Dive Brief:
- Retail is expected to lead all sectors in digital advertising spending through 2020, according to eMarketer research.
- The sector will increase its spending 15% this year to $15.09 billion, and will account for 22% of U.S. digital ad spending.
- The automotive industry, financial services, telecom and consumer package goods (CPG) round out the top five digital ad spending sectors.
Dive Insight:
E-commerce has become a key component of retail in the past few years, and as it continues to rise in importance, ad dollars will naturally follow. EMarketer's forecast for retail to lead the digital ad spending pack should come as no surprise.
Digital marketing channels from email to social media and mobile marketing have become a vital element in the entire B2C marketing buying cycle. From simple brand awareness through product recommendations from friends and family or social influencers, and even purchase fulfillment and post-purchase customer service, having a strong digital strategy is a baseline expectation for brand marketers today.
The shift to digital is also having a major impact on TV ad buys, a stalwart of retail brand and product awareness outreach. A major indicator, among many, was the recent announcement by major ad agency Interpublic that it is shifting $250 million in ad spending away from TV after a deal with YouTube. More importantly, Interpublic basically announced it no longer distinguished between TV and online video spending as client budgetary categories and instead lumped all video spending into one budget fund.
Traditional advertising channels such as TV and print aren’t going away, but digital is clearly rising above the pack as where more and more advertising dollars will be going for the foreseeable future. And for retailers, perhaps the most important move will be to follow their consumers on their digital shopping journeys.