The U.S. advertising industry is the largest in the world. Each year, companies spend more than $290 billion on ads in the country to raise awareness for their products and services and ultimately to improve their sales. But which industry is the biggest spender?
Interestingly, the industry spending the most on digital advertising isn’t one that makes a particular product but one that sells many products from different brands and producers. According to the Statista Advertising and Media Outlook, the retail industry accounts for 26 percent of total ad spending in the U.S. in 2021.
Pharma and financial services ranked second and third, accounting for around 19 and 16 percent of ad spend, respectively. Opposed to retail which is even more present in digital ads, the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sector remains more focused on traditional ad avenues.
This chart shows shares of the ad spending revenue by different verticals in 2021.
