Digital Advertising Contributes $94 Billion To Australia’s GDP

The digital advertising industry contributes $94 billion — or four per cent of GDP — and accounts for more than three per cent of total employment in Australia, according to data from PwC and IAB Australia (lead image: IAB Australia CEO Gai Le Roy).

The stats come from a Ad’ing Value, a new report published by the two organisations, which dug into the effects and benefits of the industry for everyday Australians, as well as small- to medium-sized businesses.

The industry supports some 450,000 jobs, and around 26,000 people are employed in the sector. 44 per cent of digital advertising comes from SMEs, with those businesses receiving 61 per cent of the sector’s business benefits.

Aussies perceive an annual value of $544 for accessing free ad-supported digital services and content. This, according to the report, equates to an $8.8 billion benefit across the country, or $1,100 per household. The use of ad-supported services rose significantly during the pandemic, including online video content (36 per cent), social media (32 per cent) and digital news services (32 per cent).

$10.2 billion in value comes from consumers being more closely matched to their buying preferences, while $36.5 billion comes comes from decreased transaction costs via time and cost savings.

For consumers on annual incomes below $50,000, the value they attribute to content and services that are currently free was roughly double that of consumers with annual incomes of $80,000 or more.

“Digital advertising is a key driver of the Australian economy. It creates new opportunities for businesses to grow, provides consumers with billions of dollars’ worth of value and will be critical for our economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19,” said Le Roy.

“Digital advertising is one of the most dynamic industries in the Australian economy,” said Jeremy Thorpe, partner at PwC and the company’s chief economist at the report’s launch last night.

“In all but one year since the turn of the century, it has experienced double-digit growth. In 2012, 83 per cent of Australians were online. Now, that’s at 99 per cent. Underpinning that change is the varied and rapidly evolcing ecosystem that media environments, platforms and creators, advertisers, and agencies and technologies that together have allowed consumers access to a wider range of services for free whilst also delivering benefits to businesses.”

You can read the full report here.

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