China Out-of-Home (OOH) Market Size, Growth Report, 2033

China Out-of-Home (OOH) Market

The China Out-of-Home (OOH) Market size was valued at USD 17.71 million in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 25.89 million by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.31 % from 2025 to 2033.

The China Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising market has emerged as one of the most expansive and technologically integrated OOH sectors globally. With more than 7.6 million OOH ad units installed across China by the end of 2023, the market encompasses diverse formats including digital billboards, transit ads, and large-format street furniture. In 2023, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) formats made up 36% of all OOH advertisements in China, marking a significant transition from traditional media formats.

Urban hubs like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are key hotspots, accounting for over 65% of total national OOH placements. Notably, over 1.2 million digital screens are installed in elevators and residential buildings, driven by players like Focus Media. OOH advertising in public transportation, including metro stations, buses, and airports, accounts for approximately 24% of total exposure points. Mall advertising and digital signage in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities have grown by over 14% year-on-year, reflecting increased retail and entertainment consumption. Government campaigns accounted for 12% of total OOH ad spend in 2023, focusing on national policy dissemination. The use of AI, facial recognition, and location-based analytics has significantly optimized targeting and impression tracking, especially in densely populated urban zones.

Key Findings

Driver: Urban digitization and 5G expansion drive dynamic content delivery in DOOH formats.

Top Country/Region: Eastern China dominates with over 42% of total national OOH inventory, especially in Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces.

Top Segment: Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) remains the largest segment, comprising over one-third (36%) of China's total OOH advertising formats by 2023.

China Out‑of‑Home (OOH) Market Trends

China’s OOH market is experiencing rapid transformation driven by escalating urban density and technological innovation. In 2023, 23 million elevator screens were active in residential and office towers, positioning elevator advertising as the single largest OOH channel nationwide. These elevator screens generate over 22 billion impressions per month, highlighting their captive audience impact. Transit media remains a cornerstone format. Metro and bus ads accounted for nearly 58% of traditional OOH spend in 2023, with metro station environments alone comprising the majority of transit exposure. Elevators, bus bodies, station panels, and street furniture all saw year-over-year expansion in unit counts. Street furniture reached a market size of USD 8.29 billion globally in 2023, signaling Chinese cities’ large contribution to this global figure. Digital billboards are also proliferating: Chinese billboard inventory now includes over 7.6 million units, of which around 36% are digital formats . More than 66% of China’s population lives in urban areas, creating high footfall zones like highways, shopping districts, and transit hubs. Mall advertising has surged as well; Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities saw a 14% rise in digital signage installations within retail centers.

Technological trends are reshaping engagement. Over 71% of elevator and in-building screens use LCD/LED digital panels supporting real-time content updates. AI-powered audience analytics, facial recognition, and programmatic ad buying are now embedded in DOOH planning, with at least 50% of large-format billboards connected via CMS networks. QR-code integration is commonplace, with over 1 billion consumers scanned OOH ads to access promotions or app downloads in 2023. Advertisers in sectors such as retail, automotive, FMCG, entertainment, and real estate are allocating more than 30% of their OOH budgets to digital formats. Retail signage within malls now accounts for 30% of DOOH placements, were dynamic content integration drives consumer engagement. Transit DOOH holds about 27% of ad impressions within digital out-of-home formats, underscoring its strategic use in high-traffic zones.

China OOH Market Dynamics

DRIVER

Urbanization and digital transformation

Urbanization in China saw 66.2% of the population residing in cities by the end of 2023. This rapid urban concentration has accelerated demand for digital OOH channels. Smart-city initiatives now cover 60% of major transit systems, installing sensor-enabled digital signage to monitor traffic and deliver real-time updates. Over 46% of advertisers now deploy interactive digital billboards synchronized with mobile campaigns. This driver has resulted in over 1.2 million digital screens deployed in elevators, offices, malls, and metro hubs.

RESTRAINT

Regulatory compliance and urban constraints

More than 48% of Chinese municipalities enforce strict content guidelines and approval protocols for public digital screens. In high-density metro zones, building façade regulations have limited new large-scale billboard permits, reducing available static OOH inventory by 36% in some districts. This has slowed new digital installs despite rising urban demand. Regulatory oversight delays, including content vetting for 41% of campaigns, have extended campaign launch timelines across metro and transit media platforms.

OPPORTUNITY

Programmatic and interactive DOOH expansion

Programmatic platforms are now used in over 52% of Chinese DOOH transactions, enabling real-time audience targeting and campaign optimization. Elevator LCD screens supported automated content updates in elevators across more than 250 cities, reaching over 12 billion monthly impressions. Interactive street kiosks and transit panels deployed AI-powered sensors; these now account for 36% of new rollouts, reflecting strong adoption of location-aware technology. There are now 22 billion monthly impressions from elevator channels alone.

CHALLENGE

High installation and maintenance costs

Installation of full-HD digital billboards can represent up to 42% of total campaign expenses. Maintenance reports indicate 37% of operators face frequent technical failures in interactive or 3D-enabled displays. In high-humidity southern cities, heat dissipation and power usage drive maintenance frequency up, resulting in 26% higher upkeep costs for outdoor DOOH structures. These costs, paired with stricter energy consumption regulations, reduce ROI for smaller local operators.

China OOH Market Segmentation

China’s OOH market is segmented by both type and application. Type categories include Traditional Billboards, DOOH, Transit Media, Mall Advertising, and Street Furniture. Application sectors include FMCG, Real Estate, Entertainment, Government Campaigns, and Automotive. Each segment shows strong unit counts, widespread adoption, and strategic usage across verticals.

By Type

Traditional Billboards: There are over 4.85 million static billboard units across highways and city roads, representing about 64% of total OOH by unit count.
DOOH: With over 2.75 million digital screens, DOOH makes up 36% of total placements.
Transit Media: Metro, bus, and train station media account for approximately 58% of OOH spend, with over **1.8 million high-impact placements nationwide.
Mall Advertising: Tier‑1 and Tier‑2 city malls saw a 14% increase in digital signage that totals over 1.1 million screens in public retail spaces.
Street Furniture: Bus shelters, kiosks, and public benches add over 800,000 units, contributing a $8.29 billion share globally with sizable Chinese contributions.

By Application

FMCG: Makes up roughly 30% of OOH placements, particularly in mall, elevator, and street formats.
Real Estate: Holds approximately 16% of DOOH usage, especially within elevator and transit ad environments.
Entertainment: Utilizes over 12% of mall-based digital OOH to promote films, concerts, and events.
Government Campaigns: Represent 12% of total OOH spend, with widespread messaging across transit and street furniture screens.
Automotive: Accounts for close to 20% of outdoor billboard and transit units, leveraging high-impact roadside and metro panels.

China OOH Market Regional Outlook

North America

dominated the global OOH market in 2023 with 37% of DOOH share. The US alone held 4.5 billion of global digital signage value that year. Europe followed with 30% share. Asia-Pacific including China is the fastest-growing region. China leads APAC DOOH adoption with over 36 million elevator screens in the region, and 23 million of those are in China, while India contributes 4.3 million screens.

Europe

deployed over 14.8 million elevator advertising units in 2024. Germany, UK, and France make up 58% of that total. Paris installed 9,000 residential digital displays, signalling widespread smart-city alignment. Street furniture and transit DOOH also play a prominent role, especially in Eastern Europe, where installation volume grew by 36% year-on-year.

Asia‑Pacific

counted over 36 million elevator screens in 2024, 23 million of which were in China. India added 4.3 million, and Southeast Asia saw over 740,000 campaign rollouts. High urbanization rates and smart-city investments across Asia-Pacific have led to digital DOOH penetration exceeding 38% of OOH units in the region.

Middle East & Africa

has installed approximately 12.5 million elevator screens in 2024. Urban centers in the UAE and KSA have prioritized transit and mall installations, while Africa’s emerging cities are deploying elevator and street furniture screens to reach 5,200+ brands across commercial zones. Interactive and place-based DOOH grew by 42% due to smart infrastructure upgrades.

List of Top China Out‑of‑Home (OOH) Companies

JCDecaux (France)
Clear Media (Hong Kong)
Focus Media (China)
CTRIP (China)
AirMedia (China)
BlueFocus Communication Group (China)
Shanghai Metro (China)
Shenzhen Media Group (China)
Xinhua News Agency (China)
CCTV (China)

Focus Media (China): Operates over 3.1 million elevator and in‑building screens in more than 250 cities, delivering over 12 billion impressions monthly.

Clear Media (Hong Kong): Leads in transit and airport DOOH with over 1.2 million screens across major metro systems; accounts for over 40% share in Chinese transit DOOH.

Investment Analysis and Opportunities

China’s OOH sector is attracting record investment across multiple formats. In-building elevator networks saw RMB XX billion invested toward screen expansion, totaling 23 million units by 2023, led by Focus Media’s 3.1 million deployments. Municipalities invested in smart-city screens; 60% of major metro systems now include AI-enabled digital panels. Programmatic DOOH platforms now serve more than 52% of Chinese urban screens. Platforms like VIOOH have integrated with metro operators in Beijing and Shanghai, enabling real-time bidding across 1,800+ stations. This has led to 12 billion monthly impressions in elevator media alone. Transit DOOH monetization continues to climb as 58% of metro advertising spend flows through digital formats. Retail and FMCG sectors drive much of this investment. Over 30% of OOH placements now tie directly to in-store activations. Retail-centric malls now support 1.1 million screens, creating integrated digital-shopper journeys. Real-estate advertisers use DOOH in elevator banks to reach millions of flat-hunters, accounting for 16% of placements. Opportunities abound in programmatic expansion, interactive installations, and smaller-city deployments. Tier‑2/3 cities showed a 14% year-over-year increase in mall screen installs. Data-driven targeting is escalating: 55% of digital formats integrate APIs linking audience data and mobile engagement. Elevator channels delivered 22 billion impressions monthly, presenting quantifiable ROI for advertisers. Innovative ad formats—such as motion-activated kiosks in shopping complexes—have drawn 42% higher interaction rates versus static formats. Upcoming investments include interactive street furniture; 36% of new installations in 2024 featured touchless, sensor-based interfaces. However, capital intensity and regulatory hurdles remain. Installation costs account for up to 42% of campaign budgets, and 37% of operators report frequent technical disruptions in high-end screens. Opportunities lie in improving maintenance, streamlining rollouts through content approvals, and enhancing energy efficiency to reduce overheads.

New Product Development

New product development in China’s Out-of-Home (OOH) market is being driven by the rapid integration of digital technology, interactive features, and audience analytics. In 2023 and 2024, manufacturers and media operators introduced highly adaptive display formats, blending artificial intelligence, automation, and immersive content to boost user engagement and advertiser ROI. One of the most notable trends in new product development is the expansion of 3D Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) billboards. Companies such as AirMedia and BlueFocus installed over 120 new 3D LED billboards in key cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai. These screens use layered visual formats that do not require 3D glasses and have increased dwell time by 39% on average compared to static formats. Another prominent innovation is the development of facial recognition-enabled smart billboards. In 2024, over 1,500 interactive DOOH displays were upgraded with embedded facial recognition systems that capture anonymized data, such as age, gender, and emotional responses. Focus Media rolled out these systems in over 100 premium commercial buildings across Guangzhou and Shenzhen. This data is used to trigger contextual advertisements, achieving up to 46% uplift in engagement rates.

The deployment of QR-integrated digital displays continues to evolve. Shenzhen Media Group’s rollout of 2,100 QR-activated transit panels in Q4 2023 allowed brands to connect offline exposure with mobile engagement. This new format drove over 2.6 million scans within the first quarter of deployment, demonstrating the rising preference for trackable and actionable OOH interactions. Voice-activated street furniture also entered pilot stages in 2024. A prototype developed by a partnership between a local smart device manufacturer and Clear Media was tested in 50 bus shelters in Hangzhou, enabling passersby to interact with ad displays using simple voice prompts. Initial studies show a 22% increase in user interaction, especially among users aged 18–35. Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) formats have also evolved. New platform launches now support dynamic creative optimization (DCO), where ad content adapts in real-time based on weather, time of day, or crowd density. In 2023, over 50% of all digital campaigns deployed across Beijing and Shanghai used DCO, supported by integrated CMS tools launched by local ad-tech vendors. Finally, solar-powered digital billboards were introduced in select eco-conscious districts. By early 2024, over 800 solar-powered DOOH units were operational in Nanjing and Suzhou, aimed at reducing energy consumption while maintaining 24/7 visibility, aligning with China’s national sustainability initiatives.

Five Recent Developments

Focus Media expands in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities: installed an additional 320,000 elevator screens across 116 new Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, increasing their national coverage to over 3.1 million screens. This expansion delivered more than 12 billion monthly impressions, targeting new residential and office clusters.
Clear Media partners with Shanghai Metro: launched a digital transit initiative with the Shanghai Metro, rolling out 3,500 interactive screens across Line 2, Line 9, and Line 13. These digital panels use AI-driven ad targeting based on foot traffic and commuter behavior.
BlueFocus introduces facial recognition DOOH: Communication Group launched its facial-recognition-enabled advertising system across 950 digital billboards in Beijing and Shenzhen. These systems analyze demographic patterns to deliver customized content in real-time, resulting in a 38% increase in engagement rates.
AirMedia installs 3D holographic DOOH at airports: deployed 45 3D digital screens in high-traffic terminals across Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, and Beijing Capital airports. These holographic displays have increased consumer interaction time by 46%, particularly for automotive and luxury brands.
Shenzhen Media Group integrates QR-interactive displays: completed the upgrade of 2,100 bus shelter displays in Shenzhen with embedded QR-scan technology, enabling consumers to access e-commerce discounts, app links, and promotional media. User interaction rose by 41%, with 2.6 million QR scans recorded in just three months.

Report Coverage of China Out-of-Home (OOH) Market

The China Out-of-Home (OOH) Market report provides a comprehensive examination of all critical components shaping the development, trends, and expansion of OOH advertising across China. The coverage spans across traditional billboards, DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home), transit media, mall advertising, and street furniture, focusing on unit deployment, geographic concentration, and technological integration. The study evaluates over 7.6 million OOH units, with a breakdown of more than 2.75 million digital formats and 4.85 million static billboards, giving a detailed representation of the current industry structure. This report includes an in-depth segmentation analysis by application—namely FMCG, Real Estate, Entertainment, Automotive, and Government Campaigns. The FMCG sector accounted for approximately 30% of total OOH placements, while real estate campaigns made up 16%, particularly leveraging elevator and transit advertising. A special emphasis is placed on mall advertising and elevator-based DOOH, both of which saw double-digit growth across Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities. Geographical insights detail OOH deployment in Eastern, Central, and Western China, with Eastern China (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu) responsible for over 42% of national inventory. The report outlines the number of digital screens deployed in elevators (23 million), metro systems, and public infrastructure, backed by installation data from Focus Media, Clear Media, and AirMedia.

The technological scope covers advancements such as AI-based audience recognition, programmatic advertising, 3D DOOH displays, motion-sensor interactivity, and QR-based integrations. The adoption of programmatic advertising now accounts for 52% of digital campaigns, enhancing ad efficiency and customization. These innovations are transforming consumer engagement patterns and advertising ROI across densely populated zones. The report further highlights regulatory implications, including regional content restrictions, billboard permit limitations, and digital approval delays, particularly in high-density municipalities. Regulatory compliance and installation costs are assessed as potential restraints, while innovations in smart signage and data-driven DOOH targeting are evaluated as growth enablers. Investment trends are explored in detail, focusing on private capital inflow into elevator networks, digital infrastructure, and transit partnerships. Coverage includes market dynamics, opportunities, competitive landscape, and future expansion strategies, offering actionable insights for stakeholders, media planners, investors, and ad-tech developers.