DAAT and Kantar Revise Thailand's 2026 Digital Ad Spend to +0.3% (THB 32,339 Million)

Thailand's digital advertising spend is now expected to grow 0.3% in 2026 to about THB 32,339 million, according to an October update from the Digital Advertising Association (Thailand) (DAAT) and Kantar. That reverses the association's early-2026 forecast of a 0.3% decline, which Bangkok Biz News noted would have been the first negative year in 14 years. The update, released after the first nine months of 2026, shows Meta still taking the largest share at 25% with TikTok one point behind at 24%, while Display, Online Video, YouTube and LINE are all forecast to shrink by double digits.

What DAAT and Kantar revised in October 2026

Marketing Oops reported on 3 October 2026 that DAAT and Kantar had released updated figures on Thai digital ad spending for 2026 (BE 2569) after nine months of data. Earlier in the year the two organisations had forecast the market would slow to -0.3%. The October update puts full-year growth at +0.3%, closing 2026 at roughly THB 32,339 million.

Bangkok Biz News (Krungthep Turakij), reporting on the same briefing on 3 October 2026, gave the same direction of change and a rounded total of THB 32.3 billion. It wrote that DAAT's early-year projection would have been the first negative year in 14 years, and it named the government's "Thai Chuay Thai Plus" 60/40 co-payment scheme as the key factor that helped consumer spending and kept digital ad budgets from falling.

Kantar Thailand's Head of New Vertical Growth, นงนุช พ่วงพงษ์, was quoted by Bangkok Biz News as saying that Thai digital ad spend grew at double-digit rates for 14 years until it levelled off during the Covid-19 pandemic and the past two to three years, and that growth has been in single digits from 2024 to 2026 (BE 2567 to 2569).

Platform shares and growth in 2026

Both reports agree on the headline split. Marketing Oops wrote that Meta holds the largest share of spend at 25% and TikTok has moved up to 24%, which it linked to the growing role of social video and content-led marketing. It listed Social, E-Commerce and Native Advertising as the channels growing at double-digit rates, and Display (-24%), Online Video (-17%), YouTube (-15%) and LINE (-15%) as those forecast to fall.

Bangkok Biz News published the fuller platform breakdown. The table below shows the ten lines it listed for 2026, with forecast spend, share of the total and year-on-year change. The percentage changes for Display, Online Video, YouTube and LINE, and the shares for Meta and TikTok, match the Marketing Oops report.

Bangkok Biz News said the remainder covers other items such as affiliate marketing, X (Twitter) ads and live commerce. By Relevant Audience's arithmetic, the ten listed lines add up to about THB 31,436 million, leaving roughly THB 900 million for those other items. That calculation is not part of DAAT's release.

Reading the platform numbers

The table shows three things. First, Meta and TikTok together account for 49% of Thai digital ad spend, and with YouTube the three platforms take more than half, as Bangkok Biz News noted. Second, the gap between Meta and TikTok works out to about THB 378 million on these figures, and the two are moving in opposite directions: Meta -4%, TikTok +16%. Third, every video-led line outside TikTok is shrinking. YouTube is forecast at -15% and Online Video at -17%.

Search is forecast at THB 1,594 million, a 5% share, down 2%. Neither source explains what DAAT includes in "Search" or splits it by engine, so it is not possible to say from these reports how Google search advertising specifically is moving.

Which industries are spending more, and which are cutting

Bangkok Biz News listed the ten largest-spending categories for 2026. Skincare is first by a wide margin at THB 6,339 million, up 19%. It is followed by communications and telecom (THB 2,374 million, -9%), non-alcoholic drinks (THB 2,183 million, -3%), dairy products (THB 2,159 million, +1%), automotive (THB 2,037 million, -21%), retail (THB 1,732 million, +2%), cosmetics (THB 1,185 million, -8%), real estate (THB 1,138 million, -3%), hair care (THB 1,058 million, +39%) and restaurants (THB 1,026 million, -8%).

The two reports label the fourth-largest category differently. Bangkok Biz News calls it dairy products, while Marketing Oops' list of top spenders names FMCG in that slot. Neither report explains the difference.

Marketing Oops listed the categories showing continued growth as medical and health (+58%), hair care (+39%), oral care (+31%) and skincare (+19%). Both reports list the same categories cutting ad budgets: alcoholic drinks (-53%), fuel stations (-44%), vitamins and supplements (-36%), automotive (-21%), banks (-20%) and pharmaceuticals (-11%).

What DAAT's president said about where the money is going

DAAT President โศรดา ศรประสิทธิ์ said in both reports that the figures show a change in how the industry grows rather than simply whether the market is growing or slowing. Her point was that money has not left digital but is moving into an ecosystem that connects media, content, creators, commerce, data and technology more systematically. Marketing Oops framed this as a shift from a "digital advertising economy" to a "digital marketing economy".

Both reports also cite a data point from earlier in the year: 92% of people in the industry were already using AI tools. DAAT's view, as reported, is that AI lets the industry produce content faster and in larger volumes, so the scarce resource is no longer content but attention. The DAAT president said the task now is to design a marketing system in which creativity, content, creators, data, technology and commerce work together, rather than simply adding budget to digital channels.

Bangkok Biz News also quoted the briefing as saying that clients use digital advertising for three jobs (brand awareness, brand consideration and lead generation), and that the rise of AI and the move by more clients to in-house teams are changing how digital advertising work is done.

What the sources did not say

Several gaps are worth knowing before using these figures in a plan. Neither report gives the 2025 base figure or the first-half 2026 actuals behind the forecast. Neither explains DAAT's methodology or whether it changed between the early-year and October forecasts. Neither defines what sits inside "Social", "Creative" or "Search". Marketing Oops lists Native Advertising as a double-digit grower but neither report gives its value or growth rate. A DAAT first-party press release for the October update was not available on the association's website at the time of writing; its Industry Data page lists earlier press reports, the most recent being mid-year 2025.

What this means for Thai marketers

This section is analysis based on the DAAT/Kantar figures as reported.

The total barely moved, so the useful signal is in the mix. A market growing 0.3% while TikTok grows 16%, Social 29% and E-Commerce 28% means budget is being taken from somewhere else, and the table shows where: Display, Online Video, YouTube and LINE. For 2027 planning, teams that still allocate by habit to display and pre-roll should ask whether that weighting matches where Thai advertisers as a whole are now spending.

TikTok at 24% is close enough to Meta that it should be planned as a core channel, not a test line. Brands that run most paid social through Meta can compare their own split against the 25/24 market picture. Teams building that plan can look at TikTok advertising and wider paid social campaigns side by side rather than in separate budgets.

Search at 5% share and -2% looks small next to social, but the figure measures spend, not results. Search ads respond to demand people already express, while social and video work earlier in the journey. A flat search line in an industry report says nothing about whether a specific brand is under-investing; that answer sits in impression share and conversion data inside the account, which a Google Ads review can show.

The industry split matters for anyone selling into health and beauty. Skincare at THB 6,339 million, hair care at +39%, oral care at +31% and medical and health at +58% point to a crowded auction in those categories during 2026, which can push up costs per result. Advertisers in automotive, banking or alcohol, where peers are cutting, may face less competition for the same inventory.

FAQ: Thailand digital ad spend 2026

How much will Thailand spend on digital advertising in 2026?

DAAT and Kantar now forecast about THB 32,339 million for 2026, a 0.3% increase on 2025, according to their October update reported by Marketing Oops on 3 October 2026. Bangkok Biz News reported the same figure rounded to THB 32.3 billion.

Why did DAAT change its forecast from -0.3% to +0.3%?

Bangkok Biz News named the government's Thai Chuay Thai Plus 60/40 co-payment scheme as the key factor behind the turnaround, saying it helped support consumer spending. Marketing Oops said only that the October data showed a better overall picture than the early-year forecast.

Is TikTok bigger than Meta in Thai digital advertising?

No, not yet: Meta holds a 25% share with about THB 8,157 million and TikTok 24% with about THB 7,779 million in the 2026 forecast. TikTok is growing 16% while Meta is down 4%, according to the figures reported by Bangkok Biz News.

Which digital channels are shrinking in Thailand in 2026?

Display (-24%), Online Video (-17%), YouTube (-15%) and LINE (-15%) are forecast to fall most, according to DAAT and Kantar. Search (-2%), Creative (-2%) and Meta (-4%) are also down slightly.

Does the report break out Google search spending?

No, the reports give one "Search" line of THB 1,594 million (5% share, -2%) without splitting it by search engine or defining what it includes.

If your 2027 media plan still mirrors last year's split, the DAAT numbers are a good reason to revisit it. Relevant Audience can help compare your channel mix against where Thai ad budgets are moving and test what that means for your own results.