Retail media and digital advertising: Meta to outpace Google by 2026

An article by Jean Michel De Marchi and Sophie Baqué

Ajouter mind Retail à vos sources

Publication

27 April 2026 à 16h24

Reading time

2 minutes

Publication: 27 April 2026 à 16h24

Reading time: 2 minutes

The world’s advertising duopoly is about to experience a historic shift. According to Emarketer forecasts, Meta should snatch Google, the advertising leader in net revenue by the end of 2026, driven by insolent growth and a massive integration of AI.

An article by Jean Michel De Marchi and Sophie Baqué

Ajouter mind Retail à vos sources

Publication

27 April 2026 à 16h24

Reading time

2 minutes

Publication: 27 April 2026 à 16h24

Reading time: 2 minutes

Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period

You have access to our content for 15 days

Explore the mind Retail subscription

According to Emarketer, Meta is set to reach US$243 billion in global net advertising revenue this year, surpassing Google with US$240 billion. This calculation in “net revenue” is crucial: to compare the two giants, Google’s gross revenue (US$301 billion in 2025) is stripped of traffic acquisition costs (TAC), meaning about 30% paid back to third-party publishers. Conversely, Meta operates on proprietary platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp) and therefore captures the whole valu

…

Do you have information to share with us?

Article authors

Featured image of the article Jean Michel De Marchi

Jean Michel De Marchi

Featured image of the article Jean Michel De Marchi

Featured image of the article Sophie Baqué

Sophie Baqué Chief Editor of mind Retail

Featured image of the article Sophie Baqué

Tags

Our other services

mind Research

Strategic Intelligence: Tailored research and market analysis services to power your insights and back your strategic decisions.

See more

mind Days

Networking & Events: Half-day conferences covering key industry topics and open to the entire ecosystem.

See more

What you absolutely must read this week

The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.

Facing SharkNinja’s hegemony, Carrefour and Darty gain ground on TikTok Shop

While Sephora follows in Ulta's footsteps on TikTok Shop in the US, mind Retail analyzed sellers performance in Q2 2026. Based on exclusive data from Lengow and Kalodata, this European market...

7 September 2026

Fnac Darty to launch Wero on its e-commerce sites

According to our information, Fnac Darty is about to deploy European payment solution Wero, based on account-to-account instant transfers, on its e-commerce sites. Already active in Germany at...

4 September 2026

Why Shein emits twice as much CO2 as Inditex for equivalent revenue

On the occasion of an IPO, Shein revealed a carbon footprint of 25.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2025, up by 20% compared to a reference year. For an equivalent sales level, the fast...

3 September 2026

Lidl’s owner continues cloud services offensive

With €2.2 billion in cloud revenue and growth 3 times faster than the rest of the business, Schwarz Group continues a technological shift. Between investments in its own data centres, buyouts in...

1 September 2026

Most viewed articles of the month on mind Retail

What readers clicked on the most last month.

In the category

What readers clicked on the most last month.

1

Electronic shelf labels: why the US regulator threatens rollout

In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission has just required full transparency on the use of pricing algorithms based on personal data, under threat of penalties. In this regulatory framework...

21 August 2026

2

E-commerce: click-through rate down by 5.4% since Google AIO launch in France

mind Retail has gained access to exclusive Ahrefs figures on the impact of Google "AI Overviews" responses for the e-commerce sector. Launched on July 22, 2026, in France as part of AI Mode, these...

20 August 2026

3

Which 3 retailers structured their AI governance this summer?

This summer, Target, PVH Corp and B&M simultaneously reinforced their executive teams with the creation of dedicated AI roles. A move marking the shift from experimentation to the...

17 August 2026

4

Albertsons says its customers are buying more thanks to AI agents

Through its conversational assistant, the US grocery retailer is recording double-digit increases in e-commerce baskets. Eager to maximise their potential, it is changing tack and rolling out a...

18 August 2026

5

From ChatGPT Ads to Amazon Alexa for Shopping: advertising in LLMs scales up in Europe

This summer, OpenAI successively rolled out its ChatGPT Ads platform in the UK and in 30 European countries. From formats used, CPM levels notably for FMCG products and the new role of GEO...

27 August 2026

6

Retail media & LLMs: navigating intent-driven and custom experiences

From store aisles to ChatGPT Ads placements, retail media is shifting away from traditional slots, formats and keywords toward intent-based targeting. Driven by lower access costs to LLMs, full...

31 August 2026