Reliance Retail, Ikea, Vasanth & Co emerge top retail advertisers in 2024: TAM

New Delhi: Reliance Retail emerged as the most dominant advertiser across media platforms in 2024, featuring among the top spenders on television, print, radio, and digital, according to the 2024 TAM AdEx Cross Media Advertising Recap for retail sector. 

While Vasanth & Co led television advertising alongside Reliance Retail, Ikea Services (India) topped the digital charts with a commanding 27% share of impressions.

When it comes to TV ads, despite a 65% jump in TV advertising volumes in 2024 compared to 2020, there was a 10% dip from 2023. The highest quarterly growth was seen in Q3 2024, up 25% from Q1.

Vasanth & Co and Reliance Retail emerged as top advertisers, each holding a 10% share of TV ad volumes.

What stands out is the genre skew. News channels took the lion’s share (49%), especially during prime time (6 PM to 11 PM) followed by general entertainment and music. As per the report, 98% of all retail TV ads were under 40 seconds, indicating a push for tighter messaging.

Print continued to be dominated by retail advertising, with a notable 79% growth in ad space compared to 2020. Compared to 2023, there was a 5% decline in 2024. Quarterly performance also fluctuated, with Q2 and Q3 witnessing dips before a strong rebound in Q4. What’s consistent is the medium’s use case, and that is promotions. 80% of retail print ad space was dedicated to sales promotions, often bulk purchased and times with festive calendars. Among these multiple promotion formats, which likely include bundled discounts or limited-time offers were most prevalent.

As per the report, language and geography played a decisive role. Hindi and English dailies accounted for nearly half of all ad space, and general interest newspapers remained the go-to platforms. South India, particularly cities like Hyderabad and Chennai, emerged as the dominant print advertising zones, cornering 50% of all ad space. 

Reliance Retail and Vishal Mega Mart led in spend on print. This reinforces a trend seen in TV too where southern markets appear far more aggressive in retail advertising spend.

Radio’s growth trajectory over the past four years has been quietly impressive. In 2024, it recorded a 2.36x increase in ad volumes compared to 2020. Unlike print and TV, it showed consistent quarterly growth through the year, especially in Q4 which surged 40% over Q1. The key to radio’s success appears to be localised reach and time-band flexibility. Advertisers targeted afternoon and evening slots, tapping into listenership during commute and leisure windows. Retail categories mirrored TV trends, with fashion and electronics dominating the airwaves. States like Maharashtra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu together made up nearly half the ad volumes, underlining how radio continues to thrive in regional strongholds. Interestingly, the top 10 advertisers together formed only 28% of radio ad volumes, suggesting a more fragmented ad ecosystem compared to TV or digital.

From 2020 to 2023, digital ad impressions for the retail sector skyrocketed over 38 times. In 2024, however, growth plateaued and impressions declined by 12% compared to the previous year. Q2 to Q4 still saw steady growth, pointing to an intra-year recalibration. Retailers in the home interiors and furniture space were the biggest digital spenders, with Ikea alone accounting for 27% of all impressions. Other notable players included Fabindia and Reliance Retail.

According to the report, 78% of digital retail ads were placed programmatically, reflecting how retail brands are chasing performance metrics over mere reach.