Programmatic Ad Spend Booms, Fueled By Retail

Retailers are driving the boom in programmatic ad spending, new research finds.

This year, the U.S. retail industry will spend $3.71 billion to purchase digital display ads programmatically -- nearly a quarter (24.9%) of the $14.88 billion U.S. advertisers will spend on programmatic buys, according to a new report from eMarketer.

The CPG and consumer products category is the second-largest sector for programmatic buying, and 63% of digital display ads among advertisers in that industry are purchased programmatically, eMarketer reports.

With more than $2 billion in programmatic spending, this year, CPG will account for 14.1% of all programmatic display dollars -- compared to only 8.5% share of digital advertising overall.

Among shifts by other industry leaders, Procter & Gamble announced last year that it would dedicate 70% of its digital ad budget to be purchased programmatically.

Overall, digital ad spending in the U.S. will total $58.61 billion this year, according to eMarketer.

Retailers' ad outlays will comprise 22% of that figure -- or $12.91 billion -- by far outpacing all other U.S. industries. Advertisers in the automotive business will spend $7.30 billion on digital advertising, this year -- the second-largest sector at 12.5% of the US market.

In second place, financial services advertisers will spend $7.19 billion -- or 12.3% -- on digital ads in the US, this year.

On the mobile front, retailers will spend nearly twice as much as any other industry, this year, eMarketer expects. The sector's $6.65 billion will represent 23.2% of the $28.72 billion that advertisers in the U.S. will spend to reach consumers on mobile devices.

When it comes to digital video, the retail industry will account for 19.9% of the $7.77 billion to be spent on digital video ads in the U.S., this year. The auto industry will be the next largest spender on digital video advertising, allocating $1.1 billion this year, or 14.6% of all digital video ads – eMarketer predicts.

eMarketer’s report is based on analysis of hundreds of data sources as well as interviews with executives at ad agencies, brands and digital ad sellers.

1 comment about "Programmatic Ad Spend Booms, Fueled By Retail".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, May 21, 2015 at 5:12 p.m.

    Gosh, aren't those numbers a tad on the low side? Didn't a large agency forecaster predict that 50% of all media would be bought programmatically this year? Come on, eMarketer, isn't the "real" 2015 figure for programmatic buying closer to $120 billion, counting all of those big TV, radio and print automated media buys, of course?

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