After a sharp fall in March, digital ad spending has witnessed a strong growth worldwide, as millions of consumers shifted from brick-and-mortar stores to webshops amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to data presented by Finaria.it, social media ads, as one of the fastest-growing segments of the digital advertising industry, are expected to continue booming and hit $105bn in spending in 2021, a 15% jump year-over-year.
Global Social Media Ad Spending Surged by 68% in Three Years
In 2017, brands and media buyers spent $54.4bn on social media advertising worldwide, revealed Statista Global Consumer Survey. Over the next two years, this figure jumped by 57% to $85.7bn.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sharp fall in the global digital advertising industry between January and March 2020, the market recovered in the second and third quarter of the year. As a result, global social media ad spending is expected to hit $91.3bn this year, a 6.5% increase compared to 2019 figures.
The Statista data also revealed the social media advertising segment is set to witness the second-largest increase in spending in 2021, growing by $13.7bn in a year. Only the search advertising segment is expected to see a more considerable boost in spending and grow by 16% YoY to $172.2bn in 2021.
Statistics show the increasing trend is set to continue in the following years, with social media ad spending rising to $124.6bn by 2025.
Mobile Ads to Hit 80% Market Share
The average ad spending per social media user is expected to amount to $31.90 in 2020, slightly more than a year ago. In the next five years, this figure is forecast to rise to $36.67.
Statista data also showed that in 2017, 71% of the total social media ad spending was generated through mobile devices. Mobile advertising continued growing in the last three years and hit a 79% market share in 2020. Statistics indicate this figure is set to jump to 80% next year, and by the end of 2025, mobile ads will account for 83% of total social media ad spending.
Analyzed by geography, the United States represents the world’s leading market in social media advertising, expected to hit $37.8bn in spending in 2020, a 4.5% increase in a year. This figure is forecast to jump by 16% and reach $44.1bn in 2021.
As the second-largest market globally, social media ad spending in China is expected to grow by 11.3% YoY to $24.9bn in 2020. United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia follow with $5.7bn, $2.4bn, and $2bn, respectively.
