SensorTower Articles

Automotive advertisers are shifting budgets toward localized digital acquisition as domestic growth slows. In China, premium NEV brands are gaining app users (NIO +25%, Li Auto +31% YoY), exports are NEV-led, and Geely’s overseas ad impressions jumped 572%, with Latin America near 70%. Japan rewards ecosystem engagement: Toyota’s moviLink builds cross-app reach, while BYD’s strong website affinity with Tesla signals in-market EV shoppers. Korea’s EV registrations surged 113.6%, intensifying competition; Hyundai leads ad impressions. India’s premium channels gain traction—NEXA visitors +24%—and premium/EV models shift more impressions to X. Prioritize market-specific channels, audience overlap, and full-funnel measurement.

Breakout game launches are increasing, driven almost entirely by indie studios. 76 titles sold 500k+ paid units in their first 30 days across PlayStation, Steam and Xbox, up from 55 a year earlier; combined first-month sales rose 51% to 182.4M units. Indie breakouts more than doubled from 13 to 33 and lifted indie first-month unit share from 26% to 38%, led by friendslop hits and long-awaited sequels. AAA remains stable at 28 breakouts and nearly half of units. For ad ops, this signals a broader launch landscape: diversify spend beyond AAA and licensed IP, prioritize indie new IP and co-op/party titles, and use first-30-day sales as an early optimization signal.

Sensor Tower’s 2026 game ad report shows ad ops must manage more creative volume, not just bigger budgets. Top US mobile advertisers roughly tripled new creatives, driven by low-budget video tests: sub-$100 lifetime-spend creatives grew 6x year over year versus 1.7x for $10K+ winners. Creative output stepped up in 2025 and peaked near 220/month in Q1 2026, still over 2x 2024. Nintendo now holds 55% of US console platform ad spend and 74% of hardware; PlayStation leads subscriptions at 61%. Cross-platform franchises run separate mobile and console plans, channels, and calendars, so teams need distinct channel mixes, testing pipelines, and launch calendars.

Target’s 2026 back-to-school retail media campaign became more concentrated: impressions fell 66% YoY to 781M and participating brands dropped 28% to 236, while the top eight advertisers captured 46% of BTS impressions, up from 15% in 2025. Crayola led with 94M, followed by Overtime (75M), Pokémon (53M), and LoveShackFancy (43M), reflecting a shift toward exclusive partnerships and style. Channel mix moved away from Facebook (27% share, down from 41%) toward Instagram (+13 pts, 120 brands) and OTT (22%, only 7 advertisers); TikTok fell to 2%. Ad ops should plan for fewer, larger buys, tighter brand-partner coordination, and Instagram/OTT-heavy allocations.

The holiday retrospective shows three distinct ad ops plays. Coca-Cola doubled spend (+110%) and impressions rose 91%, concentrating on video: Linear TV +494%, Snapchat +281%, TikTok +127%, YouTube +111%; one 30-second spot took 8.9% of spend, peaking at 42M daily impressions on Dec 28, with December spend 2.2x November. L’Oreal was moderate (+18%), but one Julia Roberts Lancome ad exceeded 12% of spend; it boosted LinkedIn +83%, TikTok +72%, YouTube +54%, then shifted Linear to Facebook/Pinterest for last-minute gifts. Hershey cut sequential spend (-32%) but stayed stable YoY, with Dec 25% above Nov; Snapchat +90%, YouTube +74%.

Mobile finance is outpacing broader app trends: global finance app downloads are projected at 8.9B in 2026 (+6% YoY), with sessions up 10%. Demand is shifting toward short-term liquidity and active money management—Payday Loans +91%, BNPL +72%, and Budget & Expense Tracking +66% (Q1–Q3 2026 vs. 2023). BNPL is moving upmarket: Klarna and Affirm now see 36% and 38% of users from upper-middle/high-income households, making affluent cash-flow optimization a key targeting opportunity. Ad spend is also realigning toward social, with TikTok and Reddit capturing high-value finance audiences. For ad ops, prioritize privacy-safe audience segmentation, social-first creatives, and lifecycle campaigns that reach both credit-seeking and affluent BNPL users.

Retail media search ad insights from Sensor Tower show how shopper search trends and competitive SOV translate into ad ops opportunities. In beauty, Walmart searches for niacinamide, salicylic acid, and lip stain grew in 2026 YTD. Lip stain rose 66% YoY, with COVERGIRL holding 32% SOV; lower-ranked e.l.f. can assess if the term is open or dominated. In pet food, rivals target different keyword mixes, and conquesting is real: Nutrish earned 16% SOV on “Purina” vs. Purina’s 13%, with 22 advertisers competing. Blue Buffalo captured 70% share on its own term, showing brand-protection stakes.

India’s app market is shifting from download scale to engagement and monetization. H1 2026 downloads rose only 3%, but IAP grew 34%. Perplexity’s Airtel partnership drove a 625% download spike and retained 14M MAUs, proving distribution can yield sustained usage. Faith apps now reach ~80M MAUs and show strong overlap with finance apps (Melooha users 66.7x more likely to use Wint Wealth), revealing non-obvious audience segments. Short Drama is pivoting to retention/regional competition. For ad ops, prioritize first-party/partner audience data, cross-category affinity targeting, retention metrics, and seasonal/geo/channel planning over pure reach.

September mobile gaming softened overall but delivered clear live-ops wins. Global consumer spending hit $6.13B, down 7% MoM, with the US at 28.7%, China iOS 15.7%, and Japan 12.4%. Downloads reached 3.56B, down 5.2%, led by India at 16.2%. ROBLOX topped downloads and revenue growth; Honor of Kings stayed strong via seasonal content; Candy Crush and Pokémon GO used music, celebrity, and event-driven engagement. For ad ops, prioritize event-aligned UA/retargeting, IP collaborations, seasonal battle passes, and localized creatives for US/India/Brazil. Monitor launch spikes from Bus Fever Party!, Honor of Kings Chess, and Brain Puzzle 3 to time bids and creative refreshes.

H1 2026 premium PC/console revenue rose 5% to $13.8B, but growth is uneven. Steam premium hours climbed ~13%, led by Action (+28%) and Strategy (+24%); shooters lagged (+14%) and RPG fell 14%. For ad ops, social budgets remain concentrated: Meta and YouTube capture ~76% of US social spend from PC/console publishers; adding TikTok pushes the top four past 91%. Reddit offers a niche PC/console skew near 5%. GTA VI pre-orders jumped 6x the day after Netflix’s Extended Look and stayed elevated, showing tentpole content can reset baselines, not just spike them. Prioritize Action-led UA, concentrated social buying, and sustained campaign measurement.

Retail beauty ad spend rose 23% YoY, with December and April peaks. Sephora (35% share) and Ulta (18%) dominate, but Amazon grew fastest (+61%). A key split: beauty-specific retailers prioritize social—Sephora puts 25% on Instagram, Ulta 20% on Facebook—while Target, Amazon, and Macy’s favor OTT for reach. Instagram (+57%) and OTT (+52%) led channel growth; TikTok slipped 1%. Sephora and Ulta account for 88% of ChatGPT beauty ad spend and most unique creatives. Pinterest drives high creative volume despite only 10% spend. For ad ops: align channel mix to discovery vs. reach, and test emerging surfaces (ChatGPT, Pinterest) with agile creative volume.

Home improvement retail media broke seasonal norms as July impressions rose 110% YoY to 1.1B, driven by Paint brands Behr, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams, Valspar and Rust-Oleum. Campaigns combined cultural moments with promos: Home Depot's Beckham backyard tie-in, Lowe's July 4 BOGO, Ace's Benjamin Moore discount and Rust-Oleum RMN placements. For ad ops teams, the takeaway is to plan for non-traditional seasonal peaks, align RMN mix to product distribution and retail partnerships, and match channel tactics to campaign goals. Amazon led YTD with 1.5B impressions and OnSite Display; Home Depot and Lowe's leaned on Facebook; Walmart used Snapchat and Instacart OTT.

US digital ad spend hit $201B (+15% YoY) with 19T impressions (+7%). Facebook remains the top US ad channel at $42.9B; Shopping leads categories, and P&G is the #1 advertiser. Generative AI is compressing creative cycles: Gaming saw +54% unique creatives, with Food & Dining, Financial Services, and Media & Entertainment also accelerating. ChatGPT ad impressions are diversifying beyond Shopping (36.5% to 20.9%), while Financial Services, Travel, and Health & Wellness expand. OTT spend reached $12B (+17% YoY), outpacing YouTube (+6%) as Linear TV declines (-3%). Ad ops should shift budget toward streaming OTT and AI-driven creative testing while monitoring conversational AI as a high-intent channel.

August mobile gaming saw stable revenue at $6.57B and downloads at 3.76B. Honor of Kings led revenue through major events, while Tencent titles accounted for 5 of top revenue growth spots, driven by China. Download trends highlighted open-world crime games (Gangstar Mirage City), ASMR unboxing (Mystery Dumpling), and casual vehicle titles, with high growth in India, Brazil, and Turkey. For ad ops, seasonal events, limited-time cosmetics, and localized partnerships are key to engagement; emerging genres and fast-growth markets present new user acquisition opportunities. Live-ops pacing is critical for monetization.

Japan's mobile gaming market remains a revenue powerhouse, generating over $10B in IAPs in the past year despite a slight decline. Downloads are down, but engagement is stable, indicating a mature, high-value audience. Gaming ranks third in Japan's digital ad spend, with the ad market at record highs. Ad ops teams should align with major events and new releases for monetization spikes, balance casual puzzle UAC for volume with strategy/RPG for LTV, and consider cross-platform campaigns.

The Hair Care retail media landscape is highly fragmented: no brand holds more than 12% of category impressions, and 248 brands compete. Ad ops leaders should avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Retailer environments differ sharply—Amazon drives conversions via OnSite Display, Sephora/Ulta support full-funnel social/video/OTT, and Walmart pairs OnSite with TikTok influencer creative. Moroccanoil’s lead came from a multichannel Sephora campaign, proving that premium beauty retailers reward integrated storytelling. With Walmart’s impressions trending as the second-fastest-growing RMN, investing there with display and OTT can capture emerging demand. Success requires tailoring creative and channel mix to each retailer's strengths.

US retail media impressions fell 17% in H1 '26, yet specialized home improvement networks grew sharply (Lowe's +151%, Home Depot +43%) while Amazon declined 16%. Offsite remains dominant for vertical RMNs (PetSmart, Instacart, Sephora at 100%), but Amazon shifted to 56% onsite. General merchandisers like Walmart and Target are investing in onsite to capture high-intent shoppers. For ad ops, this signals a fragmented landscape: specialized networks offer growth, while offsite still drives reach. CPG advertisers increasingly use multiple RMNs (80%+), so diversify your media mix and align with networks that match your category and funnel goals.

Sensor Tower is aligning the Video Game Insights (VGI) interface with its core frontend, giving ad ops and growth teams a single, consistent platform for gaming market intelligence. Headline additions: itemized wishlist tracking (new additions, deletions, and purchases), Compare Reports for dynamic cross-title metric benchmarking, and a consolidated Market Size Report merging Market Data with Genre Analytics. Localized interface text expands access for global teams. Rollout is phased: September 15, 2026, the new UI becomes default for new users with existing users able to opt in; October 15, 2026, it becomes the standard experience, with a temporary toggle back to legacy available for continuity.

Sensor Tower's new Web Insights reports—Web Overlap, Path Journey, Conversion Rate, and Search Keywords—give ad ops decision-makers sharper competitive and audience intelligence. These tools reveal audience overlaps, three-click navigation paths, real-time conversion proxies, and organic search drivers. Gap.com examples show 15% overlap with JCrew, 3.49% listing-to-cart flow, conversion rate as purchase proxy, and 'banana republic' delivering 400k visits. These insights enable precise targeting, better campaign optimization, and actionable competitive benchmarking for revenue growth. By understanding overlapping audiences, navigating user paths, monitoring conversion proxies, and leveraging high-impact keywords, ad ops teams can fine-tune strategies to maximize ROI and stay ahead of competitors.

Snack Foods dominated retail media's food category in 1H 2026, accounting for a third of impressions. Leading advertisers ranged from legacy CPGs like Frito-Lay and Oreo to emerging wellness brands including David Protein and Khloud, with rankings shifting via major campaigns. Amazon (1.3B) and Walmart (710M) led impression volume, favoring OnSite Display, while other RMNs leaned on OffSite channels. Notable examples: Instacart saw 60% OTT impressions, and Walmart drove 13% Snapchat share. For ad ops, success requires tailoring channel mix and creative to each retail media network, with flexible strategies that respond to campaign-driven spikes.