While retailers are slashing their ad spend, their own advertising businesses stand to benefit from an economic downturn. Retail media spend is projected to grow 18.7% year-over-year, reaching $60 million in 2025, according to Emarketer. Retail media is also expected to continue with double-digit growth in the coming years.

Emarketer also singled out the travel and media & entertainment categories where it expects ad spending cuts this year. The travel industry fared better than Emarketer expected in 2024 but is now expected to dip. Travel will bring in $8.74 billion this year, representing a 6.1% year-over-year growth, down from a previous forecast of 7.9%. 

Tariffs have also trickled down to media and entertainment companies that rely on tariff-affected advertisers. Emarketer previously forecast that media and entertainment companies would bump digital ad budgets by 15% year-over-year to $32.37 billion in 2025. Now, Emarketer expects an 11.5% increase in ad spend, equivalent to $31.89 billion.

Streamers in particular are rethinking ad spend to find subscribers, Orozco wrote.

“Netflix, Disney+, and Warner Bros. Discovery are locked in fierce competition for subscribers,” he wrote in the report. “And while ad budgets remain active, they are increasingly focused on ROI-driven digital campaigns, promotions, and partnerships rather than blanket marketing pushes.”