Online Lifts U.K. Ad Market

Advertising revenues in the U.K. rose by 10.4 percent in 2024 to reach £42.6 billion ($56.8 billion), with expenditure on online media up 13.2 percent, according to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report.

For 2025, the report is projecting a 6.3 percent increase to £45.2 billion ($60.3 billion), with a slower forecast of 5.6 percent in 2026 to reach £47.8 billion ($63.8 billion).

AA/WARC has downgraded its previous forecast from January, taking into account possible impacts from the U.S. trade war and weakened economic climate.

Online display, which includes social media and retail media, gained 15.1 percent in 2024. Television overall was up 3.8 percent to £5.3 billion ($7.1 billion), encompassing BVOD, SVOD, AVOD and FAST.

Stephen Woodford, CEO of the Advertising Association, said: “While the U.K. advertising industry growth is well ahead of U.K. growth, it’s worth noting business confidence may weaken due to geopolitical headwinds and regulatory uncertainty, which could impact the way businesses commit to spend on advertising. However, it’s important to remember once again that advertising supports competition and promotes innovation, and helps to create jobs across the U.K., so a healthy advertising sector is integral to a healthy economy. The U.K. advertising market is constantly dynamic, with these latest figures recording the rise of retail media and the growth of advertising opportunities from video-on-demand, reducing cost of access to TV content for people.”

James McDonald, director of data, intelligence and forecasting at WARC, said: “Though we expect investment to grow in the coming years, we are cognizant that confidence in the U.K.’s advertising market remains fragile, burdened by sustained economic stagnation and recently introduced business taxes outlined in the autumn statement. The introduction of new trade tariffs by the Trump administration adds further complexity, particularly for sectors with high exposure to international supply chains. At worst, such disruption stands to erode margins, with any increase in operational costs for businesses potentially translating to higher prices at the till. The temptation to cut ad budgets in such a climate will be elevated, therefore, but WARC research clearly demonstrates that short-termism poses an inordinate risk to enduring brand equity.”