Global advertising spending is expected to hit $1 trillion for the first time in history this year, according to the latest findings released by marketing research firm WARC.

WARC’s report, which forecasts worldwide ad spending numbers by medium, product and region, anticipates that the global advertising market will climb by 10.5 percent in 2024, totaling $1.07 trillion. With the exception of the bounce-back year of 2021, that is the strongest performance in six years, according to the report, and nearly double the 5.7 percent growth recorded in 2023.

According to the report, retail media is expected to grow in ad spending more than any other advertising medium this year, seeing gains of 21.3 percent in 2024.

Social media, which in recent years has been the largest global advertising channel, will account for 22.6 percent of all global ad spending in 2024, revealing growth of 14.2 percent. That sector is expected to see an additional 10.6 percent growth in 2025.

Search advertising, which currently accounts for about 22 percent of the global ad market, will slow somewhat this year (revealing growth of about 6.8 percent) but is expected to bounce back to 12.5 percent in 2025. Google accounts for four-fifths of this market.

Legacy media (which includes print, radio, linear TV, cinema and out-of-home advertising) will account for 25.3 percent of total ad spending this year, a growth of only about 1.5 percent.

The consumer-product categories that are expected to lead in ad spending growth include electronics, alcohol and clothing.

North America will be the fastest-growing advertising region in the world this year, with ad spending expected to grow 8.6 percent to a total of $347.5 billion. The U.S. alone is anticipated to see ad spending growth of 8.9 percent in 2024 to $330.8 billion. That number is expected to be especially large due to the 2024 election cycle, which is currently on course to hit a record-breaking $15 billion, an increase of 40 percent from the 2020 election.

Advertising mediums that will see the most growth between 2024 and 2026.

Looking forward, WARC predicts global ad spending to continue its upward trajectory. In 2025, worldwide ad spending is projected to grow 7.2 percent and 7 percent (to $1.23 trillion) in 2026, marking an 80 percent increase from pre-pandemic 2019.

Worldwide advertising spending has more than doubled in the last decade, growing at a rate about 2.8 times faster than the GDP, according to the report, with three companies—Amazon, Alphabet and Meta—accounting for more than 70 percent of this incremental spend. Those three companies now account for almost half (44 percent) of the global ad market.

WARC’s latest “Global Ad Spend Outlook” report was based on an analysis of proprietary surveys and revenue data from 65 of the world’s largest media owners and includes global investment trends across 100 markets.