A new report from Emarketer expects that retailers and automakers will cut the most ad spending this year, slowing overall growth in digital ad spending. That percentage is down from Emarketer’s previous guidance put out in 2024 that U.S. digital ad spending would grow 11.5% this year. Automakers are also investing their ad spend into performance-driven channels like search, wrote Oscar Orozco, forecasting director at Emarketer. Now, the firm estimates that retailers will spend $92.64 billion on advertising this year, representing only a 7.4% year-over-year growth from 2024’s total ad spend. While retailers are slashing their ad spend, their own advertising businesses stand to benefit from an economic downturn.