Wasted programmatic ad spend surged to $26.8B in 2025, up 34% from 2023, says ANA report. Marketers urged to demand transparency and accountability

Programmatic advertising, once celebrated for automating ad placements and increasing efficiency, is now losing value at an alarming rate.

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A new report by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) reveals that wasted spend in programmatic media buying has jumped by 34% in just two years—rising from $20 billion in 2023 to a staggering $26.8 billion in 2025.

Published on the ANA’s official website, the report underscores deep-rooted inefficiencies in the programmatic ecosystem, despite growing efforts from brands and agencies to optimize their media spend.

“Even with greater awareness and improved tools, too much ad spend is still being siphoned off due to opaque supply chains, invalid traffic, and misaligned incentives,” the report noted.

The study paints a troubling picture for marketers who rely heavily on programmatic channels to reach targeted audiences at scale.

Despite incremental progress in transparency and data verification, the overall volume of ad dollars lost continues to grow

Experts warn this suggests that surface-level improvements aren’t enough to curb systemic issues.

The ANA emphasized the urgent need for advertisers and their partners to scrutinize supply chains, demand clearer reporting from platforms, and reassess vendor relationships.

“Advertisers must insist on accountability and transparency at every stage of the programmatic process. The cost of inaction is simply too high,” the report concluded.

This sharp rise in wasted spend comes at a time when digital advertising faces increasing scrutiny over ad fraud, viewability, and brand safety.

The programmatic sector, while efficient in many ways, continues to operate through complex layers that often obscure where money truly goes.

The rise from $20B to $26.8B in programmatic ad waste is a wake-up call for the advertising industry.

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As digital platforms grow in complexity, marketers must pivot from blind automation toward measurable transparency—or risk watching more billions disappear.

Source: Read more at thisdaylive.com