McKinsey: $215B in Martech, ROI Still Missing Since 2025
McKinsey's 2025 report surveys 233 global marketing bigwigs pouring $160 billion into martech this year — forecast to balloon to $215 billion by 2027 — but proudly reveals none can say how this cash actually makes money. Despite dropping over half a million dollars each on tools from email managers to website jazz hands, 47% admit 'stack complexity' is a nightmare, making their 'martech stacks' piles of baffling junk in silos. CIOs view it as a 'cost of business,' while Robert Tas equates these investments to buying a Ferrari and only using the windshield wipers. AI agents might help, though Salesforce's Mark Benioff admits customers can’t keep up. Klarna fired half their marketing team for AI too eager to save costs before rehiring them. Meanwhile, OpenAI's Andrej Karpathy says AI agents need a decade to stop flopping. Spoiler: 'martech ROI' is corporate speak for 'invisible money pit.'
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From $160 billion in 2025 to $215 billion in 2027, companies throw cash at martech stacks that confuse even their CEOs. The ROI is as visible as a UFO, and AI agents are basically corporate magic tricks in training wheels.
Investing half a million a year in martech and still clueless on ROI is CEO level performance art. It's like buying a GPS, then following your gut instead.
Mark Benioff says AI innovation outpaces customer adoption—AKA selling jetpacks to people still trying to put on roller skates.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 10/22/2025 | Author: Lara O'Reilly
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