Mint Explainer | India’s advertising pivot: What changed in the past year

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s advertising market has undergone a decisive shift over the past year, with digital platforms emerging as the dominant growth engine while television advertising is losing momentum. Latest data from TAM AdEx shows a 149% surge in digital ad impressions from January to September 2025 compared to the same period last year.

This marks a sharp turnaround from the relatively stagnant growth of just 7% seen throughout 2024. In contrast, television advertising is experiencing a decline, with ad volumes dropping by 10% in the first half of 2025. This indicates a shift in how brands allocate their marketing budgets, moving away from traditional channels toward digital platforms.

So, what’s driving this change, and what does it mean for brands, media platforms, and advertising agencies? Mint explains. The latest surge reflects digital’s evolution from a supplementary medium to the primary growth engine for advertisers, particularly in e-commerce and services-led categories. “A lot of these new age startups that are coming, they almost 100% live on social media," said Naresh Gupta, managing partner at The Bang in The Middle, an advertising agency.

He also said that many have already decided that their business and our growth will come from being on these platforms. According to TAM AdEx, e-commerce–online shopping emerged as the single largest digital advertising category in 2025, recording 96% growth over the year-ago period. Services, education, software and fashion-linked ecommerce categories also climbed the rankings, underscoring how brands chasing performance, scale, and faster conversions are leaning heavily on digital platforms.