Digital ad spend may touch Rs 13k cr mark by Dec 2018: Assocham-KPMG survey

Digital advertising spend in India is likely to grow to Rs 13,000 crore by December 2018, at a rate of 35%, fuelled by growing demand for smartphones and falling data tariffs, predicts a survey.

The digital ad spend, currently at Rs 9,800 crore, will see an exponential increase on widespread usage of 3G-4G services and the ongoing surge in Internet penetration, according to the survey conducted by industry body Assocham and KPMG.

Citing the 2016 data, the report said the digital ad spend was estimated at around Rs 7,500 crore at 2016-end.

"Around 50% of the overall advertising spend was on digital followed by e-commerce, telecom, technology and banking, financial services and insurance companies," it added.

The increase in smartphones and tablets is helping advertisers reach a wider audience, it said, adding that digital advertisements are flexible and can be adapted to any kind of devices like television, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

"The two-way interactive capability and the ability to customise the ad for target audience also make digital advertisements more effective," the survey noted.

Stating that more than 235 million people in India access the Internet through mobile devices, the survey said the mobile applications are helping in reaching out to more customers even in remote and rural areas.