Digital media spend about to hit $1 trillion
Smartphones, tablets and a seemingly insatiable desire for digital content will soon see consumers crack the $1 trillion mark in digital media and technology spending according to a recently released forecast by PQ media.
The PQ media research has revealed that consumer spending on digital media such as broadband and wireless, software, devices and related digital services rose by 11.9% in 2012, taking it to $860.39 billion worldwide. Spending on traditional media grew by just 3% in 2012.
Trend and data analysis indicates that this growth was on track to continue throughout 2013 and at that rate, we will hit the $1 trillion mark sometime late this year, perhaps already.
Key drivers of increased digital media growth
The PQ media forecast points to a number of drivers of demand for digital media and technology around the world. In particular:
- An emerging generation of digital natives with a heavy consumption of rich media
- Growing middle classes in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China
- Expanded wireless and broadband services
Consumers spent more than $100 billion on wireless and broadband subscriptions, with the next largest expense items, each topping $50 billion being:
- digital games, apps & microtransactions;
- multiplayer online games;
- computer tablets; and
- laptops and notebooks
The research suggests that the average individual spend on digital media and technology will increase from $161.83 in 2012 to $259.48 in 2017, with total spend expected to reach $1.44 trillion.
Emerging markets embrace digital media
Although the USA, China and Japan have the highest digital consumption in the world, each spending more than $100 billion per annum, the broader Asia-Pacific region and BRIC countries are fast catching up.
As more of us use our smartphones and tablets to devour digital content, emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China are seeing enormous growth of their middle classes whose appetite for digital is also on the increase.
In the 2007-2012 period, the BRIC countries experienced growth in digital media consumption of more than 16% with Russia leading the charge at 18.2%. Despite generating slower growth rates than Russia, China is expected to surpass the USA as the biggest digital market in 2017.
Digital media marketing follows suit
Not surprisingly, as consumer digital media spending increases, so too are digital advertising and marketing budgets, with a large chunk of that allocated to mobile – one of the key drivers in the consumption of digital media.
As marketers get more savvy using mobile and digital strategies to build their businesses, hardware and software continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, and internet access improves, the digital wave can only build more momentum.
iFactory specialises in digital strategy, digital marketing, responsive design and application development for companies who want to use the growing digital demand to access new markets and serve existing ones better. To discover how your business can benefit from the new technology available, give us a bell on 07 3844 0577.
