Holiday 2025 Ad Trends: What’s Driving Digital Growth This Season

33%

Global ad spend will reach $1.17T in 2025, with 73% ($798.7B) going to digital. The U.S. leads at $325B. Search ads hit $334.4B, social ads make up 33% of digital ($276.7B), and mobile ads reach $447B. Video ads grow to $72B, boosting conversions by up to 86%, while email remains strong—50% of consumers buy from marketing emails monthly.

17%

Pinterest introduced Top of Search ads (29% higher CTR, 32% more new clickers) and local inventory ads (16.5% more store visits). With 39% of Gen Z starting shopping searches on Pinterest and 17% global revenue growth, these updates sharpen holiday performance.

$230B

Digital marketing spend is projected at $734.6B in 2025, generating $5 ROI per $1. Email delivers 3600% ROI, SEO drives 53% of traffic, and social ads exceed $230B. Programmatic ads will reach 87% share by 2026. AI adoption is surging, with 91% of Fortune 1000 investing, while mobile commerce hits $3.4T.

52%

A Sprout Social survey shows 52% of consumers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia worry about undisclosed AI-generated content, tied with data misuse as their top concern. With 62.7% of marketers already using AI for posts and just 28% of consumers trusting social platforms, brands must prioritize transparency to build trust.

$51.24B

Meta’s Q3 2025 revenue jumped 26% YoY to $51.24B, driven by AI-powered ads. Its AI ad suite surpassed a $60B run rate, and Reels hit $50B annually, despite Reality Labs losing $4.4B.

88%

Mobile ad spend still leans heavily toward Google and Meta (88%), but APAC's independent app ecosystem—reaching 2B daily users—delivers up to 214% higher returns. Advertisers are shifting into gaming, finance, and productivity apps to diversify.

12%

Spotify beat expectations in Q3 2025 with 12% YoY revenue growth to €4.27B. Premium subscribers rose to 281M (+12%) and MAUs hit 713M (+11%). Despite a 6% drop in ad revenue, Spotify is doubling down on AI integrations and new partnerships.