Google and Meta have been at the forefront of US digital advertising for some time. However this year, for the first time since 2014, they are expected to bring in less than half of all US digital advertising.
So why exactly does this matter and what does it mean? For a start, they’re huge companies that have a history of coming up against lawsuits and antitrust investigations. Many consider these two giants to hold too much power by occupying so much of the digital space. While this fact still remains true, their level of reach is becoming less overbearing as competitors step in.
According to Axios, Google and Meta combined will secure 48.4% of all US digital ad revenue this year. These numbers are down from 54.7% at their peak in 2017. Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, their biggest threat comes from Amazon, which has grown its ad business to over 30 billion dollars annually. By 2024 it is expected that Amazon will reach 12.7% of all US digital ad dollars, while Meta is predicted to reach 17.9%.
Change for the world of advertising
Others are creeping into the space too, including the likes of TikTok. The video hosting app has seen its ad business begin to boom. TikTok is looking to earn $8.6 billion in ad revenue in 2024. If so, this would make it the fifth-largest digital ad publisher in the US.
One of the reasons we are seeing more companies parading into Google and Meta’s usual ad dominance is simply due to the increase in our screen time and the ease of access. Any website, app, or company has the potential to set millions of eyes on them. More people are starting to look to the likes of Amazon and TikTok to search for products, trends pull in new custom and the advertising space is changing.
While it seems that the likes of Google and Meta will continue to possess much of the digital marketing space, there’s now more room for other players.
Image credit to John Schnobrich
Paige Cook is a writer with a multi-media background. She has experience covering video games and technology and also has freelance experience in video editing, graphic design, and photography. Paige is a massive fan of the movie industry and loves a good TV show, if she is not watching something interesting then she's probably playing video games or buried in a good book. Her latest addiction is virtual photography and currently spends far too much time taking pretty pictures in games rather than actually finishing them.
