~ DS Group, WPP Media and MICA’s DCODE 2.0 clocks digital at 60% of India’s adex — retail media near 20%, quick commerce ads up ~50%, CTV heading past ₹8,000 crore ~
Mumbai, September 2026: Digital now takes 60% of India’s advertising market, and the next growth engines are clear: retail media, quick commerce, connected TV and AI. That is the spine of DCODE 2.0 – The Guide to Digital Marketing, the open playbook from DS Group with WPP Media and MICA. India’s total adex is pegged to rise from about ₹1.85 lakh crore in 2025 to around ₹2 lakh crore in 2026, with digital expected to grow 11.1% versus 3.1% for television.
Within digital, retail media already claims nearly 20% of spend, while quick commerce advertising is growing at about 50%. Connected TV advertising is projected to cross ₹8,000 crore in 2026. The sharper point, though, is journey collapse: a shopper can discover on an Instagram Reel, check a YouTube review and buy on quick commerce in the same session.
Rajeev Jain, senior vice president, corporate marketing, DS Group, frames the squeeze: “The consumer journey has become extremely fragmented, while attention spans are reducing day by day. That is the biggest challenge.” Among Gen Z, he notes, more of the path — discover, research, even shop — is completing inside AI platforms. Navin Khemka, president of client solutions at WPP Media, South Asia, says channel-led planning is breaking: “The velocity and collapse of the buying cycle is forcing marketers to rethink channel-led planning… discovery and conversion happen in the same digital session.”
Commerce media is moving closer to the till, but Jain cautions that quick commerce is mainly a sales and conversion surface that can keep a brand visible — not the primary home for purpose or positioning. Owned audiences matter more as brands lean on walled gardens; GEO (generative engine optimisation) rises as search shifts from links to AI answers. DCODE 2.0 estimates about 42 crore Indians (29%) already use AI tools. “AI is helping us execute faster, understand consumers better and optimise more effectively, while the fundamental judgement and creativity behind the brand still remain human,” Jain says.
Marketing take: DCODE 2.0 is less a channel checklist than a warning label — when discovery and purchase share one session, siloed budgets and last-click vanity stop looking like strategy.
