Did you know that 63% of businesses have increased their digital marketing budget in the past few years?
The digital marketing scene in New York reveals staggering numbers that demand attention.
U.S. digital ad spending will hit $324.9 billion in 2025, with New York City emerging as a key player that propels development.
Your marketing budget comparison with other NYC businesses might interest you. Digital channels have become the cornerstone of marketing strategies.
The global digital marketing industry is on track to hit $740.3 billion, while the United States keeps its crown as the largest digital advertisement spender with an estimated $317 billion.
Social media ad spending alone will cross $103.07 billion.
Here’s the truth: if you’re not strategically planning your digital marketing investments in New York, your competitors will take your spot and your clients in a heartbeat.
Are you trying to improve your digital marketing strategy but don’t know where to start? Let us help.
Retail Media Advertising
Retail media networks have become a powerhouse in digital advertising. These networks transform how brands connect with consumers during their shopping trips. This fast-moving channel combines targeted advertising with commerce data to deliver impressive results for marketers in New York and beyond.
Retail media advertising ad spend in New York
New York City leads retail media investment and reflects broader national trends with skyrocketing spending.
The growth shows no signs of slowing down.
US retail media ad spending will increase by 88.5% from 2024 to 2028 and reach $97.90 billion. This explosive growth makes retail media one of the fastest-growing channels across all media formats.
Amazon dominates the retail media ad spend by a large margin. Its ad platform generates $60 billion in US retail media ad revenue in 2025.
This dwarfs competitors like Walmart and Target. These platforms give New York marketers valuable opportunities to reach consumers at significant decision-making moments.
New York-based retailers and brands can tap into high-margin revenue streams through retail media.
Retail media networks offer retailers an attractive economic opportunity. They can monetize shopper touchpoints and intelligence with typical operating margins between 50% and 70%, compared to historically single-digit margins.
Retail media advertising growth trends
Retail media has expanded beyond on-site placements quickly.
Off-site retail media ad spend will grow 42.1% in 2025, almost three times faster than on-site spending.
Connected TV has emerged as a dynamic growth segment.
Retail media ad spending on CTV will increase by 43.1% this year and reach $4.86 billion. Marketers want to extend retail media’s reach and effect beyond traditional e-commerce environments.
Physical stores remain vital for consumer spending. New York marketers face both challenges and opportunities, as foot traffic remains substantial despite digital acceleration.
Spending across retail media networks continues to unite.
A Bain & Company survey found that 50% of US advertisers plan to unite spending with select retail media networks. They prefer to work directly with no more than six networks simultaneously.
New York marketers should choose their retail media partners carefully rather than spread investments too thin.
Retail media advertising ROI and effectiveness
ROI measurement serves as the lifeblood of retail media’s appeal to marketers. Incrementality testing proves retail media’s value.
Brands advertising on retailer platforms saw a 59% increase in organic share of sales within two weeks.
New York marketers find compelling evidence of retail media’s effectiveness in these performance indicators.
Recent research found that retail websites are 50% more effective at driving shopper responses than social media. This highlights the channel’s power to influence purchase decisions.
The industry needs standardized measurement approaches. New York marketers struggle to compare performance across different retail media networks without consistent metrics.
Search Advertising
Search advertising remains the backbone of digital marketing strategies for New York businesses.
Billions of searches happen each day, and paid search campaigns give businesses direct access to customers who actively look for products and services.
Search advertising ad spend in New York
The search advertising market keeps growing nationwide. U.S. search ad spending will grow by 11.1% this year to reach $124.59 billion.
New York, as the country’s economic center, takes up much of this spending while businesses compete for visibility in one of the most profitable markets.
Google rules with an 89.89% market share in search volume as of this year. The market is changing, though. Google’s share of the U.S. search advertising market will drop below 50% in 2025, the first time since tracking started in 2008.
This big change shows how retail media networks like Amazon have grown. Amazon now holds 22.3% of total U.S. search ad spend.
Different platforms have different costs. Amazon’s search ads cost more per click ($1.50) than Google’s ($1.16).
Amazon can charge more because its users are more likely to buy, making these ads valuable for New York retailers who want to reach ready-to-buy shoppers.
Search advertising growth trends
AI looks set to change everything. AI search ad spending will double between 2025 and 2026 and will reach $25 billion by 2029.
New York marketers see this as both a challenge and a chance as advertising models move beyond simple keyword bidding.
Users now search differently across platforms. Google leads in search volume, but people use specific platforms for different searches.
Young users often skip Google and go straight to TikTok and Reddit for certain questions. New York businesses need to spread their search strategies across multiple platforms.
Retail media search now competes directly with Google.
Amazon’s U.S. search ad revenues are growing faster than Google’s: 17.6% compared to 7.6% this year. Marketers value reaching shoppers closer to where they buy.
Search advertising ROI and effectiveness
Google’s Economic Impact Report backs up the financial benefits.
Businesses make $2 in revenue for every $1 spent on Google Ads. This 2:1 return explains why 72% of Google Ads marketers want to increase their PPC budgets.
Search ads grab user attention at key decision points. The top three ad spots get about 40% of clicks for high commercial intent searches. New York businesses can catch potential customers right when they’re looking to buy.
Mobile searches lead to more conversions.
About 70% of mobile searchers call businesses directly from Google Search.
Even better, 70% of mobile searches lead to action within an hour. This shows how ready these searchers are to buy.
Search ads prove their worth in retention too.
When ads stop running, 89% of their traffic doesn’t switch to organic clicks. This shows that brands can’t rely solely on organic search, even after building market position.
Influencer Marketing
The creator economy has changed from a niche marketing tactic into a multi-billion dollar industry that shapes how consumers behave in New York’s competitive marketplace.
Brands now seek authentic connections with audiences through influencer partnerships, which have become vital parts of modern marketing strategies.
Influencer marketing ad spend in New York
US influencer marketing spending will surpass $10 billion in 2025, reaching this milestone a year earlier than expected.
The market shows a strong 15.0% growth rate, adding $1.37 billion and reaching $10.52 billion in total spending.
New York leads this expansion as a global media hub with many influencer marketing agencies serving international brands. The city’s major companies, including fashion houses, financial institutions, and media conglomerates, drive this spending surge.
Instagram and YouTube receive the largest share of creator partnership investments. These platforms attract over $1 billion more in influencer marketing spending than TikTok.
More than half of US marketers will start using influencer marketing on YouTube in 2025. This shows a move toward longer-form, story-driven content.
The creator economy grows fast as consumer behavior changes.
About 58% of U.S. shoppers take action after seeing products on social media. New York businesses can now connect with audiences through trusted voices in the digital world.
Influencer marketing growth trends
Most marketers now include influencer partnerships in their campaigns. This growth extends beyond consumer goods. B2B, fintech, and healthcare sectors now see value in these collaborations.
Instagram remains the most popular channel for influencer marketing worldwide. Short-form videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels show engagement rates of up to 10%. These platforms work well for New York brands targeting younger audiences.
Brands have moved beyond one-off collaborations with creators. Most marketers want to build lasting relationships with creators. Long-term creator relationships have become standard practice.
Influencer marketing ROI and effectiveness
Influencer marketing creates value in multiple ways:
- Higher engagement rates compared to brand-created content.
- Access to niche, highly targeted audiences.
- Authentic product demonstrations and testimonials.
- User-generated content that works across channels.
Trust plays a big role in these results. Recent research shows that 63% of consumers trust influencer recommendations more than traditional brand ads. About 90% of consumers value authenticity when choosing brands. This explains why genuine creator partnerships work better than polished advertisements.
The industry now measures results more precisely. Teams track reach, engagement, and conversions. Most U.S. marketers plan to use influencer marketing in 2025 to boost awareness and social media performance.
New York marketers need both numbers and stories to measure ROI. While data provides clear metrics, influencer content builds long-term brand value that may not show immediate results.
Trying to create a successful influencer campaign but don’t know where to begin? We can help.
Digital Ad Spend by Industry
The battle for consumer attention in New York’s digital world shows clear winners and losers through industry spending patterns.
Different sectors have unique spending priorities that match their market challenges, from major retailers to innovative telecom companies.
Digital ad spend by industry in New York
Retail rules the digital advertising space in New York and nationwide.
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) hold second place but lag far behind retail. The top five big spenders include financial services, automotive, and healthcare. All industries that value each new customer highly.
Telecom companies have boosted their digital advertising presence faster in New York. They now pour money into campaigns about service bundles and 5G connectivity. This matches national trends where telecom leads all industries with 20.9% growth in digital ad spending.
Political advertising creates temporary disruptions in normal spending patterns.
Nowadays, political players join telecoms and financial services as the biggest digital ad investors.
Digital ad spend by industry growth trends
Growth rates in digital channels vary by industry. Telecom leads with 20.9% spending growth, while the ‘other’ category follows at 19.5%, which includes political advertising. Both sectors grow much faster than the market average.
Each industry now shows clear preferences in how it splits spending between search, display, mobile, and social.
Retail, CPG, and media/entertainment companies prefer social network advertising. Tech firms and telecom companies choose display and mobile formats.
Digital ad spend by industry ROI and effectiveness
Industries now look harder at digital spending effectiveness. Investment keeps growing despite measurement doubts, which suggests positive returns across sectors.
Retail media networks help the retail sector most.
Trust issues affect return calculations since consumers trust traditional media ads more than digital ones. Industries that build authentic digital connections can turn this trust gap into an opportunity.
Digital Marketing ROI Benchmarks
Return on investment is the lifeblood of any digital marketing strategy.
New York businesses track ROI metrics to optimize their performance and justify budgets in today’s complex digital world.
Digital marketing ROI benchmarks growth trends
ROI measurement has become more important than ever.
HubSpot’s 2025 State of Marketing report shows that 68% of marketing leaders now list “demonstrating the ROI of marketing efforts” as their main goal, up 20%.
Measurement challenges still exist. About 57% of businesses don’t base marketing budgets on any ROI analysis.
Digital marketing ROI benchmarks effectiveness
Channel effectiveness varies in the digital world.
Influencer marketing brings returns of 650%, with marketers getting $6.50 for every dollar invested. These numbers explain why the influencer sector has grown to $14 billion globally.
A gap exists between what companies want and what they do.
While senior corporate marketers believe successful brands use customer data to guide marketing decisions, some say their organizations’ lack of data sharing hurts ROI measurement.
Get a Custom Digital Marketing Strategy that Improves Your Conversions with Blacksmith
New York’s digital marketing scene shows remarkable growth patterns that require smart budget planning from businesses of all sizes. Digital ad spending will soon reach unprecedented levels.
Brands in New York face both challenges and opportunities as they compete in this increasingly competitive city.
The reality is that understanding everything you need to do with your digital marketing strategy is only the first step if you want to thrive in New York City.
Applying all of your knowledge, A/B testing, and budgeting correctly are all strategies that take a considerable amount of time.
This is time you could be using to work on other aspects of your business that also demand your attention.
So what now?
That’s where we come in. Blacksmith is a premium digital marketing agency with a group of digital marketing professionals ready to create and execute the perfect digital marketing strategy for your business.
Some of our top services also include:
- Web design services for NYC brands
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We’ll create modern and up-to-date strategies tailored to your industry that directly impact how potential clients see your business.
Still unsure if investing in a custom digital marketing service is what your company needs?
Don’t worry, click here to schedule a call with us and we’ll provide you with a free audit of your business and website. This way we can show you all of the areas where your digital marketing strategy is falling short and what we can do to improve it.
