J. G. Navarro
Research expert covering advertising and marketing with a focus on South America
Advertising in Peru – statistics & facts
Booming advertising markets are all alike; every struggling market struggles in its own way. Peru remains far from seeing investments comparable to the previous decade, yet a single ad channel has consistently risen: the internet. Between 2014 and 2023, Peruvian annual ad spending declined by 23 percent to 574 million U.S. dollars – still below 2019 pre-pandemic revenues. Within that same period, Peru's online ad expenditure skyrocketed by over 300 percent, surpassing 270 million dollars in 2023, the tenth consecutive year of growth. Other media saw an increase in ad dollars in 2023, like radio and out-of-home (OOH) formats, but only the digital segment experienced such long-lasting, ongoing expansion.
Another channel that flourished as the pandemic subdued is digital out-of-home (DOOH) media, whose ad spend nearly doubled between 2021 and 2023. Once again, the rise reflects measurable consumer habits. Billboards, screens, and transit displays placed second among Peru's leading offline ad touchpoints in 2023, only second to the South American country's supreme, television. Although the ranking addressed non-digital media, outdoor ads are one of the few ad types that can transition seamlessly from offline to online yet physical displays. A subsegment likely to benefit from that change is programmatic advertising, which also reached new heights: In 2023, its ad revenues grew by 25 percent to over 50 million dollars.
Peru's ad mediascape amidst an instable backdrop
The Andean country entered the 2020s on fire. The Peruvian political turbulence swiftly evolved into economic challenges, including obstacles to its advertising industry, which still relies primarily on traditional media. Free and pay TV collectively concentrated nearly 40 percent of Peru's ad revenues in 2023. The internet accounted for little more than one-third of the total and radio for little less than one-tenth. Whereas online channels have been on the rise for years in a row, TV's decline is expected to continue as the decade unfolds, with its share in the ad expenditure forecast to stand at 30 percent by 2027.Online ads in Peru: Go social or go home
Social media – including those with videos – received nearly half of the investments in digital advertising in Peru in 2023. Search engine marketing (SEM) and the display and banner subsegment tied for second, while digital video came in third. The money follows internet users' preferences: As of mid-2023, video portals and social media platforms were Peru's top online ad touchpoints, as around half of the consumers surveyed reported coming across digital ads on those environments. Even online video alone (i.e., apart from socials) experienced double-digit growth in ad revenues in 2023, reaching almost 40 million dollars.Another channel that flourished as the pandemic subdued is digital out-of-home (DOOH) media, whose ad spend nearly doubled between 2021 and 2023. Once again, the rise reflects measurable consumer habits. Billboards, screens, and transit displays placed second among Peru's leading offline ad touchpoints in 2023, only second to the South American country's supreme, television. Although the ranking addressed non-digital media, outdoor ads are one of the few ad types that can transition seamlessly from offline to online yet physical displays. A subsegment likely to benefit from that change is programmatic advertising, which also reached new heights: In 2023, its ad revenues grew by 25 percent to over 50 million dollars.
