Outdated media collapses as today’s ecommerce marketers navigate complex digital ecosystems from the cockpit of modern advertising.
Print, TV, and radio ad spending is down while retail media and platforms like Meta, Amazon, and TikTok pocket billions.
Traditional ad channels are collapsing. Ecommerce brands have made their choice—and it’s digital or bust.
📉 According to Excellent Publicity, 63% of ecommerce ad budgets in 2024 went to digital. That’s not just a shift—it’s a torching of the old playbook. Print, TV, and radio ad spends have plummeted by over 50%, while digital continues to eat the rest of the pie.
Let’s break it down.
📊 2025 Ecommerce Advertising Breakdown: Digital vs. Traditional
| Channel | Spend Change YoY | Share of Ecommerce Ad Spend | Top Advertisers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital (Overall) | -37% (modest decline) | 63% | Amazon (23%), Karma Shopping (17%) | 10,000+ exclusive advertisers. Weekday/weekend spend evenly distributed. |
| Retail Media | +20% YoY | 14% of all U.S. digital ad spend | Amazon, Walmart, Target, Instacart | $62B in 2025. Fastest-growing channel. Fragmented but high-ROI. |
| -52% | 12% (est.) | Amazon (25%), Flipkart | 62% of placements on front pages. Peaked Aug–Nov. | |
| TV | -66% | 10% (est.) | Amazon (38%) | Prime Time + GECs dominate spend. Seasonal spikes. |
| Radio | -66% | 5% (est.) | Reliance Retail (20%), Amazon (19%) | Weekday dominance. Regional skew (North 37%, South 32%). |
| Top Platforms (Digital) | — | — | Facebook (39% of spend), X (26%) | Display ads = 74%, Video = 26%. Always-on strategy. |
Digital platforms are now the ad landlords
If you’re spending in 2025, chances are it’s on a platform that rhymes with Meta, Google, or TikTok.
🚨 10 companies are now raking in over $10 billion each in digital ad revenues globally, according to eMarketer:
- Alphabet (Google + YouTube): $209B
- Meta (Facebook + Instagram): $183B
- Amazon: $69B
- ByteDance (TikTok + Douyin): $60.5B
- Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Microsoft, Tencent, Apple… all past the $10B club
Let that sink in: just two companies (Alphabet and Meta) are set to claim over 38% of global digital ad dollars in 2025. And that’s after factoring in traffic acquisition costs. 🧾
Retail media is the fastest-growing slice of the pie
If you’re not in retail media yet, you’re leaving serious dollars on the table.
🔎 Retail media ad spending in the U.S. will hit $62B this year—an increase of over $10B YoY. And by 2028, it’s expected to nearly double, reaching $98B.
Retail media isn’t just a “trend”—it’s the only category with sustained double-digit CAGR through 2028.
But here’s the kicker: complexity is the new cost. Brands now juggle 4+ retail media networks on average. That’s not just Amazon and Walmart—it’s a zoo of mid-tier networks with questionable attribution standards. The fragmentation is real, and measurement still sucks.
Traditional media: falling off a cliff
- 🗞 Print ad spend: -52%
- 📺 TV ad spend: -66%
- 📻 Radio ad spend: -66%
Even the old kings—Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Retail—are reallocating their media mix toward digital-first channels. Prime Time and GECs (General Entertainment Channels) aren’t moving the needle like they used to. Print front pages still grab attention, but nobody’s waiting for Sunday supplements anymore.
Meanwhile, Facebook.com and X.com snagged a combined 65% of digital ecommerce ad spend last year.
Operator POV: what actually matters
This isn’t just about where ads go—it’s about where sales happen.
💡 Digital gives you:
- Real-time feedback loops
- Better segmentation
- Privacy-compliant retargeting
- Lower CAC (if you’re not burning cash on TikTok roulette)
And that last point matters more than ever. With over 10,000 active digital advertisers in ecommerce last year, CPM inflation is real. If your creative sucks, you’re gonna feel it fast.
So yes, traditional media isn’t dead. But for ecommerce? It’s mostly ceremonial.
The bottom line
Retail media is surging. Digital ad giants are consolidating power. And traditional media is on hospice care.
📈 The era of “spray and pray” media buying is over. Ecommerce winners in 2025 are those who can:
- Navigate fragmented retail media networks
- Use first-party data like a weapon
- Prioritize performance over platform nostalgia
Traditional media had its run. Now it’s time for operators to build leaner, smarter digital playbooks.
And if you’re still dumping dollars into radio ads? May as well be buying banner space on MySpace.
