With companies as varied as Uber, PaypalAnd Home deposit all getting into the advertising business, Americans are seeing more ads.
The increase is not limited to the small squares of a smartphone, however. In 2024, 68.6 million American adults recalled seeing a video ad in a physical retail environment over the previous 30 days, according to consumer research firm MRI-Simmons. The total represents about 27% of Americans aged 18 and older.
Compared to 2018, the number of consumers who reported seeing a video ad in a mall, grocery store or other similar location this year increased by 6.2%. This increase marks a recovery from previous years, when people stayed close to home during the pandemic.
At the same time, the increase in sightings is not uniform across all environments.
Comparing 2024 to 2018, for example, the number of U.S. adults who remember seeing a video ad at a gas station increased by more than 50%. A similar trend is happening in doctor’s offices and airports.
On the other hand, certain areas are recording declines.
With remote work still an option for some employees across the country, views of video ads in office building lobbies and elevators are down in 2024 compared to 2018.
More listings in physical locations
As an advertising channel, worldwide retail media is expected to bring in $166 billion in 2025, up from $140 billion this year, according to Emarketer estimates. Experts believe that the in-store aspect of different retail media networks is ready to expand as linear television continues to attract smaller and smaller audiences.
The out-of-home (OOH) category, for its part, is also experiencing growth as brands attempt to reach consumers outside of social media and streaming platforms.
In the United States, dollars spent on advertising for posters, billboards and other display placements reached $2.04 billion in the third quarter, according to the trade group Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA ). This amount represents an increase of 4.3% compared to the same three-month period last year and an all-time high for the quarter.
For brands considering this medium, this category offers a hidden benefit: research suggests that billboards and other traditional OOH ads are more carbon efficient than newer programmatic channels.
