Julia Faria
Research lead covering advertising and marketing
Retail industry advertising in the U.S. - statistics & facts
The retail industry is one of the main drivers of economic growth in the United States, contributing trillions of U.S. dollars to annual GDP and supporting millions of jobs nationwide. In 2022, U.S. retail sales reached a record-high 7.1 trillion U.S. dollars after recovering from the impact of the pandemic. Home to some of the most valuable retail brands worldwide, the United States is also a distinctly competitive retail landscape. With conglomerates such as Amazon, The Home Depot, and Walmart competing for consumer interest and dollars alike, it comes as no surprise that advertising has become an indispensable tool.
Not only the increasing adoption of online shopping has boosted the channel's rise. Marketers indicate access to retailer first-party data as a common reason to work with retail media, such as building a stronger relationship with the retailer and understanding their customers better. While most advertisers choose to cooperate with Amazon by a large margin, other retail media networks, such as Walmart and Instacart, are growing in popularity. For instance, digital retail media spending on ads appearing on the Walmart platform was 137 percent higher in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the correspondent quarter in 2021.
Amazon dominates U.S. retail advertising
Retail enjoys the highest advertising spending among industries in the United States. In 2022, investments in measured media – TV, radio, print, out-of-home, and digital ads – reached nearly 50 billion dollars. That same year, the ad spend of U.S. retailers in online channels increased by 23.5 percent. Amazon kept the crown of largest advertiser in the retail industry – a position the company has owned for several years now. As of 2022, Amazon invested almost 13.5 billion dollars in advertising, more than Walmart, Target, Macy’s, and Kohl’s spent collectively. Thanks to its vast portfolio of retail goods and impressive global user count, Amazon has also become an attractive online advertising platform for other brands and companies, driving the rise of digital retail media.Spotlight: Digital retail media
Retail media broadly refers to advertising and marketing to customers in the vicinity of their point of purchase, namely when they are browsing or buying in a physical store or its online counterpart. Retail media segments include but are not limited to shelf advertising, circulars, samples, and advertising and recommendations in a retail website, app, and marketplace. Today, with the expanse of online shopping platforms, U.S. digital retail media advertising spending surpasses 45 billion dollars and is expected to grow further to reach over 100 billion dollars in 2027.Not only the increasing adoption of online shopping has boosted the channel's rise. Marketers indicate access to retailer first-party data as a common reason to work with retail media, such as building a stronger relationship with the retailer and understanding their customers better. While most advertisers choose to cooperate with Amazon by a large margin, other retail media networks, such as Walmart and Instacart, are growing in popularity. For instance, digital retail media spending on ads appearing on the Walmart platform was 137 percent higher in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the correspondent quarter in 2021.
