UK advertising investment rose by 9.3% year-on-year to £11.7bn during the first quarter of 2026, with retail media, social media and online radio among the fastest-growing channels, according to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report.
The figures suggest the UK ad market remains on course for another record year, with total advertising investment forecast to reach £50.5bn in 2026 – an annual increase of 8.2%.
Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the Advertising Association, said: “Q1 demonstrated the continuing resilience and rapid evolution of the UK advertising industry.”
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| Medium | Q1 2026 (YoY) | 2026 Forecast | 2027 Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinema | -17.6% | 2.1% | 4.1% |
| Direct Mail | 7.9% | 2.9% | 0.0% |
| Online Classified | 0.5% | -0.9% | -0.3% |
| Other Online Display | -10.7% | -19.7% | -35.0% |
| Out of Home | 15.0% | 7.6% | 2.5% |
| └ Digital Out of Home | 17.6% | 9.0% | 3.9% |
| Published Media | -5.9% | -3.0% | -0.3% |
| └ Magazine Brands | -5.7% | -3.2% | -0.5% |
| └ Online Magazine Brands | 2.9% | 0.3% | 1.5% |
| └ National News Brands | -3.7% | -1.7% | -0.5% |
| └ Online National News | -0.8% | 0.8% | 1.7% |
| └ Regional News Brands | -9.7% | -4.8% | 0.4% |
| └ Online Regional News | -12.1% | -4.4% | 2.6% |
| Radio | 4.2% | 3.3% | 0.6% |
| └ Online Radio | 22.1% | 12.6% | 4.5% |
| Retail Media | 17.9% | 15.9% | 13.0% |
| Search | 9.8% | 8.5% | 6.2% |
| Social Media | 17.7% | 16.5% | 12.8% |
| TV | 0.8% | 3.7% | 3.0% |
| └ Addressable TV | 15.5% | 13.6% | 11.5% |
| All Media Total | 9.3% | 8.2% | 5.9% |
Online radio recorded the strongest growth in the first quarter, with advertising investment increasing by 22.1%.
Retail media continued its rapid expansion, climbing 17.9%, narrowly ahead of social media (17.7%), while digital out-of-home advertising grew by 17.6%. Search also posted another strong quarter, up 9.8%, with total search investment forecast to rise by 8.5% across 2026 before growing a further 6.2% next year.
Traditional out-of-home advertising increased by 15% in Q1, with its digital formats performing even more strongly, up 17.6%. TV advertising returned to growth with a 0.8% increase in the quarter, while addressable TV rose 15.5%, highlighting advertisers’ continued shift towards more targeted viewing environments.
The report predicts retail media will remain one of the fastest-growing sectors, with investment expected to increase by 15.9% this year and a further 13% in 2027. Social media is forecast to grow by 16.5% in 2026 and 12.8% next year.
Not every medium shared in the growth.
Cinema experienced the steepest decline during the quarter, with investment falling 17.6% year-on-year. Online regional news brands also endured a difficult start to the year, with advertising down 12.1%, while overall regional news brands fell 9.7%.
Published media as a whole declined 5.9% during Q1, with magazine brands down 5.7% and national news brands falling 3.7%. However, the report forecasts a modest return to growth for regional news brands in 2027, with overall investment expected to edge up 0.4% and online regional news increasing by 2.6%.
Elsewhere, radio advertising rose by 4.2% in the first quarter and is expected to finish 2026 up 3.3%, while direct mail continued its recent resilience, growing 7.9% in Q1 and forecast to increase 2.9% across the full year.
The report also highlighted continued weakness in the “other online display” category, which fell 10.7% during the quarter and is forecast to decline 19.7% over the full year and a further 35% in 2027.
The category includes advertising placed around audio, gaming and video outstream, alongside display embedded formats, native advertising and section takeovers. The previous report was the first published after the Advertising Association and WARC overhauled the methodology to better reflect the evolving media landscape, introducing updated channel definitions and standalone categories including addressable TV, social media and online radio.
