Digital Marketing Statistics: Shaping Marketing in 2026

Top digital marketing statistics marketers must know in 2026

As custom app development trends continue to evolve in the UK market, we want to begin our list by diving deep into the general digital marketing stats and figures. These statistics correspond to the current trends in the industry and will help you form an overall vision of your tactics.

Global digital marketing market to reach $786B by 2026

The state of the digital advertising and marketing industry is showing no slowing down. Since other, more old-fashioned types of advertisement are steadily losing popularity, marketing teams explore new and favorable tactics for marketing their products.

As a result, the worldwide market for digital marketing is projected to hit a staggering $786.2 billion by 2026. This amounts to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.9% over the analysis period.

Facebook is the most used platform for marketing

Beginning on January 2023, Facebook is considered to be the most widely used social media platform that content marketers use across the globe. With over 3 billion active users, it has become the most popular platform among users.

Therefore it is no surprise that 83% of responding digital marketers regard Facebook as their primary network for advertising their business. After all, the more users dwell on the platform, the bigger exposure you can reach.

Mobile devices drive over 62% of website traffic

Since 2017, one of the most popular digital marketing trends has been prioritizing mobile traffic over desktop. This proved to be a winning strategy in the long run because mobile traffic has steadily climbed to account for half of all the organic traffic.

Finally, surpassing the 50% mark in 2020, it was clear that this trend will only rise in popularity. As of the second quarter of 2025, mobile devices have generated 62.73% of global website traffic.

Digital marketing industry growth trends and key statistics

Looking back on the years that have passed, it becomes evident that digital marketing has claimed a significant presence in modern types of advertising. With the way the world and consumerism evolve, it appears that marketing through digital means is not only here to stay but is growing exponentially. Let’s look at some of the most notable growth statistics of this year.

Marketers focus on up to five social platforms

Among marketing consulting firms and advertising specialists, it was shown that they focus on up to five platforms to reach social media users.

Those platforms are the following:

• TikTok (68.8%). Dominates influencer marketing with short-form video content
• Instagram (46.7%). Remains essential for visual storytelling and product promotions
• YouTube (33.1%). Preferred for long-form content and in-depth reviews
• Facebook (27.5%). Valued for its extensive reach and targeting capabilities

X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitch (9-10% each). They cover areas like B2B marketing, gaming communities, and real-time engagement.

Concentrating on a maximum of five platforms is a statistical approach that proves very effective in getting the wanted audiences. With proper network skills, it is less complicated to make content platform-specific by turning and adjusting it according to the platform’s requirements.

Digital channels dominate marketing budgets

The pattern of marketing investments has changed dramatically. Digital marketing now takes away 72% of the total digital marketing budgets reflecting a substantial technological shift, besides being the main consumer behavior and measurement capability change.

What is the growth driver for this? Marketing budgets, as a whole, have increased to 9.4% of company revenues, while the digital marketing spending has reached 11.1% annual growth. This upward trend is going on with the forecast of 12.7% increase for the next one year.

This is not merely a transfer of budget from one category to another. The shift indicates that digital marketing was measurable and could be directly linked to profitability, something traditional channels are not able to come up with.

Marketing job demand continues to grow

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics holds a positive view of marketing careers and forecasts that their number will slowly increase over the coming ten years. The employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers in total is expected to increase by 6 percent between the years 2024 and 2034, which is going to be quicker than the average rise across all professions.

On average, there will be about 36,400 job openings for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers each year during the next ten years. The unceasing need for these professionals indicates how important marketing is for companies to have a strong presence in digital marketplaces and to grow their market share.

Digital marketing managers will, in particular, be the ones a lot of organizations will keep on hiring and the ones who will conduct market research and sometimes even be the ones companies will turn to for pricing strategies and customer segmentation.

Digital marketing ROI statistics for smarter budgets

Planning your marketing strategies by taking a return on investment into account is factually impossible without knowing the current trends that yield the most results. As the UK software development market continues to expand, understanding which digital marketing tactics deliver the best ROI becomes increasingly critical.

For this reason, we scavenged for the most influential statistics to bring to your attention that will help you choose the most cost-effective tactics.

Influencer marketing delivers high ROI

Influencer marketing is still very much its value as one of the world’s most effective marketing channels. It is estimated that brands receive an average of $5.78 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, while the returns on the best-performing campaigns reach as high as $18-$20 per dollar invested, which is a gigantic difference when compared to traditional digital advertising.

This robust performance is the main reason behind the rapid growth of the industry. The influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth $32.55 billion in 2025, which means a whopping 35.6% year-over-year growth from 2024. This doubling of size in just five years is clear proof of the fact that influencer marketing has matured from being a risky test to one of the very foundations of modern digital strategy.

The investments still remain high: 75.6% of brands are going to allocate budgets only for influencer marketing in 2025, whereas 80% of brands will either maintain or raise the creator marketing investments.

Short-form videos deliver the highest ROI

The HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing Report states that 21% of marketers report the highest short-form video ROI. Furthermore, 17.13% of the marketers say that short-form video is the leading content format which they will prioritize and thus, plan to increase their investment in it.

The video duration that is most effective, as claimed by 39% of marketers, is 30-60 seconds, while the next favoured duration by 28% of the respondents is 1-2 minutes. This trend is due to the rapid rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, as well as the changing of audience’s content consumption habits.

Short-form videos are the most popular video types among marketers. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts contribute together to 29.18% of the marketers who use the video formats in their marketing strategies. The effectiveness of the format is shown by 73% of consumers who would rather watch a short-form video to know about a product or service.

Blogging drives higher ROI and sales

The blog still serves as a powerful method for increasing sales and engagement. Around 76% of marketers incorporate blog articles into their content distribution plan, and companies that put blogging first are approximately 13 times more likely to experience a positive ROI compared to those that do not.

Moreover, studies indicate that 55-69% of consumers have bought a product after reading a brand’s blog that they consider credible, thus making the case forthe use of good content in marketing as a buying decision influencer.

Making a present-day investment into your blog through posting relevant, high-quality articles that meet the needs of your target audience is a smart marketing move for 2025 and the years following as well.

Digital marketing vs. traditional marketing: key statistics compared

With the surge of content marketing that has practically overtaken traditional types of advertising, it can seem that the old days are gone. However, there still appears to be a demand for an old-fashioned approach to marketing products to customers. We can see how it compares through the following statistics on digital and traditional marketing.

Addressable and CTV ad spending continues to grow

Connected TV (CTV) has emerged as the fastest-growing major advertising channel, blending digital targeting precision with the premium viewing experience of television.

The spending on connected TV ads in the United States is expected to increase by 13% in 2025 and reach $26.6 billion, while CTV has become the most important medium for the advertisers according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The increase in ad spending is phenomenal: it is projected that CTV ad spending will be $33.35 billion in 2025 and $46.89 billion by 2028, overtaking traditional TV advertising for the first time.

It is predicted that the US CTV advertising will be around $38 billion in 2026 which is about 14% increase from the previous year.

The budgets of the advertisers are changing very quickly: 43% of the advertisers handling budgets of over $1 million per year have plans to invest heavily in addressable TV during the year 2026, and this is 16% higher than the previous year, when 37% of them had similar plans in 2024. CTV is the most essential channel for 68% of the advertisers, hence it is the highest-ranked media.

Traditional advertising continues to lose share

Although the advertising world is becoming more and more digital, the process is not always even. The digital advertising reached 72% of the total ad spend in 2025 and the digital to be up 21% on a yearly basis. The digital ad spending is expected to increase by 6.7% in 2026, which will be a proportion of 68.7% of total investment.

However, the narrative around traditional media is not just about decline. The traditional channels are going to grow slowly with a 2.4% increase in television, a 4.1% increase in out-of-home, and a 2.2% increase in cinema in 2026. The only exception is print, which will experience a 3.0% decline in 2026.

The TV story is one that splits: traditional TV is projected to decrease by 7.6% to $40.6 billion in 2026, while CTV will be raised 16.5% to $26 billion. The situation does not mean that people will not watch television at all, but the viewers will only shift from linear to streaming formats.

Notably, commerce is projected to reach $178.2 billion in global ad revenue in 2025, surpassing total TV ad revenue for the first time — demonstrating how new digital channels are redefining the advertising ecosystem entirely.

Content marketing costs less and generates more leads

The major factor among the many that enterprises are migrating from the old-style to the new-style method of marketing is the noticeable advantage in costs. Compared to traditional advertising, content marketing always has a high return on investment (ROI) and combines lower investment with generating quality leads. This is because it targets the audience using a value-driven approach, which is one of the reasons for the good quality leads being generated.

Moreover, through digital marketing, you can get better measurement tools. Companies are able to monitor engagement, conversions, and customer behaviour in real-time which helps them to adjust their strategies on the fly and to be more effective with their budget allocation.

The whole approach based on data has rendered digital marketing important for companies that want to showcase the impact of their marketing and at the same time for those who want to be competitive in the current market.

Final thoughts on digital marketing statistics

By having a solid foot on the ground regarding the ongoing trends and market demands in the digital marketing sector, professionals and experts alike can make data-based and informed choices when it comes to their ideas. Taking some time to research the changes and fluctuations in tendencies over recent years, branding companies and teams are capable of developing a more impactful and successful digital marketing strategy.

Seeing the bigger picture within all of the relevant top digital marketing statistics, you gain the advantage of rapidly adjusting your strategies and efforts as you move along. This is an excellent opportunity to fine-tune your reach to your target audience and internet users alike.

To aid you on your research journey, we compiled a list of the 12 most prominent and poignant digital, content, and social media marketing statistics that you should pay close attention to in 2026. With their help, you can further use analytics tools to come up with the best approach that suits your objectives the most.

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