More Than Two-Thirds of US Digital Display Ad Spending Is Bought Programmatically

Programmatic advertising continues to become more sophisticated, and spending via the media buying technique is growing, albeit at a decreasing pace. In our latest US programmatic forecast, eMarketer predicts that this year, more than two-thirds of all digital display advertising will be purchased programmatically.

In 2016, US programmatic digital display ad spending will reach $22.10 billion. That’s a jump of 39.7% over last year, and represents 67.0% of total digital display ad spending in the US.

“Programmatic is extremely efficient and unparalleled in its ability to pair rich audience data with ad inventory and targeting,” says eMarketer senior analyst Lauren Fisher. “Buyers and sellers are also becoming more comfortable with the technology. As a result, it is being rapidly adopted across a variety of channels and ad formats.”

Mobile is driving growth of programmatic ad spending. This year, mobile programmatic spending will reach $15.45 billion in the US, representing 69.0% of all programmatic digital display ad spending. Next year, mobile video programmatic spending will exceed its desktop counterpart for the first time.

With respect to programmatic video, 2016 will be a pivotal year. More than half of all digital video ad spending in the US will be programmatic. This year, programmatic video ad spending will reach $5.51 billion, representing 56.0% of total digital video ad spending. That figure represents in turn 24.9% of total programmatic digital display ad spending.

Next year will be the tipping point for programmatic mobile video ads, as mobile surpasses desktop for the first time. By 2017, programmatic mobile video ad spending will reach $3.89 billion, representing 51.0% of total programmatic ad spending in the US. By comparison, programmatic desktop-based video ad spending will reach $3.73 billion, dropping to 49.0% of total programmatic digital display ad spending in the US.

Courtesy of eMarketer