January 8, 2026
Chris Riedy
Chief Revenue Officer at Ibotta
Findings from Ibotta’s latest research reveal an industry demanding outcomes: marketers need clearer signals, stronger verification, and faster access to actionable insights. As these expectations reshape how brands plan and invest, several themes emerge about where digital advertising is heading in 2026.
1. Growth will consolidate around channels that can prove outcomes.
Digital advertising is projected to grow steadily through 2033, while most traditional channels remain flat or decline. The acceleration is happening in performance-driven environments like retail media, search, social and digital video. In 2026, provable performance becomes the deciding factor in budget allocation.
2. Retail media becomes a centerpiece of performance marketing; not because it’s trendy, but because it delivers measurable results.
Retail media’s rapid rise reflects a deeper shift: brands want channels tied directly to sales, loyalty and verified conversion events. Insider forecasts show “Digital Pure Players” growing nearly 10% in 2025, with retail search projected to grow nearly 14% in the U.S. Advertisers are prioritizing platforms that blend trusted environments with closed-loop measurement.
3. Mid-campaign optimization is a non-negotiable.
Advertisers expect real-time or near-real-time feedback loops that let them reallocate spend, suppress underperforming tactics and reinforce what’s working while the campaign is live. Platforms that cannot support in-flight decisioning will fall behind in 2026.
4. Verified incrementality becomes the most valuable metric in digital media.
Marketers are increasingly skeptical of proxy metrics and siloed measurement. More than half (51%) say they lack confidence in their ability to measure incrementality today, and 67% cite delays in accessing real-time data. That gap creates a major innovation opportunity heading into 2026.
5. Trusted third-party measurement becomes a competitive differentiator.
As more budgets move into retail media and performance channels, marketers expect standardized, unbiased measurement. Platforms that stop grading their own homework and embrace verification will earn repeat investment.
6. Flexible channels outperform static ones as consumer behavior continues to shift.
Audiences are moving fluidly across commerce, social, search, CTV and creator ecosystems. This fragmentation rewards channels that allow rapid pacing adjustments, cross-platform measurement and adaptable planning. Advertisers are prioritizing tools and partners that help them follow consumers, not trap them in a single environment.
7. The outcome economy becomes the dominant mindset.
Across channels, the expectation is the same: show me the impact. Whether budgets move toward retail media, search, social, CTV or emerging formats, marketers are planning around verifiable results — not media hype cycles. Growth follows performance, and in 2026 the market becomes more efficient at rewarding the channels that can prove it.
The next era of digital advertising will not be defined by which channel rises, but by which platforms deliver verified results. This is where Ibotta is positioned to lead. By developing solutions like LiveLift — which provides mid-flight incremental sales insights and third-party validation through partnerships with Circana and ABCS — Ibotta directly addresses the industry's core challenges. In 2026, Ibotta will help bring the outcome economy to life by setting a new standard for performance, ensuring growth follows verifiable results, and establishing our platform as a trusted solution for brands chasing truth, not just trends.
