For the first time in 2019, internet advertising is due to surpass the 50 per cent mark for global ad spend, despite a worldwide trend showing a drop in overall ad spend growth from 4.7 to 4.6 per cent since March.
Following a study by Zenith, it was found that smaller businesses are utilising social media strategies via sites such as Facebook and Google to advertise products, while larger brands remain tethered to more traditional advertising campaigns.
Jonathan Barnard, head of forecasting at Zenith commented: “The point at which internet advertising exceeds 50% of global adspend has been approaching for some time, but this is the first time it has appeared in our forecasts. However, 2021 will be the first year of single-digit internet ad spend growth since 2001, the year the dotcom bubble burst.”
Online video and social media marketing are continuing to dominate the sector, with growth rates marked at 18 and 17 per cent respectively, both set to reap the rewards of 5G technology set to be rolled out later this year.
Meanwhile, traditional advertising is expected to slump to its lowest points in two decades by 2021, while internet advertising is tipped to account for 52 per cent.
At this point the online advertising sector is expected to slow down to as much as nine per cent as the market becomes more mature and saturated, showing a significant frop from the 17 per cent rate recorded last year.
Zenith reports have also suggested that mobile internet usage has also sky-rocketed, hitting 800 hours per year, the equivalent of 33 days continuous consumption.
