India AdEx to cross ₹2 lakh crore in 2026 as digital takes 60% share

A DS Group, WPP Media and MICA report forecasts India’s advertising market will grow 9.7% to exceed ₹2 lakh crore in 2026. Digital is expected to account for 60% of spend, with retail media nearing one-fifth of digital AdEx and quick-commerce advertising growing about 50%.

— Source publishedFri, 18 Sept, 2026, 13:02 IST·First seen Sat, 19 Sept, 2026, 05:29 IST·Source ET BrandEquity

What happened

DS Group, WPP Media and MICA forecast India’s AdEx will exceed INR 2 lakh crore in 2026. Digital commands 60% of spend, while retail media and quick-commerce

Key facts

  • India AdEx: INR 1.85 lakh crore in 2025
  • India AdEx forecast: INR 2 lakh crore in 2026
  • Digital share of AdEx: 60%
  • Digital AdEx growth forecast: 11.1% in 2026
  • Overall AdEx growth forecast: 9.7% in 2026
  • Retail media: nearly 20% of digital AdEx
  • Quick commerce advertising growth: approximately 50%
  • Connected TV spend forecast: over INR 8,000 crore in 2026
  • Online shoppers: 36 crore

Why this matters

Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions that add retail-media inventory, commerce data, measurement capabilities or quick-commerce distribution as these channels become material advertising ecosystems.

What to watch

  • Share of platform GMV influenced by sponsored listings and retail-media revenue as a percentage of GMV.
  • Cost-per-click and return-on-ad-spend trends on quick-commerce and marketplace platforms.
  • Whether top FMCG, beauty and consumer-electronics brands move retail-media budgets from trade promotions, social, search or television.
  • Ad-load growth, search-result relevance complaints and changes in customer conversion or repeat rates.
  • Expansion of self-serve ad tools, brand dashboards, clean rooms and third-party retail-media measurement standards.
  • Quick-commerce consolidation, delivery-fee changes and platform moves to bundle advertising with preferred seller or assortment terms.
  • Build a unified retail-media measurement layer linking ad exposure to incremental sales, repeat purchase, margin and offline-store outcomes.
  • Create differentiated ad products for brands: sponsored search, category placement, shoppable video, sampling, audience retargeting and closed-loop campaign reporting.
  • Protect customer experience by capping sponsored placements and separating relevant recommendations from paid inventory.
  • Use ad revenue to selectively fund lower delivery fees, loyalty benefits and targeted promotions in high-frequency categories.
  • Prepare commercial teams for joint business plans that combine trade spend, retail-media budgets, assortment visibility and supply commitments.
  • Prioritize first-party data consent, clean-room partnerships and privacy-safe audience products as advertisers demand better attribution.

Also reported by