Internet ad formats will account for 47.7 per cent ($430bn) of global media spend this year, and this figure is expected to reach the 50 per cent mark by 2020.
That’s according to the international marketing intelligence service (WARC), which has calculated media spend across 96 markets.
While the figure sits at 47.7 per cent globally, internet advertising accounts for the majority of media spend in eight key markets, including the UK (61.1 per cent), China (59.4 per cent) and Australia (51.4 per cent).
Internet advertising is also set to become the dominant medium in the US for the first time this year, reaching $US107.5bn ($AUD155.5bn).
WARC Data managing editor and author of the research James McDonald said: “When the Dotcom bubble burst at the turn of the century, internet advertising accounted for three cents in every ad dollar; two decades later, it will take the lion’s share.
“While the first wave of internet growth was driven by banner ads and search keywords on desktop computers, the second phase has been propelled by social media advertising delivered on mobile devices.”
He suggested the latest wave of growth has been driven by programmatic ad trades, harvesting consumer data, shopping, streaming and socialising.
Mobile and social media drive online growth
It is mobile ads that are driving this shift in media spend, set to draw 58 per cent of all global internet spend this year – up from 2 per cent in 2010.
The total ad spend on mobile alone is set to eclipse TV for the first time this year, accounting for 94.6 per cent of internet growth this year.
Social media is also changing the spending habits of advertisers, drawing 58.1 per cent of online display ad spend in the US this year.
Facebook – which owns Instagram and WhatsApp – has almost a monopoly in the US market, drawing 83.4 per cent of social media ad spend.
