91 Digital Marketing Industry Statistics: 2026 Trends, Growth, ROI +AI

If you’re looking to start an online coaching business or level up your digital presence, you need to see the numbers. Digital marketing isn’t slowing down; it’s exploding.

And if you get it right? It can be the engine behind your authority, reach, and income.

So I’ve pulled together 91 digital marketing industry statistics you need to know in 2026 showing how fast the industry’s growing, which marketing channels are crushing it, and what digital marketing trends are shaping the next few years.

From global digital advertising spend and social media platforms to influencer marketing, you’ll get the full picture. 

By the time you finish reading, you’ll understand why most digital marketing efforts aren’t just another tactic. It’s the backbone of visibility, authority, and revenue for coaches, digital marketers, and course creators in today’s digital age.

Key Digital Marketing Industry Statistics (Quick Summary)

Here are the key digital marketing statistics to know that’s shaping digital marketing right now.

A quick scan of the latest digital marketing stats gives you the scale, growth, and trends driving the content marketing industry forward.

1. Digital ad spend 2023: $601.8 billion, making up 67% of all media spend (Oberlo 2025).
2. Year-over-year growth: Up 9.5% from 2022 to 2023 (Oberlo 2025).
3. Forecast 2024-2025: $667.6 billion in 2024 and $730 billion+ in 2025 (Oberlo 2025).
4. By 2027: Digital ads will take nearly 74% of global ad budgets (Oberlo 2025).
5. PPC ROI: Paid search delivers an average 200% return (Wordstream 2023).
6. Marketers on influencers: 9 in 10 top marketing specialists and marketing experts say influencer marketing works (Oberlo 2025).
7. Industry growth: Influencer marketing grew from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $16.4 billion in 2022 (IMH).
8. Instagram’s role: 80% of influencer campaigns run on the platform (IMH).
9. Future budgets: 86% of brands plan influencer spend in 2024 (Oberlo 2025).
10. Video demand: 9 out of 10 consumers want more video from brands (Oberlo 2025).
11. YouTube reach: 933M+ active users worldwide (Oberlo 2025).
12. Short vs. long video: Shorts grew 62% YoY; long-form grew 140% YoY (HubSpot 2021).
13. Video adoption: 91% of businesses use video in their marketing (Wyzowl 2023).
14. Snapchat ads: Adoption jumped from 13% in 2023 to 57% in 2024 (Oberlo 2025).
15. LinkedIn users: 830M+, with 1 in 4 as senior decision-makers and marketing leaders (Oberlo 2023).
16. LinkedIn influence: 52% of buyers say it shapes their research most (Oberlo 2023).
17. Social spend: 80% of companies invest in social media marketing (HubSpot 2021).
18. Instagram users: 2 billion people log in every month (Backlinko 2025).
19. Social commerce: Expected to hit 17% of all ecommerce sales by 2025 (Statista, IMH).
20. Buyer behavior: 96% of prospects research online before speaking to sales (HubSpot 2023).

What Is the Digital Marketing Industry?

Digital marketing is the business of grabbing attention online and turning it into sales. It covers all your marketing efforts from ads, email, and SEO to social media and video. 

In simple terms: it’s how businesses stay visible, get customers, and grow in a world where everyone’s glued to a screen.

What industry does digital marketing fall under?

Digital marketing lives where business, tech, and communication meet. 

It’s part of the bigger global digital advertising and marketing world but focuses on digital marketing channels like social media, search, email, and websites to find and convert the right people. 

You can think of it in a few main buckets:

• Digital advertising and marketing market: Digital marketing campaigns, brand growth, and a results-driven solid digital marketing strategy.
• Marketing technology and software: Analytics, marketing automation, and AI marketing tools powering smarter online marketing and content marketing strategy.
• Media and communications: The digital marketing plan for video, content, and social channels that actually connect with people.
• E-commerce and retail: Driving online sales with ads, SEO, marketing emails, and influencer marketing.

The digital marketing job mixes these areas to help marketing managers deliver measurable growth and real business results.

Why marketing is important in the digital age

People aren’t flipping through phone books anymore. They’re on Google, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. If you’re not there, you don’t exist.

1. Everyone’s online: Internet users worldwide hit 5.35 billion in 2025 (DataReportal 2025).
2. Search first, buy later: 81% of shoppers research online before buying (GE Capital Retail Bank 2025).
3. Visibility is survival: 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine (BrightEdge 2024).

Why digital marketing is important

Old-school marketing can’t keep up with how fast people move. Digital lets you stay ahead and target with precision.

The key reasons:

1. Bigger reach: The digital ad market hit $667 billion in 2024 (Statista 2025).
2. Better targeting: 80% of marketers say combining digital marketing tactics with personalized content boosts results (Segment 2025).
3. Faster results: Test, tweak, and improve campaigns in real time. 60% of marketers say spending on digital advertising and digital campaigns delivers ROI within months (HubSpot 2025).

Use these digital marketing statistics to help grow your brand faster.

Why digital marketing is effective

It’s not just buzz. It works because it’s trackable, scalable, and flexible.

1. Data-driven: 91% of marketers say data-driven marketing is key to the success of their marketing efforts (Forrester 2024).
2. Cost control: Email marketing ROI averages $36 for every $1 spent (Litmus 2025).
3. Flexibility: 76% of businesses increased digital spend during downturns because it’s easier to adjust (Deloitte 2025).

Digital Marketing Industry Statistics

The digital marketing industry is one of the fastest-moving spaces in business. 

From ad spend and influencer growth to new tech like AI, the numbers show just how much money, attention, and innovation flow through this market.

Is digital marketing growing?

Digital marketing keeps climbing every year, with ad spend rising and new tools shaking things up.

1. Global digital ad spend in 2023 hit $601.8 billion, 67.1% of all media ad spend (Oberlo 2025).
2. From 2021 to 2027, digital ad spend is expected to grow 72% overall (Oberlo 2025).
3. By 2027, digital advertising is expected to make up 73.8% of total media ad spend (Oberlo 2025).

Is digital marketing a growing industry?

Brands and consumers are driving growth across channels big and small based on recent digital marketing and business statistics.

1. The digital marketing market reached $300-400 billion in 2021 and was projected to hit $460 billion by 2022 (PR Newswire 2022).
2. Influencer marketing grew from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $16.4 billion in 2022 (Influencer Marketing Hub).
3. Video uploads spiked 80% year-over-year in 2020, with watch time jumping 85% (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).

Is there growth in digital marketing?

The pace has shifted since the pandemic surge, but the upward trend for 2025 and beyond continues.

1. Digital ad spend increased 29.8% in 2021, the biggest annual jump of the decade (Oberlo 2025).
2. Growth slowed to 8.5% in 2022, but the market still expanded (Oberlo 2025).

Why digital marketing is growing

More people online, more screens in hand, and better data for inbound marketing are fueling the rise of the global digital marketing industry.

1. 80% of Gen Z and 62% of millennials rely on mobile search for brand discovery (HubSpot State of Marketing Report 2023).
2. COVID-19 sped adoption across retail, FMCG, and CPG sectors (PR Newswire 2022).

How big is the digital marketing industry?

The industry is now one of the largest segments of global advertising.

1. Global digital marketing spend is projected to surpass $730 billion in 2025 (Oberlo 2025).
2. By 2026, total spend for the digital marketing industry is expected to top $800 billion (Oberlo 2025).
3. VR and AR tools are expected to contribute around $75 billion to the internet marketing service sector (PR Newswire 2022).

Digital marketing industry size

Digital marketing isn’t just big. It’s packed with different effective digital marketing channels and strategies.

1. 82% of marketers actively used content marketing in 2021, up from 70% in 2020 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
2. 77% of companies reported more engagement with email marketing in 2021 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
3. LinkedIn ranks as the #2 social platform for B2B marketing and top digital marketing services, with more than 55 million companies present (Oberlo 2023).
4. LinkedIn has 830 million users, with 1 in 4 holding senior decision-making roles (Oberlo 2023).
5. Over half of buyers (52%) say LinkedIn content shapes their research more than any other platform (Oberlo 2023).
6. Social media marketing was adopted by 80% of companies in 2021 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
7. 91% of companies used customer feedback to guide decisions in 2021 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).

Check out social media marketing statistics to help you nail your digital marketing tactics.

Digital marketing industry growth statistics

The latest influencer marketing statistics prove how the industry continues expanding as marketers test new platforms and tools.

1. Influencer marketing platforms raised over $800 million in funding in 2021 (Influencer Marketing Hub).
2. 9 out of 10 marketers consider influencer marketing effective (Oberlo 2025).
3. Instagram dominates influencer campaigns, hosting 80% of all activity (Influencer Marketing Hub).
4. Looking ahead, 86% of brands plan to invest in influencer marketing in 2024 (Oberlo 2025).
5. 59.4% of businesses plan to increase influencer marketing budgets in 2024 (Oberlo 2025).
6. 76% of marketers reported running campaigns in 2021 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
7. Short-form influencer-created content is the best-performing segment in digital marketing (PR Newswire 2022).

How much is the digital marketing industry worth?

The digital marketing ROI statistics highlight a market of billions, covering ads, content, and tech.

1. Video marketing is massive: 9 in 10 consumers want to see more video content from brands (Oberlo 2025).
2. YouTube alone reaches over 933 million active users worldwide (Oberlo 2025).
3. Short-form videos grew 62% year-over-year, while long-form content jumped 140% (HubSpot 2021).
4. 91% of businesses now include video in their marketing strategy (Wyzowl 2023).
5. Video marketers spend $0-$500 on 42% of campaigns (Wyzowl, 2023).
6. Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users (Backlinko, 2025).
7. Email marketing drives conversions at 2.8% for B2C and 2.4% for B2B brands (FirstPageSage, 2025).
8. The creator economy market size reached $104 billion in 2022 (Influencer Marketing Hub).

Digital advertising industry size

Advertising is the engine powering the wider digital marketing machine.

1. Display ads accounted for 30% of all U.S. digital ad spending in 2022 (Statista, 2023).
2. Global video ad spending projected at $268 billion by 2029 (Statista, 2025).
3. PPC campaigns yield an average 200% digital marketing ROI (Wordstream, 2023).
4. Mobile devices account for over half of annual traffic for most marketers (HubSpot Web Strategy & Analytics Report, 2023).
5. Snapchat usage for video marketing rose from 13% in 2023 to 57% in 2024 (Oberlo 2025).

Digital marketing market size

Digital marketing for coaches and every other industry is a sprawling ecosystem, from SEO to social to e-commerce.

1. SEO is actively used by 69% of marketers in 2021 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
2. 75% of marketers felt SEO tactics were extremely or very effective (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
3. Global retail e-commerce accounts for over 20.1% of sales (Statista, 2024).
4. Average website bounce rate is 37%, with SEO click-through at 13% (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2023).
5. 63% of consumers prefer to find brand info on mobile devices (HubSpot State of Consumer Trends, 2024).

Curious how it all adds up? Check out the full SEO marketing statistics.

Digital marketing Statista

Statista’s latest numbers show just how much cash and control digital now commands in the ad world:

1. Global ad spend will hit $1.17 trillion in 2025, a new all-time high (Statista Market Insights, 2025).
2. TV and video advertising leads the pack with $357.4 billion in 2025, proving screens still dominate (Statista Market Insights, 2025).
3. The U.S. alone is expected to drop $466.34 billion on ads for business in 2025, keeping it the global heavyweight (Statista digital marketing statistics 2025).
4. By 2030, 82.2% of all ad spend will be digital, showing traditional media’s fading grip (Statista Market Insights, 2025).
5. Programmatic buying will own 84.9% of digital ad revenue by 2030, with machines doing most of the heavy lifting (Statista Market Insights, 2025).
6. In-app ads keep growing with the average spend per person or digital marketing agency expected to hit $49.93 in 2025 (Statista Market Insights, 2025).

Digital marketing strategy research

Looking at the search engine marketing statistics, strategy and data are guiding every modern campaign.

1. 83% of marketers conducted market research in 2021 (Not Another State of Marketing Report 2021).
2. 70% of marketers rate their leads as high quality (HubSpot Marketing Strategy Report, 2024).
3. 32.9% of internet users aged 16+ discover new brands via search engines (DataReportal SEO statistics, 2025).
4. 37% of marketers list optimizing on-page content based on keywords as their top SEO strategy (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2023).
5. Only 13% of marketers used voice search optimization in 2024 (HubSpot Marketing Trends Report, 2024).

Will digital marketing die?

Digital marketing is evolving (not dying), but staying relevant requires innovation.

1. 42% of marketers worldwide have adopted generative AI in marketing and sales (Statista 2025).
2. ChatGPT holds 59.7% of the generative AI chatbot market (StartUs Insights 2025).
3. 75% of marketers believe AI-enabled search engines will boost blogs and improve the success rate of digital marketing and advertising efforts (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2023).
4. 3 billion active messaging app users globally in 2025 (Exploding Topics, 2025).
5. 96% of prospects research online before speaking to a sales rep (HubSpot State of Sales Report, 2023).

Digital Marketing Industry Trends

Digital marketing isn’t slowing down. It’s getting sharper, faster, and bigger. Brands are putting their money where the eyeballs are, and right now, that’s online.

In fact, programmatic buying or automation that decides ad placements in real time will account for 84.9% of global ad revenue by 2030 (Statista 2025).

The takeaway: digital is no longer just part of the mix. It is the mix.

Digital advertising industry trends

Advertising dollars are following attention. Screens, not billboards, are the battleground.

1. Digital video ad spend will hit $214.76 billion in 2025, with short-form video alone grabbing $115.75 billion (Statista 2025).
2. Connected TV is on fire, projected to grow from $56.08 billion in 2025 to $120.62 billion by 2030 (Statista 2025).
3. Social media ads will reach $275.98 billion in 2025 and nearly double to $480.07 billion by 2030 (Statista 2025).
4. Banners are still alive, worth $185.67 billion in 2025, but three-quarters of that will be mobile by 2030 (Statista 2025).

The winners are platforms that marry attention with data, e.g., TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and whatever comes next.

Future of digital marketing industry

The future’s already written in the numbers: mobile-first, video-heavy, and algorithm-driven.

These are the top digital marketing statistics you need to stay ahead in the ever-evolving marketing and digital ad arena.

1. By 2030, 83.8% of video ad spend will come through mobile marketing tactics by marketing teams and marketing professionals (Statista 2025).
2. 6.61 billion people will be reached through social media ads by 2030 (Statista 2025).
3. Personalization and AI targeting aren’t just add-ons. They’re the backbone of growth.

If you’re a digital marketing coach, expect sharper targeting, more immersive formats like AR/VR, and a push for “authentic” content as younger audiences demand transparency and real connection for 2025 digital marketing and beyond.

Digital Marketing Industry Analysis

If you look at any essential digital marketing statistics, email marketing statistics, and content marketing statistics, you’ll see just how much the digital marketing world isn’t slowing down. 

Businesses keep pouring money into it because it works, and the latest digital marketing statistics provide all the proof to back it up. 

The industry was worth $531 billion in 2022 and is projected to hit $807 billion by 2026 (MarketsandMarkets 2023). 

That kind of growth shows one thing: if you’re not investing in the digital marketing landscape, you’re already falling behind by relying on just traditional marketing.

Digital marketing industry interesting facts

From ad spend to mobile search, these digital marketing statistics for 2026 highlight where brands are investing and how consumers are discovering content today.

1. ROI leaders: In 2024, B2B brands saw the best returns from websites, blogs, and B2B content marketing SEO, while B2C brands relied most on email, paid social, and content marketing (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2025).
2. E-commerce growth: Over 20.1% of all global retail sales now happen online, with smartphones driving more than 77% of retail website visits worldwide (Statista, 2024).
3. Social commerce growth: Projected to account for 17% of all ecommerce sales by 2025 (Statista/IMH).
4. Voice on the rise: 20.5% of the global population used voice search in 2024, showing how consumer habits are shifting beyond text (DemandSage statistics for 2025).
5. Content priorities: 50% of marketers increased investment in content marketing in 2024, and 91% plan to maintain or increase podcast and audio budgets in 2025 (HubSpot, 2024-2025).
6. Video dominance: Short-form video is now the most used media format, and 21% of marketers say it delivers the highest ROI (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2025).
7. Social scale: Social media has 5.24 billion users worldwide, about 64% of the global population (Statista, 2024; DataReportal digital marketing statistics for 2025).

Curious how digital marketing 2026 strategies work for online events? See what’s happening with virtual summits and virtual events.

Profit in Plain Sight

The digital marketing industry isn’t just big. It’s where the action is. 

These digital marketing industry statistics to know in 2026 show who’s winning, how they’re doing it, and where the gaps are for anyone ready to step in. 

If you know the numbers, you can turn attention into leads, and leads into high-paying clients.

Stop following the crowd. My Done-For-You system builds your high-ticket offer and lands you 3-5 clients in just weeks. 

Get the free Highly-Paid Coach Blueprint here and turn these insights into real income.