September 2016
US DIGITAL ADVERTISING
SNAPSHOT
This year, for the first time, US digital ad spending will outpace spending
on TV advertising, and digital growth—especially on mobile—is still strong.
This Snapshot provides a key to US digital ad spending trends, including
infographics illustrating how digital fits into the total media ecosystem, how
mobile fits into digital, and how quickly advertisers across industries are
increasing their digital budgets.
presented by
Digital Advertising in the US
This year, US advertisers are devoting
36.8% of their paid media budgets to
digital channels, including 23.5% going
specifically to mobile buys. In 2017,
digital’s share of the pie will reach
40.0%, and more than a quarter of total
media ad spending will go toward
mobile.
Total media
ad spending
2016
Mobile
23.5%
Digital
36.8%
Desktop/laptop
13.4%
2016 is the first year US advertisers will spend more on
digital placements than TV commercials.
% of total media ad spending
Digital
Television
Desktop/laptop
Mobile
2015
37.6%
32.7%
15.4%
17.3%
2016
36.4%
36.8%
13.4%
23.5%
2017
35.1%
40.0%
12.3%
27.7%
Digital Ad Formats
Search
46.2%
0.4%
Mobile messaging 0.4%
Classifieds and directories 2.5%
Lead generation 2.6%
Email
This year is the first year
US advertisers will devote
more digital dollars to
display ads than search.
Display formats will
continue gaining share
through at least
2020—thanks mostly to
video and rich media.
Video
14.3%
Display
47.9%
Rich media
Sponsorships
11.1%
2.6%
Banners and other
20.0%
Display formats are growing almost twice as fast as search this year, though growth
rates are expected to even out by 2018.
Search
15.4%
Classifieds
and directories
0.5%
Email
13.2%
Lead
generation
7.3%
Mobile
messaging
7.9%
Total growth
20.5%
Display
28.4%
Banners
and other
20.8%
Rich media
42.4%
Sponsorships
10.2%
Video
34.1%
Mobile Ad Formats
Search
44.1%
Other
Mobile messaging
0.6%
3.9%
Video
9.7%
On mobile, display has a
bigger lead over search
ad spending. By next year,
video alone will account
for 1 ∕10 of mobile ad
spending in the US.
Display
51.4%
Banners, rich media,
sponsorships and other
41.6%
Spending on all mobile ad
formats—other than SMS—is still
growing at solid double-digit rates, a
trend expected to continue through
at least 2020.
Search
43.1%
Other
3.9%
Mobile messaging
7.9%
Total growth
45.0%
Display
45.8%
Banners,
rich media,
sponsorships and other
44.0%
Video
54.5%
Where’s Ad Spending Going?
More than two-fifths of all digital ad spending in the US will go to Google this year, with
second-place Facebook taking in a much smaller share of the pie. No other digital ad publisher
will enjoy even 4% of total revenues in the US.
0.5%
0.8%
1.0%
1.9%
Amazon 1.3%
IAC 0.8%
Verizon (AOL and Millennial Media) 1.8%
Microsoft 3.8%
Snapchat
Yelp
LinkedIn
Twitter
Yahoo
Google
41.0%
3.1%
Facebook
16.6%
Within the realm of social network
advertising, however, Facebook is clearly
king, grabbing more than three-quarters of
US revenues this year.
Facebook
77.7%
Social games
LinkedIn
Twitter
Snapchat
Other
4.4%
2.2%
4.8%
8.7%
2.3%
How Fast Are Vertical Industries Moving to Digital?
Retail is by far the biggest-spending industry on digital channels, accounting for about one-fifth
of all US digital advertising. Retailers will make up nearly 22% of the total each year through at
least 2020. The auto industry will also hold on to its second-place position through the end of
our forecast period.
Other
Healthcare & pharma
Entertainment
Media
Retail
4.3%
21.9%
2.8%
Financial
services
4.8%
12.2%
5.9%
Computing products
& consumer electronics
Automotive
12.7%
7.6%
Travel
8.3%
CPG &
consumer
products
Telecom
11.0%
11.0%
Retail industry digital ad spending is growing about on pace with the average rate, but CPG,
media and automotive, among other industries, are increasing their digital budgets more
quickly.
Media
22.6%
Automotive
22.4%
CPG &
consumer
products
Travel
Entertainment
20.5%
20.0%
Healthcare
& pharma
Other
Total growth
20.5%
Retail
23.3%
Financial Computing products
services
& consumer
electronics
19.5%
20.5%
Telecom
19.4%
20.5%
15.2%
20.5%
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© 2016 Visa. All Rights Reserved.
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