Online advertising growth falls and should reach 2001 level

Global advertising spending should grow 4.6% in 2019, a drop compared to previous estimates, with internet advertising slowing to a digit in 2021 for the first time since the internet bubble burst, the company said Zenith. Zenith, owned by the French advertising group Publicis, said in a report published on Monday that internet advertising would respond by 52% of global advertising expenditures in 2021, exceeding the 50% mark for the first time. The report is released during the period in which advertising companies, including the WPP market leader, have seen customers switching to online platforms like Google and Facebook to reach consumers. Currently, 47% of total advertising spend globally is spent on the internet, according to Zenith, above 44% of last year, but the growth rate should slow down with the maturing of the Internet ad market. "The year 2021 will be the first one digit growth in online advertising since 2001, the year the internet bubble burst," said Jonathan Barnard, head of Zenith's forecasting area. However, while large brands still rely heavily on traditional media, small and medium-sized businesses spend all their budgets on platforms like Google and Facebook. On the other hand, large advertisers devote, on average, less than half of their budgets to online advertising. Global advertising spending should increase to 28 billion dollars in 2019, Zenith said, adding that about half of the growth would be from the United States, aided by the rapid growth of internet advertising.