Global ad spend surpasses $1 trillion, APAC to play key role

Global adspend is set to surge past the $1 trillion mark in 2025, with the APAC region playing a key role in its growth, according to the Worldwide Ad Spending Forecast 2025 from Emarketer.

Digital will account for 75% of total adspend, resulting in several companies including tech giants from China and the United States securing over $10 billion in net digital ad revenue worldwide. 

Even against a constant backdrop of action by regulators, Google and YouTube will contribute over $200 billion to parent company Alphabet, a new standard worldwide for digital ad revenues.

Google is however expected to cede some ground to rival Meta (which has been grappling with its own trial with the FTC) but the duopoly will account for 50.6% of all digital adspend this year.

Snapping at their heels are competitors such as ByteDance's flagship app TikTok. If the app survives an impending ban in the US, TikTok should grow ad revenue by 32.1% to reach $35 billion. Other companies clocking rapid growth in digital ad revenue include Latin American ecommerce marketplace Mercado Libre and Reddit.
 

The report also emphasises the growing clout of retail media, with adspend growing at 17.4%, faster than other categories such as traditional search (12.2%) and display (13.3%). This year, retail media is expected to account for 22.4% of digital ad spending

China and India—the engines of the APAC growth story

As the world’s second-largest advertising market at $181.7 billion, China has a dominant impact on global ad revenue and the increasing clout of digital. China’s ad spend on digital stands at 86.1%—higher than all other markets globally. Other significant markets from the region are Japan at $42.2 billion; Australia at $14.7 billion; and India at $14.17 billion.
 

Despite being the smallest market in the Top 10 countries ranked by total media spending, India is poised for rapid growth. While wedded to legacy media for slightly longer than many other markets, the digital transformation is well underway. India is the only market in the world where digital ad spend is expected to surpass 20% through this year and the next. The surge is driven by burgeoning digital consumption and an increasingly connected populace. By 2028, India’s digital ad market will surpass $10 billion, solidifying its position as one of the top ten digital ad markets worldwide.

Southeast Asia grapples with short-term challenges

The digital ad spend for Southeast Asia is the lowest among key markets and regions, standing at a mere 42%. Its digital spend through 2025 is expected to be 7.5%; still faster than total ad spend which is expected to grow at 4.9%.

Its relatively sluggish trajectory is a function of diverse markets operating at varying levels of growth, economic volatility, and a relatively slow pace of development when it comes to digital infrastructure. As a result, no single economy in the region is expected to exceed the 75% mark when it comes to growth in digital ad spend; a phenomenon that can also be observed in Latin America.

Retail media will finally live up to its promise

The report flags retail media as the most important worldwide growth driver right now. Forecasts indicate that it will account for a little over a quarter of digital ad spend by 2028, standing at $260.7 billion.

Major ecommerce platforms, notably in China and India, leverage retail media effectively, capitalising on consumer data and integrated digital experiences to drive advertiser value.

Retail media’s significance is underscored by its sustained double-digit growth, reflecting marketers’ increasing preference for measurable and targeted advertising. Within APAC, platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart, and emerging players across Southeast Asia such as Shopee (which has partnered with the recently launched YouTube Shopping) and Lazada will play a critical role in how brands interface with consumers online.