India’s digital ad market reaches ₹947 billion as retail media surges

Digital advertising accounted for about 63% of India’s ad market in CY25, up from 56% in CY24. E-commerce and point-of-sale advertising rose 50% to ₹220 billion—equivalent to 85% of TV ad revenue—highlighting the growing value of commerce-linked media.

— Source publishedMon, 7 Sept, 2026, 15:42 IST·First seen Mon, 7 Sept, 2026, 15:48 IST·Source BL · Consumer & Economy

What happened

India digital advertising market · ICICI Securities says India’s digital advertising market is accelerating, led by performance, e-commerce and point-of-sale

Key facts

  • Digital advertising projected to reach ~80% of global ad revenue by CY29P, from ~72% in CY24
  • India digital media grew more than 30% year-on-year in CY25
  • Digital advertising represented ~63% of India's ad market in CY25, versus ~56% in CY24
  • India digital advertising revenue crossed Rs 947 billion in CY25
  • Indian advertising market grew 13.5% to Rs 1.5 trillion in CY25
  • E-commerce and point-of-sale advertising rose 50% to Rs 220 billion in CY25
  • E-commerce and POS advertising equalled 85% of total TV advertising revenue

Why this matters

Prioritise partnerships or acquisitions in adtech, shopper-data analytics and point-of-sale media networks to secure capabilities as retail media consolidates around measurable commerce audiences.

What to watch

  • Share of digital ad spend allocated to commerce media versus search, social and video.
  • Growth in sponsored-product cost per click and evidence of diminishing incremental conversion.
  • Adoption of common retail-media measurement standards and independent verification in India.
  • Quick-commerce platforms expanding ad formats beyond sponsored listings into display, video, sampling and off-platform audience activation.
  • Retailers reporting media revenue separately, including media contribution to EBITDA or supplier income.
  • Brand procurement shifts from trade-promotion budgets to dedicated retail-media and commerce-marketing budgets.
  • Store digitization investment: screen networks, loyalty penetration, unified customer IDs and real-time inventory data.
  • Build a retail-media roadmap spanning onsite search, display, offsite audience extension, CRM media and physical point-of-sale inventory.
  • Prioritize closed-loop measurement: establish common metrics for incremental sales, new-to-brand customers, return on ad spend and in-store-to-online conversion.
  • Package first-party audience segments with privacy-safe clean-room or data-collaboration capabilities for large advertisers.
  • Convert store assets into measurable media inventory through digital shelf labels, checkout screens, in-aisle displays and QR-led campaign journeys.
  • Create a unified commercial model linking supplier trade funding, category growth plans and self-serve advertising without cannibalizing base promotional investment.
  • Strengthen retail-media sales and ad-operations teams; introduce managed-service offerings for smaller brands while building self-serve tools for scaled advertisers.

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