Digital marketing in the United Kingdom (UK) - statistics & facts

Digital marketing has become one of the most indispensable promotional tools of the recent past. Around the world, companies are reacting to the digitalization of everyday life and the rapid changes in consumer behavior by switching from traditional forms of advertising to more dynamic digital channels. This adaption of digital marketing methods is particularly advanced in the United Kingdom, the largest digital ad market in Europe and one of the leading digital advertising spenders worldwide. Spending on digital advertising has increased for over a decade, and even though UK marketing budgets were cut across many industries during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital continues to thrive.

Digital marketing spending

Marketers allocate higher budgets towards digital marketing than ever. In 2020, digital ad spend in the UK was forecast to reach 15.6 billion British pounds, and according to a recent survey, 72 percent of marketing experts direct the majority of their budgets towards online marketing projects. This distribution of advertising funds and focus helps marketers adapt to consumers' growing appetite for digital experiences. As part of this mission, building effective digital interfaces for consumers has become one of the top marketing priorities in the UK.

Social media drives digital ad spend

Companies can choose from an ever-expanding set of digital marketing tools and technologies, ranging from e-mail newsletters and search advertising to social media campaigns and video ads. When asked about the most successful marketing channel in a recent survey, a majority of UK marketers listed social media as their top-performing promotional tool. This finding is no surprise, as a company’s presence on platforms such as Instagram can boost brand exposure and facilitate audience engagement. Up to 3.6 billion British pounds are spent on social media advertising in the UK every year, and according to the latest projections, more than 25 percent of UK businesses' overall marketing budgets will be allocated towards social by 2026.

Leaders in the UK digital marketing space

The UK digital ad market is dominated by a handful of top-performing agencies. The top 10 digital ad agencies in the UK recently reported an average income of over 185 million British pounds, which was around 12 times the income generated by all other players. With gains of over 370 million British pounds, Accenture Interactive stood out as the leading digital ad agency in the UK in 2019, whereas MSC B2B ranked first across the UK’s top digital B2B marketing communications agencies in 2020. Overall, UK digital ad agencies are most commonly hired by companies within the financial and retail sectors. These investments are seemingly paying off, considering that fashion retail brands such as ASOS were named the UK companies with the most effective digital marketing strategies in 2020.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

Digital ad spend worldwide: 601.84bn USD

Digital ad spend in the UK: 15.57bn GBP

Media ad revenue in the UK: 39.4bn GBP

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Marketing

Leading marketing channels in the UK 2020

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Marketing expenditure growth in the UK 2023, by type

Online marketing

Digital marketing channels with increased investment in the UK 2021

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Marketing budgets

Premium Statistic Share of digital in marketing budgets in EMEA 2022
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Premium Statistic Marketing expenditure growth in the UK 2023, by type
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Change in marketing spending at UK companies 2023, by medium
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Premium Statistic Marketing budget revision in the UK Q2 2023, by category
Marketing budget revision in the UK Q2 2023, by category
Downward and upward revision of marketing budgets in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2nd quarter 2023, by budget category
Premium Statistic Leading digital ad formats in EMEA 2022
Leading digital ad formats in EMEA 2022
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Premium Statistic Share of social in marketing budgets in the UK 2023
Share of social in marketing budgets in the UK 2023
Share of social in marketing budgets in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2023
Premium Statistic Share of mobile in marketing budgets in the UK 2023
Share of mobile in marketing budgets in the UK 2023
Share of mobile in marketing budgets in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2023

Doing business

Premium Statistic Leading B2C marketing channels in the UK 2022
Leading B2C marketing channels in the UK 2022
Primary marketing channels of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022
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B2C marketing channels with highest growth potential in the UK 2022
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Digital marketing priorities in EMEA 2022
Digital marketing priorities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) as of June 2022
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Leading B2C marketing priorities in the UK 2022
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Premium Statistic Contribution of digital marketing to companies' performance in the UK 2022
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Leading marketing challenges in the UK 2023
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B2C marketing challenges in the UK 2022
Leading challenges of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022
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Workforce

Premium Statistic Most undervalued marketing skills in the UK 2024
Most undervalued marketing skills in the UK 2024
Most undervalued marketing skills according to marketers in the United Kingdom (UK) as of April 2024
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Most overrated marketing skills in the UK 2024
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Premium Statistic Top marketing skills gaps in the UK 2024
Top marketing skills gaps in the UK 2024
Leading skill gaps in marketing teams in the United Kingdom (UK) as of March 2024
Premium Statistic Frequency of measuring marketing metrics in the UK 2023
Frequency of measuring marketing metrics in the UK 2023
Frequency of measuring selected marketing metrics by for-profit companies in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2023
Premium Statistic Contract rates per day of digital marketing specialists in London 2022
Contract rates per day of digital marketing specialists in London 2022
Average contract rates per day of digital marketing specialists in London (UK) in 2022, by position (in GBP)
Premium Statistic Salary per annum of digital marketing specialists in London 2022
Salary per annum of digital marketing specialists in London 2022
Average annual salary of digital marketing specialists in London (UK) in 2022, by position (in 1,000 GBP)

Top industry trend: influencer marketing

Premium Statistic Use of influencer marketing in the UK 2022
Use of influencer marketing in the UK 2022
Use of influencer marketing among business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022
Premium Statistic Use of influencers in the UK 2022, by number of followers
Use of influencers in the UK 2022, by number of followers
Use of influencers by business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022, by number of followers
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Types of influencer marketing used in the UK 2022
Types of influencer marketing used by business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022
Premium Statistic Influencer marketing budget growth in the UK 2022
Influencer marketing budget growth in the UK 2022
Expected change in influencer marketing spending by business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom in 2022
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Objectives of influencer marketing in the UK 2022
Objectives of influencer marketing according to business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022
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Leading concerns faced by B2C marketers in influencer marketing in the UK 2022
Leading influencer marketing concerns/challenges according to business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers in the United Kingdom as of spring 2022
Premium Statistic Type of influencers trusted by UK fashion & lifestyle shoppers 2022
Type of influencers trusted by UK fashion & lifestyle shoppers 2022
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Top industry trend: third-party cookie deprecation

Premium Statistic Share of brands preparing for third-party cookie deprecation in the UK 2022
Share of brands preparing for third-party cookie deprecation in the UK 2022
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Premium Statistic Impact of third-party cookie deprecation on businesses in the UK 2022
Impact of third-party cookie deprecation on businesses in the UK 2022
Impact of third-party cookie deprecation on businesses according to marketing and customer experience leaders in the United Kingdom (UK) as of November 2022
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Reliance on third-party cookies among advertisers in the UK 2022
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Premium Statistic Digital ad challenges after 3rd-party cookie deprecation in the UK 2022
Digital ad challenges after 3rd-party cookie deprecation in the UK 2022
Leading digital advertising challenges after third-party cookie deprecation in the United Kingdom (UK) as of October 2022
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Solutions to the loss of 3rd-party cookies in the UK 2022
Solutions marketers were planning to implement to combat the impact of third-party cookie loss in the United Kingdom (UK) as of October 2022

Top industry trend: application of AI in marketing

Premium Statistic Role of AI in digital marketing in the UK 2023
Role of AI in digital marketing in the UK 2023
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Top applications of AI in digital advertising in the UK 2023
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Premium Statistic Selected data on programmatic advertising in the UK 2023
Selected data on programmatic advertising in the UK 2023
Selected data on programmatic advertising in the United Kingdom as of February 2023

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Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Digital marketing in the UK" and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

Share of marketers allocating the majority of marketing spend towards online marketing
72%
Detailed statistics
Budget distribution preference between online vs. offline marketing in the UK 2020
Leading marketing priority according to UK marketers
Building better customer-facing digital interfaces
Detailed statistics
Main marketing priorities UK 2020
Top metric used to measure marketing success in the UK
Number of leads generated
Detailed statistics
Metrics used to measure marketing success in the UK 2020
Industry with the most effective digital marketing in the UK
Retail - non-food
Detailed statistics
Industries with most effective digital marketing in the UK 2020

Most successful marketing channel according to UK marketers
Social media
Detailed statistics
Leading marketing channels in the UK 2020
Share of social in UK marketing budgets
15%
Detailed statistics
Share of social in marketing budgets in the UK 2023
Social media ad spend in the UK
12.16bn USD
Detailed statistics
Revenue of the social media advertising industry in the UK 2019-2028
Share of mobile in UK digital ad spend
51%
Detailed statistics
Digital Market Outlook: digital advertising spending in the UK 2019-2028, by device
Search advertising spending in the UK
13.14bn GBP
Detailed statistics
Search ad spend in the UK 2019-2022