Q1 2025 Digital Ads Benchmark Report PDF Free Download
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Table of Contents
Overall Trends
03
Paid Social
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit
06
Paid Search
Google and Microsoft
1 1
Commerce Media
Amazon and Walmart
1 7
Video and Display
YouTube, Prime Video, Netix, GDN, and More
23
The Tinuiti Digital Ads Benchmark Report is based on anonymized
performance data from advertising programs under Tinuiti management,
with annual digital ad spend under management totaling over $4 billion.
Samples are restricted to those programs that have remained active and
maintained a consistent strategy over the time periods studied. Unless
otherwise noted, all gures are based on same-client growth. The trends
and gures included are not meant to represent the ofcial performance
of any advertising platform or the experiences of every advertiser.
Methodology
Tinuiti is the largest
independent performance
marketing rm across
Streaming TV and the Triopoly
of Google, Facebook, and
Amazon, with $4 billion in digital
media under management and
over 1,000 employees.
About Tinuiti
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Overall Trends
3
Q1 2025
Overall Trends
Q1 Digital Ad Spend Largely Trends in Line with Expectations for Major
Platforms as US Tariff Impact Looms
Across Google, Meta, and Amazon, ad spend trends in the rst quarter largely tracked in line with expectations
prior to the quarter given year-ago comparisons. While Meta platforms bucked the Q4 deceleration trend observed
across most other platforms, overall growth on the social giant slowed in Q1 as it ran into tougher year-ago
comparisons, particularly on Instagram.
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Overall Trends
Amazon Sponsored Products spend growth ticked up to 11%, with click growth on the format growing
double digits for the second straight quarter. Despite calls to boycott Amazon over concerns surrounding
its rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Amazon advertisers did not see a noticeable
impact from these efforts in the rst quarter.
With all eyes on Google’s ability to continue to produce advertising clicks in the new world of generative
AI-powered search and answer engines, Google paid search click growth accelerated from 3% in Q4 to 4% in
Q1. Notably, click growth for Google Shopping ads (including Performance Max campaigns) jumped from 1%
in the fourth quarter to 9% year over year growth in Q1. There has not yet been a clear and denitive impact
to Google ad click volume for Tinuiti advertisers from the introduction of Google’s AI overviews or from the
competition of new generative AI platforms.
The potential impact of the trade war instigated by the introduction of steep US tariffs on major trade
partners looms large in the second quarter. While it remains to be seen for how long tariffs will be in place
and to what extent, the current rates stand to signicantly impact consumer behavior and advertiser
0%
+20%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+40%
US Ad Spend Y/Y Growth by Platform
Amazon Sponsored Products Facebook Google Search Ads Instagram YouTube
+7%
+5%
+11%
+11%
+9%
–20%
Q2Q2 Q1
2024
Q3 Q1
2025
Q3 Q4 Q1
2023
Q4 Q3 Q4
4
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Overall Trends
performance in the coming months, which could impact ad spend as soon as Q2. The frequency of
signicant updates to US tariff policy coming from the White House makes it difcult to estimate the full
impact at this time.
Uncertainty surrounding US policy has already dampened the growth of one major platform in the form of
TikTok. While TikTok advertisers have not yet walked away from the platform, median same-store growth
fell from 13% in Q4 to an 11% decline in Q1, and advertisers are increasingly diversifying to other social
platforms in case TikTok is ultimately banned. The number of advertisers active on Reddit and Snapchat
rose 66% and 33% year over year in the rst quarter, respectively.
Another platform that’s grown signicantly in adoption over the last year is Amazon Prime Video ads, with
total (not same-store) spend up 968% from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025. The average cost of Prime Video ads fell
in Q1 as Amazon continues to negotiate competitive rates in its race with other premium streaming video
platforms to attract more advertisers.
Growth in the cost of Google paid search ad clicks slowed from 7% in Q4 to 5% in Q1 overall, but brand text
ad CPC rose a whopping 19% year over year for the median Tinuiti advertiser. The cost of clicks on brand
ads is a particularly sensitive subject for advertisers since most searchers who use a branded query are
often looking to navigate to the brand’s website.
Meta CPM rose 4% in Q1, but growth was much higher for many advertisers, and over half of the brands
studied saw CPM jump more than 10% year over year in Q1. Meta ads pricing increases were particularly
strong on Instagram, with its 14% increase in CPM far outpacing the 1% increase observed on Facebook.
0%
+15%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+30%
US Ad Pricing Y/Y Growth by Platform
+14%
–13%
+1%
+1%
+5%
–30%
Q2Q2 Q1
2024
Q3 Q1
2025
Q3 Q4 Q1
2023
Q4 Q3 Q4
Amazon Sponsored Products Facebook Google Search Ads Instagram YouTube
–15%
5
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Social
6
Q1 2025
Paid Social
FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM,
TIKTOK, SNAPCHAT,
PINTEREST, AND REDDIT
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Social
7
Meta advertising spend
grows 11% in the rst quarter
as CPM creeps up.
Advertisers grew investment across
Meta properties by 11% year over year
in Q1, a deceleration from 15% growth
in Q4, as year-ago comparisons grew
stronger in the rst quarter. CPM rose
4% year over year, but many advertisers
saw even bigger increases, with CPM
up by double digits for more than 50%
of the advertisers studied for this report.
Impressions rose 6%, down from 9%
growth in the nal quarter of 2024.
Spend growth on Facebook
holds steady in the rst
quarter.
Advertisers increased spend on
Facebook, excluding Instagram,
Messenger, and Audience Network,
by 11% year over year in Q1, the same
growth observed in Q4 as impression and
CPM growth held roughly steady from Q4
to Q1. Impression growth on Facebook
has now outpaced that of Instagram for
four straight quarters, as Reels inventory
in particular has grown signicantly over
the past year on Facebook.
Instagram spend growth
slows down in the rst
quarter on tougher year-ago
comps.
Spend growth for Instagram ads slowed
from 20% in Q4 to 7% in Q1, largely owing
to spend growth accelerating from 27% in
Q4 2023 to 34% in Q1 2024. Impressions
dipped 6% year over year, the second
time in the last four quarters in which
impressions fell from the year prior for
Instagram advertisers. CPM rose 14%
in the rst quarter, the fourth straight
quarter of double-digit increases.
Meta Ads US Y/Y Growth Across All Properties
+6%
+4%
+11%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Spend Impressions CPM
Spend Impressions CPM
+50%
+25%
–25%
0%
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+50%
+25%
–25%
0%
+10%
+1%
+11%
Instagram Ads US Y/Y Growth
Facebook Ads US Y/Y Growth
Excluding Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network
+50%
0%
+25%
–25%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
–6%
+14%
+7%
Spend Impressions CPM
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Social
8
Advantage+ shopping
campaigns tick up to 38% of
Meta spend in Q1 2025.
The share of total Meta investment attributed
to Advantage+ shopping campaigns (ASCs) for
retail advertisers rose to 38% in Q1 2025, up
from 24% a year prior. While periods of under
or over-delivery have frustrated advertisers in
some circumstances, ASCs continue to be a
valuable tool for reaching users across Meta
properties and driving results for many brands.
Stories ads remain the
top source of Instagram ad
impressions in Q1.
Stories eclipsed Feed ad placements in
impression share for Instagram advertisers
in Q1 2024 and have now accounted for the
largest share of impressions on the platform
for ve straight quarters. Feed placements
were responsible for 30% of impressions in
Q1 2025, down from 37% a year prior. Reels
ads accounted for 19% of ad impressions,
up from 13% share last Q1. Impression
share for Explore and Explore Home
placements dipped from 11% combined in
Q1 2024 to 5% combined in Q1 2025.
Reels inventory now accounts
for nearly one third of all
Facebook ad impressions.
Reels video ads were responsible for 14% of all
Facebook ad impressions in Q1 2025, double
the 7% share observed in Q1 2024. Ads on
Reels, formerly known as Reels Overlay ads,
accounted for 17% of ad impressions in the rst
quarter, up from 10% a year prior. Combining
these two placements, Reels now account for
31% of all Facebook ad impressions, compared
to 27% in Q4 and 17% back in Q1 2024. This
far outpaces the 19% share observed on
Instagram, largely because Ads on Reels aren't
being featured on Instagram.
Advantage+ Shopping Campaign Meta Spend Share
Retail Advertisers
20%
0%
10%
5%
Facebook Ads Impression Share by Placement
14%
17%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
40%
30%
0%
10%
20%
38%
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
60%
2%
0%
40%
20%
Instagram Ads Impression Share by Placement
Feed Stories ReelsExplore
Explore Grid Prole Feed
30%
46%
19%
3%
0%
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
Facebook Ads on Reels Facebook Reels
15%
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Social
9
+60%
–30%
0%
Q2 Q1
2025
Q3 Q4
+30%
TikTok ads CPM drops 30%
year over year in Q1 2025.
The median advertiser active on TikTok since
at least Q1 2024 reduced spend 11% year over
year in the rst quarter of 2025. Impressions
rose 27%, but the cost of ad impressions
fell 30% year over year, the biggest decline
ever observed for Tinuiti advertisers. While
advertisers have not yet walked away from
TikTok as an advertising platform, continued
uncertainty regarding its future in the US is
leading brands to explore other platforms in
order to diversify social investment.
Spend growth slows
for same-store Snapchat
advertisers but advertiser count
grows.
Spend growth slowed from a 20% increase
to an 8% decline year over year for the
median Snapchat advertiser active on the
platform since as least Q1 2024. However,
the total number of social advertisers active
on Snapchat rose 33% from Q1 2024 to Q1
2025, as more brands are folding Snapchat
into their marketing strategy over time. This
trend was recently bolstered by advertisers
looking to diversify social media investment
given TikTok's uncertain future in the US.
Pinterest spend growth tops
30% in the rst quarter as CPM
rises.
The median Pinterest advertiser active on the
platform since at least Q1 2024 increased
spend 32% year over year, with a 2% increase
in impressions and 29% increase in CPM,
marking the second straight quarter of CPM
growth over 20%. Pinterest advertisers are
increasingly leaning into the Performance+
suite of AI and automation tools, with features
like the Performance+ ROAS bidding tool and
Performance+ creative proving effective at
driving results for early adopters.
+60%
–27%
–30%
0%
27%
–8%
Q2 Q1
2025
Q3 Q4
Spend Impressions CPM
Spend Impressions CPM
+30%
+2%
+29%
+32%
source: anonymized Tinuiti
advertiser data, 2025
Pinterest Ads Y/Y Growth
Median Tinuiti Advertiser
Snapchat Ads Y/Y Growth
Median Tinuiti Advertiser
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+80%
–40%
0%
+40%
Q3 Q1
2025
Q4 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4
TikTok Ads Y/Y Growth
Median Tinuiti Advertiser
Spend Impressions CPM
+27%
–30%
–11%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Social
10
Reddit same-store advertising spend jumps more than 30% year over year in Q1.
Advertising spend on Reddit rose 33% year over year for the median advertiser active on the platform since at least Q1
2024, with a 4% decline in impressions and 39% increase in CPM. In addition to strong same-store growth, the number of
brands active in Reddit ads has grown markedly over the last year, with 66% more active advertisers in Q1 2025 than in
Q1 2024 among Tinuiti clients. The uncertainty around the future of TikTok in the US is helping to push more advertisers
to platforms like Reddit in hopes of diversifying social spend.
Advertisers active on Pinterest spend nearly ¼ as much on the platform as on Meta.
Meta continues to account for the lion's share of most social budgets, but advertisers are steadily diversifying social
investment over time. In Q1 2025, advertisers active on both Pinterest and Meta spent 24% as much on Pinterest as on
Meta. The equivalent gure is 23% for TikTok, 15% for Snapchat, and 7% for Reddit. Important to note is that the number
of advertisers active on these platforms is much lower than Meta and varies between them.
Q1 2025 Ad Spend Relative to Meta
Advertisers Active on Each Platform and Meta
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Spend
Impressions
CPM
Q1 2025 Reddit Ads Y/Y Growth
Median Tinuiti Advertiser
+33%
+39%
–4%
TikTok Snapchat Reddit
23%
7%
Pinterest
15%
24%
Meta
source: anonymized Tinuiti
advertiser data, 2025
100%
Q1 2025
Paid Search
GOOGLE AND MICROSOFT
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Search
11
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Search
12
+5%
Google search ad click
growth picks up slightly, but
higher CPCs continue to drive
spending growth.
Spending on Google search ads grew
9% year over year in Q1 2025, which was
down slightly from 10% growth a quarter
earlier. Click growth accelerated modestly
to 4% year over year, but spending growth
remained driven primarily by higher click
costs, with average CPC rising 5%. CPC
growth was particularly high for branded
text search ads, while shopping search ad
CPCs fell slightly in Q1.
Microsoft sees stronger
search ad spending as click
growth improves.
Microsoft search ad spending grew 17%
year over year in Q1 2025, up from 7%
growth in Q4 2024 for Tinuiti clients. Across
text, shopping, and Performance Max
formats, Microsoft search ad clicks grew 5%
year over year in Q1, up from a 3% decline in
Q4. Similar to Google, Microsoft search ad
spending was driven mostly by increases in
click costs in Q1 as average CPC rose 11%
year over year, which was steady with Q4.
Spending growth for Google
shopping ads continues
to cool, but click growth
improves.
Spending on Google shopping ads,
including both Performance Max (PMax)
and standard Shopping campaigns (SSCs),
was up 8% year over year in Q1 2025, down
from 10% growth in Q4 2024. Advertisers
did see better click growth from Google
shopping formats in Q1 as clicks rose
9% year over year, compared to just a 1%
increase a quarter earlier. At the same time,
the average CPC for Google shopping ads
fell 1% year over year in Q1, compared to a
9% increase in Q4.
Google US Shopping Ads Y/Y Growth
Performance Max and Standard Shopping Campaigns
+20%
+15%
+4%
+5%
+9%
0%
+10%
Q1
2023
Q1
2025
Q3 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4Q2 Q4
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Spend Clicks CPC
Google US Paid Search Y/Y Growth
source: anonymized Tinuiti
advertiser data, 2025
Microsoft US Paid Search Y/Y Growth
+7%
Clicks CPCSpend
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Spend Clicks CPC
Q4 2024 Q1 2025
+11%
–3%
+17%
+5%
+11%
Q1
2023
Q1
2025
Q3 Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4Q2 Q4
+20%
–1%
+8%
0%
+10% +9%
–10%
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Search
13
Amazon maintains strong
presence in Google shopping
ad auctions over Q1.
Amazon's presence in Google shopping
ad auctions over the course of Q1
2025 was very similar to a year earlier
as its impression share against the
median retailer trended close to 60%
throughout Q1 2025 just as it did in Q1
2024. In earlier years, Amazon typically
ramped up its presence in Google
auctions over the rst half of the year,
but it now appears to be maintaining a
more consistent level of aggressiveness
throughout the year.
Facing steep tariffs, Temu
drops out of Google Shopping
auctions.
Although its share of Google shopping
impressions ramped up over Q1 2025,
Temu's presence in Google auctions fell
precipitously over April 9th through 12th as
it became clearer that US plans to eliminate
the de minimis tariff exemption in early
May and to institute other hefty tariff hikes
on Chinese goods were not likely to be
quickly reversed. To begin the week of April
14th, Temu's share of Google shopping ad
impressions had fallen to zero against the
median retail brand.
Google shopping
impression share falls by
varying degrees across top
retail brands.
Although Temu increased its share of
Google shopping impressions from Q4
2024 to Q1 2025, it still saw a lower
share of impressions than in Q1 2024.
Among top retail brands, eBay saw the
biggest decline in Google shopping ad
impression share from Q1 2024 to Q1
2025, though, while Amazon, Target, and
Walmart saw just minor declines. Amazon
80%
0%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
60%
Jan Feb Dec
40%
Amazon US Google Shopping Ads Impression Share
Median Amazon Competitor
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
20%
60%
57%
61%
45%
48%
20222021 2023 2024 2025
US Google Shopping Ads Impression Share
Median Competitor
Temu US Google Shopping Ads Impression Share
Median Temu Competitor
30%
0%
20%
Jan Feb Dec
10%
17%
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
18%
0%
2023 2024 2025
2022
Q1 2024 Q1 2025
Target Walmart eBay Temu
59% 59%
25% 24% 22% 22%
27%
19% 19%
15%
source: anonymized Tinuiti
advertiser data, 2025
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Search
14
2025
PMax adoption rate dips
post-holiday, but usage
remains widespread in early
2025.
The adoption rate of Performance Max
campaigns among retailers running
shopping ad listings with Google stood
at 93% to close out Q1 2025. That was
down two points from the end of 2024,
but up three points from March 2024.
The widespread adoption of PMax
campaigns speaks to their importance as
brands look to expand their reach across
Google properties and placements.
PMax accounts for a
majority of Google shopping
ad investment but share is
down from Q4.
Across retail brands running both
Performance Max and standard Shopping
campaigns, PMax campaigns accounted
for 53% of Google shopping ad spending
for the median retailer and generated
49% of sales revenue. Over the Q4 holiday
season, the typical retailer leaned more
heavily into Performance Max which saw
its spend share hit 69%. In early 2025, some
advertisers have looked to shift spend back
to standard Shopping campaigns, in part
for the additional controls they provide.
Share of PMax spending
generated by non-shopping
inventory remains stable in Q1.
After rising appreciably over the rst three
quarters of 2024, the share of PMax costs
generated by video and other non-shopping
search and display inventory has largely
held steady since October 2024. Video
share of PMax spending averaged 3% over
Q1 2025, down a point from Q4 2024. Other
non-shopping search and display inventory
accounted for 26% of PMax spending in Q1
2025, which was up a point from Q4.
30%
10%
20%
0%
Google Performance Max: Share of Cost by Ad Type
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
2023 2024
100%
75%
93%
0%
25%
2023 20242022
Google Performance Max Adoption Rate among Retail
Google Shopping Advertisers
Google Performance Max: Share of Google Shopping
Median Retailer Running Both PMax and Standard Shopping Campaigns
Non-Shopping Search and DisplayVideo
26%
4%
Spend Sales
50%
2025
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Q4 2024 Q1 2025
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
69% 67%
49%
53%
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Search
15
Outside of search, YouTube and other Google properties account for 59% of PMax
impressions.
Excluding Google search and YouTube video, other Google owned and operated properties accounted for 55% of PMax
impressions in Q1 2025, up from 44% a year earlier. In March 2024, Google began applying account level placement exclusions
to the Search partner network, which led to a decline in impression share for non-Google placements. Non-Google webpages
generated 32% of PMax placement impressions in Q1 2025, down from 42% a year earlier. YouTube video placements
accounted for 4% of PMax impressions in Q1.
PMax generates higher sales per click than standard Shopping campaigns, but at a
lower ROAS.
Performance Max campaigns have done well to live up to their moniker, with key metrics generally comparing well to
standard Shopping campaigns even as PMax draws in inventory from more disparate sources. In Q1 2025, the median
advertiser saw PMax generate a 5% higher sales per click than SSCs despite conversion rates running 10% lower. With
CPC running 13% higher for PMax campaigns, advertisers did generate a 7% lower return on ad spend for PMax, a gap that
widened compared to a year earlier.
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Google Performance Max: Share of Impressions by Placement
Excluding Google Search - Average Retailer
0%
50%
25%
Google Owned and
Operated Properties
Mobile Apps Non-Google
Webpages
75%
YouTube
Video
Google PMax Performance Relative to Standard Shopping Campaigns
Median Advertiser
Conversion Rate
Sales Per Click Cost Per Click Click-through Rate
ROAS
source: anonymized Tinuiti
advertiser data, 2025
Q2-23Q1-23 Q3-23 Q4-23
Q2-24 Q3-24 Q4-24Q1-24
54%
11%
31%
4%
58%
10%
29%
3%
59%
8%
30%
3%
44%
10%
42%
4%
7%
5%5%
4%
48%
45%
46%
51%
9%
14%
14%
12%
37%
36%
34%
33%
Q1-25
55%
10%
32%
4%
Q1-24 Q1-25
+2%
+5%
+9%
+13%
+16%
–1%
–5%
–10%
+1%
–7%
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Paid Search
16
Google text ad CPC growth spikes following relatively slow growth in late 2024.
Since 2020, Google text ad CPC growth has outpaced that for Google shopping ads in all but three quarters. Two of those
three quarters were over the back half of 2024, but that trend proved to be short-lived as advertisers saw a signicant
spike in text ad CPCs to start 2025. All told, Google text ad spending was up 10% year over year in Q1 2025 as CPCs rose
13% and clicks fell 3%.
Advertisers see spike in Google text ad CPCs for brand keywords.
Breaking down Google text ad CPC growth trends by keyword type, targeted keywords containing the advertiser's own brand
name saw much higher CPC growth in Q1 2025 than non-brand keywords. Brand text ad CPCs rose 19% year over year in
Q1 for the median advertiser compared to just 3% for non-brand keywords. While some advertisers saw spikes in brand CPC
in February, growth was elevated throughout the entire quarter for the typical advertiser.
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
0%
+15%
+13%
+10% +10%
+20%
–3%
Spend Clicks CPC
Q1
2023
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
Google US Text Ads Y/Y Growth
Google US Text Ads Y/Y CPC Growth Q1 2025
Median Advertiser
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+5%
–5%
Brand Non-Brand
+19%
+3%
Q1 2025
Commerce
Media
AMAZON AND WALMART
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Commerce Media
17
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Commerce Media
18
Amazon Sponsored Products CPC grows just 1% in the rst quarter.
The cost of Sponsored Products clicks jumped 19% year over year in Q4 2023, but pricing growth has since slowed, with
CPC up just 1% year over year in Q1 2025. Spend on Sponsored Products increased 11% in the rst quarter, accelerating
from 9% growth in Q4, as clicks rose 10%. Newer Sponsored Products inventory sources such as placements on partners
like Pinterest have yet to produce meaningful click volume for Amazon advertisers.
Amazon US Sponsored Products Y/Y Growth
Amazon Sponsored Brands spend growth jumps to 19% in Q1 2025.
Sponsored Brands spend rose 19% year over year in the rst quarter, the strongest growth observed since last Q1 and a
signicant rebound from flat growth in Q4 2024. Clicks fell 6% year over year, the third time in the last four quarters that
clicks for the format have fallen. CPC rose 28% year over year, the fourth straight quarter of double-digit growth in the
cost of Sponsored Brands clicks.
Amazon US Sponsored Brands Y/Y Growth
+30%
–10%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+20%
0%
Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
+10% +10%
+11%
+1%
Spend Clicks CPC Sales
+4%
+30%
–15%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+15%
0%
–6%
+19%
+28%
Spend Clicks CPC Sales
+7%
Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Commerce Media
19
Amazon Sponsored Display spend declines extend to a fth straight quarter.
Investment in Amazon Sponsored Display campaigns once again fell year over year, dipping 9% in the rst quarter after a
6% decline in Q4. Click volume for the format fell 20% and CPC increased 15%. While the popularity of Sponsored Display
campaigns has waned since the end of 2023, advertisers continue to ramp up investment in Amazon display advertising
through the demand-side platform (DSP), which continues to see strong spend growth.
DSP ticks up to 34% of Amazon investment for participating endemic advertisers.
Endemic advertisers targeting inventory through the Amazon DSP spent 34% of total Amazon investment on the DSP,
with the remaining 2/3 attributed to Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns targeted
through the Ad Console. This gure does not include non-endemic advertisers (brands that don't sell products on Amazon
but do advertise through the DSP), which have grown in numbers since the introduction of Prime Video ads in January 2024.
Amazon US Sponsored Display Y/Y Growth
–60%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+30%
0%
–20%
–9%
+15%
Spend Clicks CPC
–30%
Amazon Advertising Spend Share by Platform
Q1 2025 • Advertisers Active on Both the DSP and Ad Console
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Ad Console
Demand-Side Platform
66%
34%
Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Commerce Media
20
Amazon DSP spend rises 12% year over year in the rst quarter.
Spend on the Amazon DSP rose 12% year over year for advertisers active throughout Q1 2024 and Q1 2025. Importantly,
this gure does not include those advertisers who only just became active on the DSP in order to target Prime Video
inventory in late Q1 2024, as those brands were not active throughout the full quarter. It does include those brands that were
already active on the DSP prior to the January 29, 2024 launch of Prime Video ads and incorporated Prime Video as part of
their strategy following the launch.
Amazon US DSP Y/Y Growth
0%
+120%
–40%
+40%
Amazon owned and operated inventory still accounts for more than half of DSP spend.
Fully 57% of all Amazon DSP spend went to inventory on pages owned and operated by Amazon, including the Amazon
website and app as well as other websites and apps like IMDb. This inventory accounted for just 45% of impressions, as the
cost of Amazon owned and operated inventory continues to outpace that of other sources. Amazon Publisher Services sites
accounted for 15% of DSP spend, while other non-Amazon inventory accounted for 28% of investment.
Amazon DSP Spend Share by Property Type
Q1 2025
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
SpendImpressions
+80%
Spend Impressions CPM
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+61%
+12%
–31%
Amazon Publisher
Services
Other Non-Amazon
Inventory
Amazon Owned and
Operated
20%
15%
35%
28%
45%
57%
Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Commerce Media
21
Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Videos account for 13% of Walmart search
advertising.
Walmart advertisers spent 7% of their search advertising investment on Sponsored Brands and 6% on Sponsored Videos
in Q1 2025. These campaign types accounted for just 6% of Walmart search spend combined last Q1, as they've become
a more important part of advertising on Walmart over time. Much like they are on Amazon, Sponsored Products ads are
still the most important search format on Walmart, accounting for 87% of Walmart search spend in the rst quarter.
+75%
0%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+50%
+25%
+14%
+1%
+13%
Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
Walmart Sponsored Products advertising continues to grow in Q1.
Spend on Walmart Sponsored Products rose 14% in the rst quarter, slowing from a torrid 53% increase in Q4. Year-
over-year click growth held steady at 1% from Q4 to Q1, but CPC rose just 13% in the rst quarter compared to a 51%
jump in Q4. Despite recent increases, CPC in Q1 2025 was below where it was in Q1 2022, prior to Walmart's June 2022
shift from a rst-price to a second-price auction that sent CPC down signicantly. Recent CPC growth has largely been
accompanied with corresponding growth in sales per click.
Walmart Search Ad Spend Share by Campaign Type
100%
0%
60%
20%
40%
7%
87%
80%
Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Products
Sponsored Videos
6%
Walmart Sponsored Products Y/Y Growth
Spend Clicks CPC
Q3 Q4 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Commerce Media
22
Walmart Sponsored Videos
CPC dips relative to Sponsored
Products in the rst quarter.
Sponsored Videos CPC was 26% higher
than Sponsored Products for the median
advertiser targeting both formats in the
rst quarter, a dip from the 35% higher
CPC observed in Q4. Sponsored Videos
historically had a $1.30 minimum CPC for
advertisers to participate in auctions, but
Walmart updated that minimum to $0.80 at
the start of November 2024, making Q1 the
rst full quarter in which the lower minimum
was in place. Sponsored Brands continue to
have a minimum CPC of $1.
Self-serve display
advertising accounts for 40%
of Walmart investment for
participating brands.
Onsite and offsite self-serve display
advertising accounted for 40% of all
Walmart investment in the rst quarter for
brands deploying both display and search
advertising formats. Some managed onsite
advertising packages will be sunset in July
of this year, such that self-serve will grow
in importance for advertisers looking to
target Walmart owned and operated display
inventory in the second half of the year.
Self-serve Walmart display
spend roughly evenly divided
between onsite and offsite
placements.
Advertisers can use Walmart's display
advertising tools to target inventory both
on and off of Walmart's website and app. In
the rst quarter of 2025, 52% of all Walmart
display advertising spend went to inventory
on Walmart's website and app, down from
the 68% of spend this inventory accounted
for in Q4. By comparison, offsite inventory
rose from 32% of spend a quarter prior to
account for 48% in Q1.
Walmart Self-Serve Display Spend Share by Property Type
Q1 2025
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Walmart Search Ads Campaign Type CPC
Relative to Sponsored Products
Q1 2025 • Median Tinuiti Advertiser
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Self-Serve Walmart Advertising Spend Share
Q1 2025 • Tinuiti Advertisers that Invest in Both Search and Display
SpendImpressions
Offsite Onsite
Sponsored
Brands
Sponsored
Videos
Sponsored
Products
+58%
+26%
Search Formats
Display Formats
60%
40%
60%
40%
48%
52%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Video and Display
23
Q1 2025
Video and
Display
YOUTUBE, PRIME VIDEO, NETFLIX,
GDN, AND MORE
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Video and Display
24
YouTube video ad campaigns see strong impression growth, but CPM declines continue.
Spending on YouTube video ad campaigns was up 5% year over year in Q1 2025, down from 7% growth in Q4 2024.
YouTube impression growth slowed from 28% year over year in Q4 to 21% in Q1, while average CPM declines lessened from
a 16% drop in Q4 to a 13% decline in Q1. Importantly, YouTube inventory is increasingly purchased through other Google
campaign types including Demand Gen campaigns. In Q3, Google will transition Video Action Campaigns to the Demand
Gen model, further accelerating this trend.
YouTube Ad Campaigns Y/Y Growth
+80%
–40%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
+40%
0%
Q1
2023
Q3 Q1
2024
Q3 Q4Q2 Q1
2025
+21%
+5%
–13%
Spend Impressions CPM
TV screens outpacing phones for YouTube video ad dollars.
In February 2025, YouTube ofcially noted that television was the primary viewing device across all of its services as
of the end of 2024. In terms of advertiser spending on YouTube video ad campaigns, TV screens accounted for 43% of
spend in Q1 2025, just outpacing phones at 42%. Desktop contributed 10% of YouTube spending in Q1, while tablets
added 5%. Total spending on YouTube ads on TV screens was up 88% year over year in Q1.
Q2 Q4
Desktop Phone Tablet TV Screens
YouTube Spend Share by Device Type
Q1 2024 Q1 2025
19%
51%
7%
24%
10%
42%
5%
43%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Video and Display
25
YouTube Video Ad Spend Share by Format
Q1 2025 • Segmented Spend
Shorts accounts for 20% of
segmented YouTube video ad
spending in Q1 2025.
On average, about half of YouTube ad
spend is reported back to the advertiser
with the format being unsegmented
by Google. Looking just at reportable
segmented YouTube ad spend, Shorts
accounted for 20% of spending in Q1 2025.
At 66%, the largest share of segmented
YouTube spending in Q1 went to skippable
in-stream ads. In-feed ads accounted for
6% in Q1, while bumper and non-skippable
in-stream ads each accounted for 3%.
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Amazon Prime Video
continues to see increased
quarterly investment across
brands.
Amazon Prime Video ads launched near
the end of January in 2024, so a full
quarterly year over year comparison is still
not possible, but advertiser investment has
increased each of the last four quarters
including from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025. Total
spending on Prime Video ads was nearly
11 times as high in Q1 2025 as it was in Q1
2024, while investment increased 29% from
Q4 2024 to Q1 2025.
Amazon Prime Video Ad Spend
Relative to Q1 2024
Q1
2024
Q3 Q4
+687% +726%
+365%
Q2
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Streaming video ad
spending rises 24%, despite
at CPM growth.
Across the major streamers and other video
ad inventory sources outside of YouTube,
streaming video ad spending was up 24%
year over year in Q1 2025, an acceleration
from 19% growth in Q4. Streaming video ad
impression growth improved to 23% while
CPM growth remained flat year over year. The
entry of Prime Video ad inventory in Q1 2024
has provided a boost to streaming video
spending and impressions in the last year, but
there has been pressure across platforms to
keep CPMs competitive to attract advertisers.
Streaming Video Ads Y/Y Growth
Excluding YouTube
+30%
+20%
+10%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Spend Impressions CPM
+24%
+23%
+0%
0%
Q1
2023
Q1
2025
Q3 Q2Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4 Q4
Skippable In-Stream – 66%
Shorts – 20%
In-Feed – 6%
Bumper – 3%
Non-Skippable In-Stream – 3%
Other – 1%
Q1
2025
+968%
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Video and Display
26
+300%
0%
+200%
+100%
+213%
Jan
2020
Jan
2021
Jan
2022
Jan
2023
Jan
2024
CPM Relative to Traditional Streaming Video Ad Average
Median Advertiser
Prime Video CPM drops
relative to streaming video ad
average.
A Prime Video impression cost roughly twice
as much as the traditional streaming video
ad average in Q1 2025, which was down
from about 2.4 times the average rate in Q4
2024. Other premium streaming video ad
inventory sources saw mixed movement in
CPMs relative to average with Netflix and
Disney+ seeing a lift, while Max saw CPM
hold roughly steady relative to average.
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Google Demand Gen
campaign usage running
higher in advance of Video
Action Campaign changes.
After a bit of a dip to start the year, the
adoption rate of Google Demand Gen
campaigns rose to close out the quarter. At
the beginning of April 2025, Google removed
the ability to create new Video Action
Campaigns and recommended advertisers
use Demand Gen campaigns instead. In July,
any remaining Video Action Campaigns will
be converted to Demand Gen campaigns.
In anticipation of these changes, more
advertisers have adopted and used Demand
Gen campaigns for video reach.
TV screens account for 64%
of traditional streaming video
ad spending.
TV screens accounted for 64% of ad costs
for traditionally-purchased streaming
video ad inventory in Q1 2025. Mobile
devices, including both phones and tablets,
accounted for 27% of traditional streaming
video ad spending, while computers
contributed 9%. Real-time bidding (RTB)
streaming video ad inventory was more
mobile-focused, but TV still accounted for
the largest share of spending at 47%. Mobile
spending share was 37% for RTB inventory,
while computer share was 16%.
Device Share of Streaming Video Ad Spending
Q1 2025 • Excluding YouTube
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Desktop Mobile TV
9%
16%
27%
37%
64%
47%
Traditional Streaming Ads
RTB Streaming Ads
Netflix Prime Video Max Disney+ Traditional Streaming
Ad Average
Q4 2021 Q1 2025
+190%
+222%
+142%
+66%
+36%
+95%
+68% +63%
Google Demand Gen Campaign Adoption Rate
Relative to January 2020
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Jan
2025
Q1 2025 Benchmark Report: Video and Display
27
Video share of Google
Demand Gen spending rises to
42% to close out Q1.
Ahead of Google's April change to remove
the ability to create Video Action Campaigns,
more advertisers have been testing into
Demand Gen's video ad capabilities and
inventory, and video's share of Demand Gen
spend reaching an all-time high of 42% in
March 2025. Although many brands are
not generating YouTube spending through
Demand Gen yet, those that do are already
seeing it as a signicant contributor,
accounting for an average of 20% of
Demand Gen spending in March 2025.
Spending on Google
Demand Gen campaigns up
7% year over year.
For brands that were active on Google
Demand Gen campaigns over both Q1
2024 and Q1 2025, ad spending was
up 7% year over year in Q1, up from 5%
growth a quarter earlier. Demand Gen
impression growth was 8% year over year,
while average CPM fell 1% year over year.
While Demand Gen spending growth has
been picking up, it should receive a further
boost in the months ahead from Google's
transition of Video Action Campaigns to the
Demand Gen model.
Google Display Network Campaigns Y/Y Growth
Q1 2025
Google Display Network
spending growth slows slightly
to 9% year over year.
Brand spending on ads placed through
the Google Display Network (GDN) was
up 9% year over year in Q1 2025, which
was a slight deceleration from 11% growth
a quarter earlier. GDN impressions fell
1% year over year in Q1 2025, while the
average CPM rose 10%. While the GDN
primarily offers display impressions,
advertisers can also use it to access app
and video inventory.
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Google Demand Gen Campaigns Y/Y Growth
+50%
+25%
0%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
Spend Impressions CPM
+7%
+8%
–1%
–25%
Q1
2023
Q1
2025
Q3 Q2Q1
2024
Q3Q2 Q4 Q4
Video Ad Share of Google Demand Gen Spending
Average Across Brands Active on Demand Gen
Since Q4 2023
40%
10%
20%
0%
source: anonymized Tinuiti advertiser data, 2025
42%
30%
Jan
2024
Jan
2025
Impressions
CPMSpend
+9%
+10%
–1%
