European digital advertising spend grew by 10.5% in 2025, reaching €131bn driven by a new breed of formats and despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil and varied levels of maturity across the region.
So finds the 20th AdEx Benchmark Report from IAB Europe, which brings together data from 30 national markets, providing the industry’s most comprehensive and harmonised view of digital advertising investment across Europe.
Building on the strong growth recorded in 2024, the latest data shows that Europe’s digital advertising market continued to expand in 2025. The findings reinforce advertisers’ continued commitment to the channels and formats shaping Europe’s digital advertising ecosystem.
Growth was concentrated in video-led formats, CTV, social video and Retail Media, reflecting changing patterns of media consumption, the increasing importance of commerce-led advertising, and continued demand for measurable, high-impact digital environments.
While established categories such as paid search and classifieds remained in growth, they lagged the wider market, highlighting a shift in where momentum is building across the ecosystem.
Key growth drivers
According to the report, video was a standout growth area in 2025, rising by 19.6% to reach €34.0bn. For the first time, it now accounts for more than half of all display investment in Europe. Social video was the fastest-growing format in this year’s report, increasing by 25.7% and reinforcing advertiser demand for engaging, high-impact video environments across screens.
Social advertising continues to grow strongly in 2025, increasing by 19.2% to reach €35.5bn. Within this, social video was a key driver, highlighting the ongoing shift towards short-form, video-led and platform-based advertising formats.
Retail Media – which includes on-site (retailer-owned and operated) search and display formats – strengthens its role in the ecosystem, growing by 16.7% to €13.3bn in 2025, reinforcing its position as one of Europe’s most important emerging growth channels. Its continued momentum reflects advertiser demand for first-party data, commerce-led environments and stronger links between media investment and measurable business outcomes.
Established channels remain resilient, with display advertising growing by 12.5%, while paid search and classifieds grew by 8.8% and 6.5%, respectively.
Market highlights
Across the region, however, there are variations. Western Europe remains steady as a more mature market, including Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands. It saw growth of around 10%, showing continued advertiser investment in established digital advertising ecosystems.
Nordic and Baltic markets show a flatter picture with almost no growth in 2025, reflecting more varied market conditions and a mixed regional picture across Europe.
Commenting on the findings, IAB Europe’s Chief Economist, Daniel Knapp, says: “Europe’s digital advertising market added €12.5 billion in 2025, growing 10.5% to reach €131.1bn. Against a backdrop of sluggish GDP growth, trade policy uncertainty and cautious consumers, this points to a structural shift. Digital advertising is increasingly moving beyond a communications expense to become sales infrastructure, shelf space and shopfront at once.
“Two milestones in this year’s data show where the market is heading: video now accounts for more than half of all display investment in Europe for the first time, while Retail Media has passed 10% of total digital ad spend. Commerce and content are converging, measurability is deciding where the next euro goes.”
The full AdEx Benchmark Report 2025 provides a detailed view of digital advertising investment across 30 European markets, including market-by-market breakdowns, format-level growth and analysis of the trends shaping Europe’s digital advertising market.
Download the full report here.
