IAB UK digital adspend report: Industry reactions

Digital adspend in the UK has surpassed the £40 billion mark for the first time according to industry body IAB UK.

Video and retail media were among the most prominent gainers, and we’ve been garnering reactions from leaders in the adtech and advertising world…

James Taylor, CEO & Founder, Particular Audience

“The UK digital ad market surpassing £40.4bn in 2025 is a phenomenal milestone that demonstrates the resilience and adaptability of our industry.

“However, what stands out most from the IAB UK’s latest figures is the staggering rise of Retail Media, which surged by 17% year-on-year to deliver £3.7bn.

“Retail is now the number one driver of digital ad spend via agencies. We are seeing a fundamental shift where retailers are no longer just points of sale; they are becoming highly sophisticated, full-funnel media ecosystems.

“In an era where economic pressures are intensifying ROI demands and CFOs are heavily scrutinising marketing spend, retail media provides a distinct competitive advantage through its reliance on first-party data, access to real-time intent signals and closed-loop attribution.

“Looking ahead, AI and automation are rightfully identified as the primary forces that will shape the sector. But as the report highlights, this rapid expansion has led to fragmented measurement and complex ecosystems that risk slowing down scale.

“This is exactly where Particular Audience steps in. We are driving the supply side automation required to manage this fragmentation and facilitate continued growth.

“By unifying predictive AI with retailer first-party data, we help brands and retailers cut through the complexity to deliver scalable, highly relevant consumer experiences.

“The £40bn milestone is just the beginning of this more accountable, automated, and data-driven era of advertising.”

David Nelson, co-Founder, Limelight

“Clearly there was turbulence generally in 2025, and that continues – both in economic and geopolitical terms and in the challenges faced by the ad market, which include signal loss, ID volatility, supply-path bloat and the uncertain impact of AI.

“But the fact that the UK digital ad market still grew by almost 10%, with programmatic accounting for 80%, tells you a lot about the market’s resilience and its appetite for new approaches.

“Obviously we are all seeing a lot of movement of budget from older static channels into newer ones such as CTV and VOD, but at an infrastructure level the appetite for bespoke, white-label solutions has only grown, and the imperative remain the same: to focus on clean, authenticated supply paths and curated demand.”