Retail industry advertising in the U.S. - statistics & facts

The retail industry is one of the main drivers of economic growth in the United States, contributing trillions of U.S. dollars to annual GDP and supporting millions of jobs nationwide. In 2021, U.S. retail sales were estimated to reach 5.33 trillion U.S. dollars as the industry is forecast to see a swift recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and consumers regain purchasing power and confidence. Home to some of the most valuable retail brands worldwide, the United States is also a distinctly competitive retail landscape. With conglomerates such as Amazon, The Home Depot, and Walmart competing for consumer interest and dollars alike, it comes as no surprise that advertising has become an indispensable tool.

Retail media advertising

The broad term refers to advertising and marketing to customers in the vicinity of their point of purchase, namely when they are browsing or buying in a physical store or its online counterpart. Retail media segments include but are not limited to shelf advertising, circulars, samples, but also advertising and recommendations around content on store websites. Today, with the expanse of online channels, U.S. digital retail media advertising spending surpasses 30 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to grow further to reach over 50 billion dollars. Advertisers in the country most commonly choose to cooperate with Amazon, by a large margin, and Walmart and Instacart are the other popular choices of retail media networks in the United States. Marketers indicate access to retailer first-party data as the most common reason to work with retail media, followed by building a stronger relationship with the retailer and understanding their customers better.

Retail advertising and e-commerce

In the first quarter of 2021, retail industry ad spend in the U.S. reached an estimated 2.73 billion U.S dollars, marking a 33 percent dip on the previous quarter. On the other side of the coin, digital ad spend of U.S. retailers increased by three percent in 2020, and while this figure could not measure up to pre-pandemic growth levels, it still outperformed all other verticals. Retail remains the industry with the highest digital ad spend in the country, thanks to companies’ quick embrace of e-commerce and other dynamic changes in consumer behavior. In 2020, when consumers switched from in-store to online shopping, and e-commerce sales accounted for 15 percent of U.S. retail spending, marketers allocated a record 17.3 billion U.S. dollars towards e-commerce promotion. Retail brands increasingly recognize the benefits of targeting users on these platforms, which is why retail e-commerce ad spend will continue to surge in the future.

Amazon dominates U.S. retail advertising

Amazon has been the retailer with the highest advertising spending in the United States for several years, accounting for almost 90 percent of retail media ad spend in early 2021. Back in 2019, Amazon’s U.S. ad spend surpassed 6.88 billion U.S. dollars, which was more than Walmart, Target, Macy’s, and Kohl’s spent on advertising collectively. Thanks to its vast portfolio of retail goods and its impressive global user count, Amazon has also become an attractive digital advertising platform for other brands and companies. Over 70 percent of retail brands who sell on Amazon also use the website for advertising purposes, and in 2021, Amazon’s U.S. ad revenue is forecast to reach a record 20 billion U.S. dollars. While the company still takes the largest slice of the retail advertising pie, companies such as Walmart are growing their market share more rapidly than ever.

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.

Retail industry sales in the U.S.: 4.86tr USD

Leading U.S. retailer by retail sales: Walmart

Leading retail advertiser in the U.S.: Amazon

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Amazon's advertising spending in the United States from 2012 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Brands & Leaders

Amazon: ad spend in the U.S. 2012-2021

Walmart's advertising spending in the United States from 2009 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Brands & Leaders

Walmart: ad spend in the U.S. 2009-2021

Retail industry digital advertising spending in the United States from 2010 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Online Advertising

Retail industry digital ad spend in the U.S. 2010-2023

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Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Retail industry advertising in the United States" and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

U.S. retail industry ad spend in Q1 2021
2.73bn USD
Detailed statistics
Retail industry ad spend in the U.S. 2022-2023
Retail media ad spend in the U.S.
9.9bn USD
Detailed statistics
U.S. measured media ad spend 2014-2021, by category
Retail industry digital ad spend in the U.S.
57.2bn USD
Detailed statistics
Retail industry digital ad spend in the U.S. 2010-2023
Retail's share of total digital ad spend in the U.S.
21.9%
Detailed statistics
Distribution of U.S. digital ad spend 2019, by industry
Retail industry mobile ad spend in the U.S.
30.91bn USD
Detailed statistics
Mobile ad spend in the U.S. 2021, by industry

Quarterly retail e-commerce sales in the U.S.
266bn USD
Detailed statistics
Quarterly U.S. e-commerce retail sales 2009-2022
E-commerce share of total retail sales in the U.S.
14.2%
Detailed statistics
E-commerce as share of total retail sales in the U.S. 2013-2025
Retail e-commerce ad spend in the U.S.
17.37bn USD
Detailed statistics
E-commerce channel advertising spending in the U.S. 2019-2024
E-commerce ad spend of Amazon in the U.S.
13.18bn USD
Detailed statistics
E-commerce channel advertising spending of selected platforms U.S. 2020
E-commerce ad spend of Walmart in the U.S.
849.4m USD
Detailed statistics
E-commerce channel advertising spending of selected platforms U.S. 2020

Amazon's global marketing spending
42.2bn USD
Detailed statistics
Worldwide Amazon marketing expenditure 2010-2022
Amazon's ad spend in the U.S.
10.4bn USD
Detailed statistics
Amazon: ad spend in the U.S. 2012-2021
Walmart's ad spend in the U.S.
3.1bn USD
Detailed statistics
Walmart: ad spend in the U.S. 2009-2021
Target Corporation's ad spend in the U.S.
1.5bn USD
Detailed statistics
Target Corporation: ad spend in the U.S. 2009-2021
Macy's ad spend in the U.S.
1.3bn USD
Detailed statistics
Macy's: ad spend in the U.S. 2009-2021