Real-Time Bidding: Retail Easily the Top-Spending Sector in Burgeoning Market

October 24, 2013

CasaleMedia-Top-10-Ad-Sectors-by-RTB-Market-Share-during-H1-Oct2013Retail is by far the largest advertising sector by real-time bidding market share, outspending other sectors such as auto, financial, telecom, and travel, according to [download page] a report from Casale Media covering Index activity during the first half of the year. Almost half of retail sector spending comes from two sub-categories: apparel and footwear (24% of Q2 spending) and house and home (23% share), with those sub-categories alone accounting for more spending in Q2 than some entire sectors, including media, education and health.

Brand adoption of real-time bidding (RTB) continues to grow rapidly. Following strong growth at the end of 2012, the overall number of brands participating in RTB increased by 69% between Q4 2012 and Q2 2013, according to the report. AT&T was the top spending brand by a significant margin throughout the first half of the year, spending more than 5 times the next-largest spender – GM – during Q1, and about 50% more than the next-largest – Priceline – during Q2.

Recently, MAGNA GLOBAL reported that the US is the world’s largest programmatic market, with an estimated $3.9 billion worth of display-related inventory being sold through RTB platforms. (That total is estimated to be $6.1 billion across the world’s 9 most advanced markets – the US, UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, China, and Spain).

By 2015, MAGNA expects that $10.5 billion worth of inventory will be transacted through RTB platforms in the US, almost triple the estimated amount from this year. Including transactions made through automated platforms but not through RTB, programmatic will reach $7.4 billion this year in the US before rising to $17 billion in 2017.

Currently desktop display formats (social and banners) comprise 72% of US programmatic spend this year. That’s down from 83% last year, though, as video and mobile (including social mobile) have grown to represent 9% and 19% of programmatic spending, respectively. This year, MAGNA estimates that 68% of mobile is traded programmatically, as is 58% of desktop display and 25% of video.

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