UK advertising spend rises 9.3% to £11.7bn in Q1 2026, OOH up 15.0%; DOOH grew 17.6% (WARC)
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Strong momentum recorded across retail media, out of home, and social media as advertisers invest in a wide range of channels to reach audiences
London, July 30, 2026: The Advertising Association and WARC have today published the latest quarterly advertising Expenditure Report, revealing that UK advertising investment increased by 9.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, reaching a total of £11.7 billion.
The latest report – drawn from a survey of media owners and the industry bodies that represent them – highlights a diverse media landscape where advertisers are actively investing across a variety of established and emerging formats. The Q1 2026 figures show broad-based growth as businesses make the most of the full breadth of the UK’s advertising ecosystem.
Q1 2026 Performance
The new figures reveal a total investment by advertisers of £11.7 billion in media space during Q1 2026. Within this, digital formats have seen particularly notable increases, such as online radio (22.1%) and digital out of home (17.6%). Strong double-digit growth has also been recorded across retail media (17.9%), out of home (15.0%), social media (17.7%), and addressable TV (15.5%). Search (9.8%) continued to account for the largest share of the market, attracting £4.6 billion in investment during the quarter.
Further growth was recorded across direct mail (7.9%), radio (4.2%), digital magazine brands (2.9%) and online classifieds (0.5%), while total TV (0.8%) remained steady during the first quarter.
Looking ahead
AA/WARC forecasts predict an increase in advertising investment of 8.2% to a total of £50.5 billion in 2026. This momentum is expected to continue into 2027, with forecast growth of 5.9%, bringing total investment to £53.5 billion.
Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, said:
“The first quarter of 2026 demonstrated the continuing resilience and rapid evolution of the UK advertising industry. With a 9.3% increase in total investment reaching £11.7 billion, it’s clear that advertisers, large and small, are finding value across our entire advertising ecosystem, relying on advertising and marketing services to help them innovate, compete, grow and create jobs.”
Suzy Young, Partner Relations, WARC Data, said:
“The AA/WARC Expenditure Report ensures our investment benchmarks continue to accurately reflect the pace of change in advertising trade. The result is greater clarity and transparency around media investment in the UK, to the benefit of both the media industry and the public at large.”
| MEDIUM | Q1 2026 | 2026 | 2027 |
| Yr-on-yr % change | Yr-on-yr % change | Yr-on-yr % change | |
| Cinema | -17.6% | 2.1% | 4.1% |
| Direct Mail | 7.9% | 2.9% | 0.0% |
| Online Classified | 0.5% | -0.9% | -0.3% |
| Other Online Display* | -10.7% | -19.7% | -35.0% |
| Out of Home | 15.0% | 7.6% | 2.5% |
| of which digital | 17.6% | 9.0% | 3.9% |
| Published Media | -5.9% | -3.0% | -0.3% |
| Magazine Brands | -5.7% | -3.2% | -0.5% |
| of which online | 2.9% | 0.3% | 1.5% |
| National News Brands | -3.7% | -1.7% | -0.5% |
| of which online | -0.8% | 0.8% | 1.7% |
| Regional News Brands | -9.7% | -4.8% | 0.4% |
| of which online | -12.1% | -4.4% | 2.6% |
| Radio | 4.2% | 3.3% | 0.6% |
| of which online | 22.1% | 12.6% | 4.5% |
| Retail Media | 17.9% | 15.9% | 13.0% |
| Search | 9.8% | 8.5% | 6.2% |
| Social Media | 17.7% | 16.5% | 12.8% |
| TV | 0.8% | 3.7% | 3.0% |
| of which addressable | 15.5% | 13.6% | 11.5% |
| ALL MEDIA TOTAL | 9.3% | 8.2% | 5.9% |
* Excludes display revenues from magazine brands, news brands, radio, retail media, social media and TV. Includes audio, gaming, video outstream, display embedded formats, native advertising and section take-overs.
Next steps
The Advertising Association and WARC continue to work closely with representative industry bodies to provide a dataset that reflects a deep understanding of the dynamic advertising and media landscape. This latest dataset follows a new breakdown of the figures which was first introduced in April 2026 following consultation with stakeholders.
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Table: Definitions of the mediums represented
| Medium | Definition |
| Cinema | On-screen ads. These are video or static advertisements shown on the big screen before the movie begins. They can range from short commercials to longer promotional content. |
| Direct Mail | Based on a total of postage and non-postage costs. The postage element is based on direct mail sales and survey data. Direct mail includes items such as unrequested catalogues and vouchers/money-off coupons but excludes requested catalogues. Non-postage elements include production costs such as design, printing and packaging. |
| Online Classified | Classified ads for online companies listing specific products or services, e.g. jobs, cars, property, services, B2B. |
| Other Online Display | Excludes display revenues from magazine brands, news brands, radio, retail media, social media and TV. Includes audio, gaming, video outstream, display embedded formats, native advertising and section take-overs.
Audio: Audio ads placed within digital music services (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music) and podcasts. Formats include pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and sponsored playlists. Ads in podcasts include sponsorships, host-read ads, or short radio-style spots. Ads can be inserted in real time when you play an episode, edited directly into the audio, or read by the podcast host. |
| Out of Home | Includes classic and digital ad formats across key environments: transport, roadside, and retail as well as other environments. |
| Published Media | Encompasses the total print and online advertising revenue generated by consumer, business, national, and regional magazine and news brand title. To include:
Magazine brands – Includes print and online ad revenues for consumer and business magazines across display and classified. Online ad revenues include audio and video.
News brands – Includes print and online ad revenues for national and regional news brands across display and classified. Online ad revenues include audio and video, online brand partnerships and distributed content. |
| Radio | Radio includes spot, branded content and online ad format revenues. Online radio includes targeted in-stream radio/audio advertising sold by UK commercial radio companies, together with online S&P inventory. |
| Retail Media (online) | Advertising that takes place within a retailer’s or marketplace’s owned digital properties, such as their website, app, or marketplace platforms. These ads often use the retailer’s first-party data to enhance targeting capabilities and are placed directly within their ecosystem. |
| Search | Excludes retail media. Includes affiliate search listings, search ads and search shopping ads. Affiliate search listings: Paid listings that appear on search engines through affiliate marketing partnerships, where publishers earn commission. Search ads: Text ads that appear in search engine results when people look for keywords. Advertisers pay when someone clicks their ad. Search shopping ads: Visual ads that show products from a retailer’s catalogue in search results. These ads link directly to product pages and are usually paid for on a cost -per-click basis |
| Social Media | Includes ads delivered on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube). Includes influencer-created video content that is promoted or sponsored. |
| TV | Includes spot advertising, sponsorship, addressable and other TV: Spot: linear advertisements Sponsorship: sponsorship and partnerships Addressable: all addressable formats, including linear addressable, BVOD, pause ads, SVOD, AVOD, FAST, etc. Other TV: all other revenues not included elsewhere, including product placement, AFP, broadcaster revenue from YouTube, licensing, etc. |
For more information, please contact:
Advertising Association
Matt Bourn, Director of Communications: Matt.Bourn@adassoc.org.uk
Maddie Brooks, Communications Executive: Maddie.Brooks@adassoc.org.uk
WARC
Amanda Benfell, Head of PR & Press: amanda.benfell@warc.com
About the Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report
The Advertising Association/WARC quarterly Expenditure Report is the definitive guide to advertising expenditure in the UK. Impartial and independent of any media channel or agency affiliation, it is the only source of historical quarterly ad spend data and forecasts for the different media for the coming eight quarters.
About the Advertising Association
The Advertising Association promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising – trusted, inclusive and sustainable – and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. Through the Advertising Association, nearly thirty UK trade associations representing advertising, media, and marketing come together with a single voice when speaking to policy makers and influencers.
About WARC – The global authority on marketing effectiveness
For over 40 years WARC has been powering the marketing segment by providing rigorous and unbiased evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. WARC is part of Informa Festivals, part of Informa PLC
