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By Julie Lyons
Revenue from U.S. Internet advertising beat broadcast television advertising for the first time in 2013, driven by a surge of spending in mobile ads.
Digital ad sales in the U.S. reached $42.8 billion, up 17% from 2012, according to data complied by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and prepared by PwC U.S.
For the third year in a row, mobile advertising continued a rapid pace of growth, more than doubling to $7.1 billion in 2013, a 110 percent boost from the prior year total of $3.4 billion. Mobile accounted for 17 percent of 2013 revenues, whereas it was 9 percent of revenues in 2012.
Display-related ads took in $12.8 billion, or 30 percent of the year’s total revenues, the IAB said. Digital video ads accounted for $2.8 billion, a 19 percent rise from 2012. And search revenues reached $18.4 billion in 2013, up 9 percent from the previous year.
Retail businesses continued to represent the largest category of internet ad spending, accounting for 21 percent of the total, according to the IAB. Financial services took second place at 13 percent, followed closely by the auto industry at 12 percent.
“The news that interactive has outperformed broadcast television should come as no surprise,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “It speaks to the power that digital screens have in reaching and engaging audiences. In that same vein, the staggering growth of mobile is clearly a direct response to how smaller digital screens play an integral role in consumers’ lives throughout the day, as well as their critical importance to cross-screen experiences.”
“Our survey confirms that we are fully in transition to the post-desktop era,” said David Silverman, Partner, PwC U.S. “Triple digit advertising revenue growth from mobile devices contrasted the more tepid 8 percent growth from traditional computer screens. This is simply a reflection of the change in how and where consumers are viewing their information – on the go!”
To review the press release in full, visit IAB’s website.
