The automotive category will see the largest absolute decline in advertising spend this year, investing $11.0bn less than in 2019, according to the latest WARC Data forecasts based on data from 19 product categories and 100 markets worldwide.
Retail follows close behind, spending $10.5bn less this year. Transport & tourism reports the biggest proportional fall in advertising spend, down 33.8% equivalent to a loss of $8.4bn.
Taken together, these three categories alone account for nearly one-half of 2020's total decline in investment.
Total advertising spend is expected to fall by 10.2% to $557.3bn this year, with it taking...