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: Public domain (US government work)
- Eurostat, Two-thirds of EU enterprises use social media, 12 June 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY 4.0
- Eurostat, A third of EU enterprises advertise online, 14 August 2025, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY 4.0
- Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results, 22 July 2025, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers, last modified 27 August 2026, accessed 29 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: Public domain (US government work)
Changes to this page
- : Page published with IAB/PwC full-year 2025 revenue, IAB September 2026 outlook and 2025 creator report, Gartner 2026 CMO Spend Survey, Census e-commerce to Q2 2026, Eurostat, Pew Research Center and BLS data.