Digital ad impressions grows 2X in H1 2025; EComm tops category list: TAM

Digital ad impressions in India doubled in H1 2025 versus H1 2024, led by e-commerce and services sectors. Instagram dominated with 63% share, display ads captured 90%, and programmatic accounted for 95%, highlighting a maturing, data-driven digital ecosystem.

By Yukta Raj| Sep 24, 2025 1:36 PM

Digital ad impressions grows 2X in H1 2025; EComm tops category list: TAM

Instagram dominated the publisher landscape, accounting for 63% of impressions, followed by Facebook, while the top five web publishers together commanded 92% of total ad impressions.

India’s digital advertising ecosystem witnessed a significant surge in the first half of 2025, with digital ad impressions recorded 2X growth as compared to the same period in 2024, signaling accelerated momentum in online marketing across sectors, reveals TAM AdEx-Half Yearly Advertising Report on Digital.

As per the report, the services sector retained its top position with 45%, capturing more than half of the total digital ad impression share, demonstrating its continued reliance on online platforms to reach consumers. Meanwhile, personal care/personal hygiene, durables, and food & beverages emerged as new entrants in the top 10 sectors, reflecting growing advertiser interest in lifestyle, household, and FMCG segments. E-commerce, particularly online shopping, ascended to first position among categories, garnering a 12% share of impressions, up from its earlier position, and marking it as the fastest-growing segment in absolute terms.

Among top categories, retail outlets for clothing, textiles, and fashion also debuted in the top 10, underscoring shifting consumer attention and brand focus during the first half of the year. Overall, the top 10 categories contributed 41% of digital ad impressions, highlighting concentrated advertiser activity. In terms of growth, AV auxiliaries led the surge with a 13-fold increase, followed by clothing and fashion retail outlets, which saw a 10-fold growth in impressions.

The top 10 exclusive advertisers spanned global and domestic players, including Adobe Software India, Blink Commerce, Grammarly Inc, Chess Personality, Dubai Tourism Board, Interviewbit Software Services LP, Hostinger International, Goenka Kachave LLP, Lenovo, and Mad About Sports, while more than 1.1 lakh advertisers participated in digital advertising during H1 2025, reflecting the expanding reach of online campaigns.

Instagram dominated the publisher landscape, accounting for 63% of impressions, followed by Facebook, while the top five web publishers together commanded 92% of total ad impressions. Display advertising remained the preferred format, contributing 90% of total impressions, with programmatic advertising leading promotion methods at 95%, far outpacing ad networks (2%).

The data suggests advertisers are increasingly optimizing campaigns across platforms like Instagram and prioritizing sectors with high consumer traction, setting the stage for continued growth in India’s digital marketing landscape.