Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent dominate China’s red-hot digital advertising market
The mainland’s top three internet companies will account for a combined 72 per cent of the market’s total mobile ad revenue this year, says eMarketer
Alibaba Group Holding, the world’s largest e-commerce services provider, is poised to extend its lead in China’s fast-growing mobile advertising market with forecast revenue of US$14.6 billion this year, as total spending on digital campaigns in the mainland hits a new record high.
Digital advertising expenditure in the mainland is predicted to rise 27 per cent to US$50.3 billion this year, up from an estimated US$39.6 billion last year, on the back of increased mobile campaigns through Alibaba, Tencent Holdings and Baidu, according to data provided by eMarketer to the South China Morning Post.
The research firm forecast total mobile advertising spending to reach US$36.2 billion this year, making up 76.4 per cent of total digital advertising expenditure on the mainland.
“Ad spending in China continues to shift rapidly toward digital formats, fueled by rising time spent online and greater advertiser spending on mobile formats, especially on video and social media,” eMarketer analyst Cindy Liu said on Tuesday.
New York-listed Alibaba, which owns the Post, is expected to draw almost one-third of total digital ad spending in China this year – a figure eMarketer estimated as equivalent to US$16 billion, up from US$11.9 billion last year.
The trio has absorbed large TV brand budgets and online ad budgets, and continues to expand aggressively into digital