Statistics

Latest Performance Marketing Statistics & ROI Data (2026)

BySteven Allen January 30, 2026January 30, 2026

Performance Marketing Statistics

Global digital ad spend just hit $835 billion in 2026, and performance-based campaigns now control 60% of all display advertising budgets.

Marketers are ditching guesswork and pouring money into channels that deliver measurable ROI and trackable conversions.

We've researched and collected the latest Performance Marketing Statistics to help you benchmark spend, optimize paid campaigns, and make smarter budget decisions.

From programmatic advertising and search marketing to affiliate networks and retail media, these numbers reveal where the money flows and what actually drives results in 2026.

Global Digital Ad Spend & Market Growth ¹

The digital advertising market continues to expand rapidly as brands demand accountability for every dollar spent.

Global digital advertising spend is projected to reach approximately $835 billion to $876 billion by the end of 2026.
Digital channels now account for over 73% of total media advertising spend worldwide, up from 68% just two years ago.
Performance-based advertising formats (search and social) comprise nearly 60% of all digital display ad spending.
The US market alone is expected to generate over $360 billion in digital ad revenue during 2026.

Projected Digital Ad Spend Growth (2024–2026)

Year	Global Spend (Estimated)	YoY Growth Rate
2024	$695 Billion	10.5%
2025	$760 Billion	9.8%
2026	$836 Billion+	9.2%

Marketers are heavily increasing investment in channels where return on ad spend (ROAS) is easiest to track and optimize.

Search Engine Marketing Benchmarks for Performance Ad Campaigns ²

Paid search remains the backbone of performance marketing due to its high commercial intent.

Global search advertising spending is forecast to exceed $306 billion in 2026, maintaining its spot as the largest digital format.
Google continues to hold over 90% of the global search engine market share, dictating PPC costs.
The average click-through rate (CTR) for search ads across all industries is currently hovering around 3.2%.
Google AI Overviews now impact 25% of traditional search ad impressions.
Local Services Ads have seen an 18% increase in budget allocation from small businesses.
Shopping ads now drive 80% of retail search ad clicks.
Cost per lead (CPL) in the legal and B2B sectors remains the highest, often exceeding $85 per lead.

Search ads provide immediate visibility and remain critical for capturing bottom-of-funnel traffic.

Affiliate Marketing Industry Hits $20 Billion in 2026 ³

Affiliate marketing is among purest forms of performance-based marketing. Brands pay only for confirmed sales or leads generated through partners.

Metric	Value
Global affiliate market value (2025)	US $17–18.5 billion
Projected value (2026)	US $20+ billion
US affiliate spend (2025)	US $11.99 billion
US affiliate spend (2026)	US $13.2 billion
Average ROI	US $15 for every US $1 spent
Share of US e-commerce influenced	16%

Key facts:

81% of brands now run affiliate or partner programmes
Over 50% of publishers rely on affiliate income as a primary revenue source
B2B affiliate programmes were growing at 17% in 2025
Asia-Pacific region accounts for roughly 23% of global affiliate market share

Affiliate partnerships offer a cost-effective customer acquisition strategy with predictable ROI for 2026.

Social Media Advertising Statistics and Spending Trends ⁴

Social platforms are evolving into massive performance engines, with spend growing at double-digit rates despite maturity.

Global social media ad spend is projected to reach approximately $240 billion (approx. US$300 billion) in 2026.
The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 12%, driven largely by short-form video and social commerce integration.
In the US, social media ad spend is forecast to hit nearly US$95–100 billion in 2025–2026, solidifying its place as the second-largest digital channel after search.

Advertisers are spending roughly US$5 billion per week on social ads globally, with AI-driven targeting improving conversion rates on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Regional Ad Spend: Which Markets Grow Fastest ⁵

Performance marketing is a global phenomenon, but some regions are accelerating faster than others due to digital adoption.

Region	2026 Forecast Growth	Key Driver
Global	+5.1%	AI & Retail Media
Americas	+5.2%	US Elections & World Cup
Brazil	+9.1%	Digital Retail Media
India	High Growth	Mobile & Social
Canada	+5.4%	Digital Platforms

Brazil is forecast to grow by 9.1%, the fastest among major markets.
Canada is projected to grow by 5.4% in 2026.
South Asia was the only region projected to record double-digit growth in recent years, a trend expected to continue.
China remains a massive performance market, though growth rates are stabilising compared to emerging markets.

Programmatic Display Advertising Trends ⁶

Automation in ad buying allows for real-time targeting and efficiency at an unprecedented scale.

Programmatic digital display ad spending will account for over 91% of all digital display dollars in 2026.

The global programmatic market is valued at approximately $600 billion currently.

Connected TV (CTV) programmatic spend is one of the fastest-growing segments, rising by 22% year-over-year.

US programmatic display spend is expected to exceed US$203 billion in 2026, representing a year-over-year growth of 12.5%.

Viewability rates for programmatic ads have improved to an average of 68% due to better verification tools.

Automation is now total: by 2026, the share of display ads bought programmatically is forecast to hit 96.8% of new ad dollars, effectively ending manual insertion orders.

Influencer Performance Marketing ⁷

Influencer marketing is shedding its “awareness only” reputation and becoming a hard performance channel.

Global influencer ad spend is projected to reach US$33 billion in 2025–2026, with a shift towards “creator commerce.”
Instagram influencer market alone will exceed US$22 billion, with most campaigns now tracking direct sales via affiliate links or codes.
Micro-influencers (10k–100k followers) often deliver 60% higher engagement rates and better conversion efficiency than mega-celebrities.

Brands are increasingly paying influencers on a hybrid model (flat fee + commission), aligning creator incentives with brand sales goals.

Why Email Remains the Highest ROI Marketing Channel ⁸

Email remains the highest ROI channel for performance marketers focused on customer retention.

Email marketing revenue is estimated to reach $13 billion globally in 2026.
The average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent.
Automated email workflows generate 320% more revenue than non-automated campaigns.
Personalised email subject lines increase open rates by nearly 26%.

Email Performance Benchmarks (2026)

Metric	Average Rate
Open Rate	21.5%
Click-Through Rate (CTR)	2.3%
Unsubscribe Rate	0.1%
Bounce Rate	0.7%

Retention strategies rely heavily on email to maximize customer lifetime value (CLTV).

Mobile Performance Marketing Spend, Installs, And ROAS Trends

With mobile devices driving half of all commerce, app-first performance strategies are non-negotiable.

Mobile ad spending hit nearly US$495 billion globally in 2024–2025 and is expected to keep growing into 2026.
In-app advertising spend per capita is expected to reach US$57.61 in 2026, reflecting the high value of app users.
Mobile wallets are used by 65% of US smartphone users, smoothing the path from ad click to purchase.
Global app install ad spend is projected to reach $105 billion.
Users spend 4.8 hours per day on mobile apps, increasing ad inventory significantly.

App install campaigns are becoming more expensive, driving a shift towards retargeting existing users to boost LTV rather than just acquiring new installs.

Ad Fraud Costs Advertisers $136 Billion in 2026

As spend increases, so does fraud. Performance marketers must budget for significant “leakage” due to invalid traffic.

Global ad fraud costs are projected to reach roughly US$136 billion in 2026, rising to US$172 billion by 2028.
Non-human traffic accounts for a significant portion of digital activity, with some sources estimating nearly 20% of programmatic CTV traffic is invalid.
North America is expected to suffer the highest economic losses from ad fraud due to high CPCs and CPMs.

Marketers are responding by using verification tools and shifting budgets to private marketplaces (PMPs) where inventory quality is higher.

Retail Media Growth Statistics and Market Share Trends ⁹

Retail media is the fastest-growing advertising channel, allowing brands to reach shoppers directly at the point of purchase.

Metric	2026 Forecast / Stat
Global Investment	Set to reach US$196.7 billion in 2026, representing 16% of all ad spend.
US Off-Site Spend	Forecast to grow significantly, with Walmart Connect revenue doubling to US$6.2 billion by 2026.
Market Share	Retail media will overtake combined linear and connected TV spend in 2026.
India Growth	Retail media in India is forecast to rise 25% in 2026, reaching nearly US$3.4 billion.

Nearly 80% of major retailers now operate a media network, monetising their first-party shopper data to offer closed-loop attribution to performance advertisers.

Video Marketing & Consumption ¹⁰

Video content is the preferred format for consumers, driving higher engagement and recall.

Digital video ad spending is projected to surpass $120 billion in 2026.
91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
Videos on landing pages can increase conversion rates by over 80%.
Vertical video formats receive 15% higher completion rates than horizontal videos on mobile.

Video Ad Spend Share by Device

Device Type	Share of Spend
Mobile	65%
Desktop	12%
Connected TV (CTV)	23%

Short-form video is essential for capturing attention in a crowded digital feed.

CRO Benchmarks: How Your Conversion Rates Compare ¹¹

Driving traffic is useless without conversions, making CRO a top priority for performance teams.

The average Google Ads conversion rate across all industries is 7.52%.

Top-performing industries like Automotive Repair achieve conversion rates of 14.67% or higher.

Google Ads average CVR has increased by 6.84% year over year.

The average Facebook Ads conversion rate is 7.72%, with Restaurants & Food leading at 18.25%.

Average cost per lead is $70.11 on Google Ads and $27.66 on Facebook Ads.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Trends ¹²

Rising competition and privacy changes are driving up the cost of acquiring new customers.

Customer acquisition costs have risen by 60% over the last five years.
The average CAC for the B2B technology sector is approximately $230.
Retail and e-commerce brands face an average CAC of $10 to $25 per customer.
Organic acquisition channels effectively lower overall blended CAC by 40%.

Brands are combating rising costs by focusing on increasing customer retention rates.

SEO Performance Statistics: Rankings, Traffic, and AI Overviews ¹³

Organic search remains a vital channel for lowering blended costs and building long-term authority.

53% of all trackable website traffic comes from organic search.
The #1 result in Google gets an average click-through rate of 27.6%.
AI Overviews (AIO) now appear in nearly 40% of complex search queries, changing click patterns.
Pages that load in 1 second convert 3x higher than pages that load in 5 seconds.

Integrating SEO with paid strategies ensures maximum visibility on search engine results pages.

B2B Marketing Stats: LinkedIn Revenue Hits $10 Billion

B2B marketers face longer sales cycles and require different strategies than B2C counterparts.

LinkedIn advertising revenue is expected to exceed $10 billion in 2026.
B2B buyers consume an average of 13 pieces of content before choosing a vendor.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) delivers a higher ROI than other marketing activities for 76% of B2B marketers.
White papers and case studies are the most effective content types for B2B lead generation.

Top B2B Content Channels

Channel	Effectiveness Rating
LinkedIn	High
Email	High
Webinars	Medium-High
Twitter/X	Low

Building trust through educational content is the primary driver of B2B conversions.

User Generated Content (UGC) Impact ¹⁴

Authentic content created by users outperforms polished studio content in many performance campaigns.

Ads featuring user-generated content result in 73% more positive comments.
79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
Websites with UGC galleries see a 29% increase in time spent on site.
UGC-based ads achieve a 4x higher click-through rate than traditional ads.

Encouraging customers to share their experiences creates a powerful library of high-performing assets.

Audio Advertising Statistics and Listener Engagement Benchmarks ¹⁵

Audio ads offer a captive audience and high engagement rates for performance brands.

Podcast advertising revenue is projected to hit $2.6 billion in the US by 2026.
60% of podcast listeners have bought something from a podcast ad.
Host-read ads achieve 50% higher brand recall than pre-recorded spots.
The number of podcast listeners globally will exceed 500 million this year.

Audio allows brands to reach consumers during screen-free moments like commuting or exercising.

Key Takeaways: Where to Invest Your Ad Budget

Performance marketing is no longer optional. Brands allocating budgets to measurable advertising channels are winning in 2026.

Programmatic ad buying now controls 91% of display spend. Customer acquisition costs jumped 60% in five years, making first-party data strategies essential.

Success demands smarter spending, not bigger budgets.

Which performance marketing channel will you prioritise for maximum return on ad spend?

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Steven Allen