Digital ad spends climb across sectors in 2025, led by FMCG & eCommerce: dentsu-e4m report

India’s digital advertising market recorded a sharp expansion between 2024 and 2025, with higher absolute spends visible across industry verticals. While FMCG and e-commerce continued to dominate digital advertising, the latest dentsu-e4m digital advertising report 2026 data also points to a broadening of investments across mid-sized and emerging sectors, signalling a market that is growing beyond just the top tier.

Indian ad industry to grow at 7.4% CAGR by 2027: e4m-dentsu report. Read e4m report 

Digital ad spends rise across verticals 

At the top of the digital advertising hierarchy, leadership positions remained unchanged even as spends rose significantly. In 2024, FMCG was the largest contributor to India’s digital media industry, accounting for 34% of total digital advertising spends at Rs 16,606 crore. In 2025, FMCG continued to lead, contributing 32% of digital spends, or Rs 23,243 crore. While its share moderated marginally, the sharp rise in absolute value highlights deeper digital penetration and higher sustained investments across platforms.

Read more on FMCG & E-commerce spends 

E-commerce consolidated its position as the second-largest digital advertiser. The sector accounted for 21% of digital advertising spends in 2024, translating to Rs 10,131 crore. By 2025, e-commerce increased its share to 22%, with digital spends rising sharply to Rs 15,836 crore, reflecting aggressive customer acquisition, quick-commerce expansion and continued reliance on performance-led digital marketing.

Other large contributors also scaled up in value over the same period. Consumer durables saw digital advertising spends rise from Rs 2,569 crore in 2024 to Rs 3,625 crore in 2025, while automotive spends increased from Rs 2,309 crore to Rs 3,425 crore. Pharmaceuticals remained part of the top contributor cluster, accounting for around 5% of total digital spends in both years, with digital ad spends rising from Rs 2,367 crore in 2024 to Rs 3,328 crore in 2025.

Beyond the top tier, the market showed clear signs of thickening. Telecom maintained a 4% share, with digital advertising spends increasing from Rs 1,918 crore in 2024 to Rs 2,702 crore in 2025. BFSI expanded digital spends from Rs 1,677 crore to Rs 2,315 crore, and real estate from Rs 1,294 crore to Rs 1,843 crore.

Smaller categories also recorded visible growth. Education’s digital spends increased from Rs 819 crore in 2024 to Rs 1,228 crore in 2025, retail rose from Rs 756 crore to Rs 1,066 crore, while media and entertainment reached Rs 983 crore in 2025, up from Rs 702 crore a year earlier. Government and social organisations increased digital spends from Rs 801 crore to Rs 945 crore, and tourism, though still a small contributor, grew from Rs 251 crore to Rs 386 crore.

Rising digital allocation supports higher spends

Higher digital allocation across key sectors provided strong support to the rise in digital advertising spends. Telecom remained the most digitally skewed category, with digital accounting for 74% of its total media mix in 2025, up from 66% in 2024. E-commerce also deepened its digital-first approach, with digital allocation increasing from 65% to 72% over the same period.

FMCG recorded a sharp rise in digital intensity, with digital’s share of media budgets increasing from 53% in 2024 to 64% in 2025, while pharmaceuticals saw an even stronger shift towards digital, with allocation rising from 54% to 67%. Among mid-tier categories, consumer durables increased digital allocation from 39% to 49%, and automotive raised its digital share from 37% to 44%, reflecting growing reliance on digital for discovery- and consideration-led engagement.

Overall, the 2024–2025 comparison shows digital ad growth being driven primarily by higher investments across industry verticals, with increased digital allocation acting as a reinforcing factor. While FMCG and e-commerce continue to anchor India’s digital advertising ecosystem, the widening base of advertisers points to a market that is scaling steadily across sectors.