Traditional media still takes the majority of ad spend in India, but mobile platforms are becoming increasingly popular with advertisers. This year, mobile ad spending in India is expected to increase by 85.0%, which will help boost overall digital ad spend to $1.21 billion, according to eMarketer’s latest media ad spend forecast.
Further double-digit growth for mobile is predicted over the next few years; by 2021, mobile will account for just under 62.0% of digital ad spending’s $2.80 billion.
The growing demand for smartphones—which are becoming more affordable in India—coupled with strong social network usage has led advertisers to increase their ad budgets on mobile alongside traditional media options. In 2017, smartphones will make up 36.6% of all mobile phone users; come 2021, this share will rise to 47.4%, eMarketer estimates.
Additionally, mobile social networking has also been booming in popularity in India. This year, it is expected to rise 24.3% to reach more than a quarter (26.8%) of all mobile phone users and three-quarters (74.9%) of social network users.
Despite this, traditional media still continues to hold its own in India, with TV taking the majority of ad budgets. eMarketer forecasts that TV will take $3.13 billion of media ad dollars in 2017, equating to 39.3% of media ad spend.
“While television continues to be the most popular advertising medium, digital is the fastest growing, with ad spending recording double-digit growth rates up to 2021,” said Shelleen Shum, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer.
“Driven by increasing mobile internet penetration, falling data prices and the availability of low-cost handsets, mobile will be a major contributor to the growth of digital advertising in the years to come as marketers embrace this channel to reach a new generation of young and digitally savvy consumers,” she said.
