Big Tech cashes in on 1 trillion ad market boom

"The global ad market is booming, with spend forecast to reach $1.19 (£1.04) trillion in 2025, up 8.9 per cent from last year, according to WARC's recent report. Growth is projected to accelerate to $1.30 trillion in 2026 and $1.40 trillion by 2027, a doubling in size since the pandemic. But while the market is swelling, the gains are increasingly concentrated in the hands of Big Tech."

"For British agencies, that leaves a rapidly shrinking slice of the pie. Alex Brownsell, WARC's head of content, describes the market as having "broken away from the economic cycle". "New money has arrived from digital-native categories, while commerce has redrawn the measured media map, and Big Tech's self-reinforcing flywheel is harvesting almost all incremental dollars", he added, Inflation, stagnant wages and higher borrowing costs have dampened household spending, yet ad budgets keep climbing - driven by data-driven channels."

"Retail media alone now accounts for nearly 15 per cent of global spend, while sectors like 'clothing & accessories' channel over 80 per cent of incremental budgets straight into search, social and retail media platforms. Meanwhile, younger platforms like TikTok and Reddit have become exceptions, growing faster than incumbents but from a small base. TikTok is projected to net $45.2bn in ad revenue by 2027, which is less than a fifth of Meta's take."

Global ad spend is forecast to reach $1.19 trillion in 2025, $1.30 trillion in 2026 and $1.40 trillion by 2027, doubling since the pandemic. Growth is powered by digital-native categories and data-driven channels, with retail media now nearly 15% of global spend. Alphabet, Amazon and Meta capture 56.1% of ad spend outside China this year, equal to $556.6bn, and are projected to reach 58.8% by 2027. Incremental budgets flow heavily into search, social and retail media, especially in sectors like clothing & accessories. Younger platforms including TikTok and Reddit grow faster but from a smaller base. UK agencies face revenue pressure and falling shares amid concentrated ad budgets.

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