Tech giants' digital ad revenue surges 16% to Rs 55,000 crore in FY23

Digital platforms Google India, Meta India, Amazon India, and Flipkart garnered Rs 55,053 crore in total advertising revenues in the last financial year, posting a 16% increase, and widely surpassing the Rs 40,000 crore earned by the TV broadcast industry in calendar year 2023, showed financial data of these companies sourced from their annual filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Ad revenues of these platforms are on the rise due to the reach and return on investment (ROI) they deliver, said marketing experts.

In the last few years, a major success for these platforms has been allowing small and medium businesses (SMBs) with ad budgets as low as Rs 10,000 to advertise digitally and grow their sales.


Google and Meta, the top two platforms, reported combined ad revenues of Rs 46,348 crore in FY23, marking a 13% rise from Rs 41,115 crore in FY22. The figure topped ad revenues of the entire Indian TV broadcasting industry.

Ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart's combined ad revenues jumped 39% to Rs 8,705 crore in FY23.

While media agency reports forecast a digital ad market size between Rs 60,000 crore and Rs 80,000 crore, industry sources say Google and Facebook earn more than 30% of their ad revenues from SMBs. Small and medium businesses are a key contributor to ad revenues for Amazon and Flipkart as well.

Experts predict bigger ad dollars for the tech giants as users spend more time on social media, content consumption and online shopping.

Digital advertising has become the largest advertising category, surpassing TV advertising, and is expected to surpass ad spending on traditional platforms like TV, print, radio, and outdoor in the near future.

Interactive Avenues CEO Amardeep Singh said ad revenues of the digital platforms are rising because of their expanding reach, return on investment, and for giving SMBs a platform to reach consumers at cost-effective rates.

"Large advertisers are increasing their spending on these platforms because of the reach they provide. Small advertisers, who didn't have an opportunity to advertise, now have platforms to advertise and generate tangible results. Digital advertising also allows businesses to meet their marketing objectives through performance marketing," he added.

Dabur India head of media Rajiv Dubey said the key reason for the robust ad spending on these platforms is the value they offer to advertisers. "Tech giants are seeing a surge in their ad revenue as marketers see value in the return on investment that they deliver. Whether it's Google, Meta, Amazon, or Flipkart, they have an impact on your business as they drive sales directly and indirectly," he noted.

The digital media buying head of a large media agency said video is a key ad revenue driver for Google and Meta. "YouTube is the biggest growth driver for Google, while Meta had to pivot to video ads to shore up its ad revenue," the person said, requesting anonymity.