The advertising market: size and growth
In 2025 Romania confirmed its status as a mature digital market in Central and Eastern Europe. Digital advertising passed the €1.2 billion mark and is growing twice as fast as the EU average, driven by the rapid digitalisation of SMEs and smartphone penetration reaching 89% of the urban population.
Growth drivers in 2026: E-commerce generated 41% of digital ad spend. The financial and real estate sectors increased their budgets by 28% and 22% respectively. HoReCa has recovered since the pandemic and remains in the top 5 categories by advertising volume.
Romania has the highest digital advertising growth rate in Central Europe, ahead of Poland (+11%), Czechia (+9%) and Hungary (+8%). Internet penetration of 85.3% and a young, digital-native population are the main structural drivers.
Digital channel adoption in Romania
Data from a survey of 847 Romanian companies with active digital budgets shows a clear shift compared with 2024:
- #1Google Ads (Search + Display)87%
- #2Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram)79%
- #3SEO (organic optimisation)62%
- #4Email marketing58%
- #5TikTok Ads41% (+23pp vs 2024)
- #6LinkedIn Ads34%
- #7YouTube Ads29%
- #8Influencer marketing26%
- #9Programmatic display18%
- #10AI search optimisation (AEO/GEO)22% (+19pp, the fastest)
TikTok Ads surged by 23 percentage points compared with 2024, overtaking LinkedIn for the first time in Romania. The fastest emerging channel remains AI search optimisation: brands investing in AEO/GEO now are winning positions they will hold for years.
Average budgets and spending in Romania in 2026
The median monthly digital marketing budget for SMEs rose from RON 2,100 in 2024 to RON 3,200 in 2026, a 52% increase in two years, driven by growing awareness of measurable ROI compared with traditional advertising.
The top 7 trends defining 2026
AI search optimisation
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews are changing how people find information. Brands that appear in AI answers build long-term authority.
Short-form video dominates
Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts deliver the lowest CPM and the highest organic reach. Brands with short-form video content gain +67% engagement compared with static images.
Performance Max dominates PPC
Google PMax and Meta Advantage+ automate optimisation. Agencies that know how to guide AI with quality data are pulling ahead of those still working manually.
First-party data becomes essential
A cookieless world. Companies with a CRM, an email list, a CDP and CAPI integration perform; those without their own data lose out to algorithms that have nothing to optimise with.
Social commerce accelerates
TikTok Shop, Instagram Shopping, Facebook Marketplace: direct sales through social media grew by 340% YoY in Romania. Fashion and beauty is the leading category.
Local SEO gains ground
Searches for ‘near me’ or ‘[service] + [city]’ have grown by 89% since 2022. An optimised Google Business Profile is becoming a major differentiator for local businesses.
Email marketing makes a comeback
Average email ROI: 42:1 (DMA 2025). As ad costs rise, email is back as the most profitable channel for retention. Average open rate in Romania: 23.4%, higher than the European average.
The impact of AI on marketing in Romania
AI has moved from buzzword to genuine working tool. 67% of marketing agencies in Romania use AI tools in their day-to-day workflow, up from 23% in 2023.
AI does not replace strategy: it accelerates it. Agencies that adopt AI gain 25-40% in efficiency and can deliver more with the same team. But AI without clear strategic direction produces generic content that does not convert.
Performance by industry in Romania in 2026
Forecasts for 2027
Based on current trends and macro data, here is what we expect for the Romanian market in 2027:
AI search will become a major channel. We estimate that 30-40% of informational searches will be answered directly by AI in 2027, with no click through to a website. Brands that do not invest in AEO/GEO now will lose significant top-of-funnel visibility.
TikTok will overtake Meta among under-35s. If the platform remains available, TikTok will become the second most used advertising channel in Romania for consumer and entertainment products, with budgets shifting naturally away from Meta.
First-party data becomes a defining competitive advantage. Companies with an integrated CRM, a qualified email list and their own behavioural data will pay 30-50% less per conversion than competitors who depend on platform audiences.
The digital marketing services market will exceed €400M. Growth in agencies, freelancers and SaaS marketing tools will continue, fuelled by rising demand from SMEs bringing digital in-house.
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