The State of Digital: Global 2022 Recap and 2023 Trends report has published forecasts for the global digital market by industry and channel, listing the key trends that will affect the digital market, and made recommendations for marketers.

E-Promo Group experts have analyzed more than 30 data sources and information resources for the four regions, identified vital insights, defined key trends, and combined all the essential information about the international digital market in one report.

The Digital Market in 2023: Numbers
Global advertising spending is set to grow by 5.9%. The most intensive growth is expected to come from
· B2B (20.8%)
· Travel (20.6%)
· Restaurants and alcohol (17.1%)
· Finance (11.1%)

The growth will be noticeable across all digital channels, but the highest result is expected in the online video segment (CTV: online video, streaming platforms, SmartTV, etc.). Traditional advertising channels will continue to decline.

While overall advertising spending is growing, it is expected to decline in the U.S., which has long been the fastest-growing region in the world.
In 2023, the growth leaders will be Latin American and MENA countries.

Experts note the growth of media consumption, especially in India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and MENA. This, in turn, has led to the popularity of online shopping. In these regions, up to 70% of the population is increasingly shopping online, even more than during the pandemic.

Along with the growth of retail, much more influence comes from retail media. A large number of advertisers (60%, according to the iAB survey) are already investing in relationships with retail media or plan to do so shortly.

The cost-of-living crisis: Shoppers have a more rational approach to shopping, price offers are coming to the fore, and image advertising and branded activities are losing ground. Marketers will have to strike a balance between price policy and the preservation of image activities.

Changes in BigTech strategies: Leading market players are changing approaches to meet demand and consumer behavior changes. It is crucial for marketers to leave room to adapt advertising strategies and test new tools and platforms.

Segmentation of target audience: Advertisers are moving away from the classic model of segmenting audiences by social characteristics and are more engaged in their traits, habits, and behavior. The main task of marketers in connection with this challenge is to determine the target audience by the typical characteristics and by understanding its interests, ideological and cultural context.

Among other trends that will change the global digital market, experts mention the following:

1. No more cookies: More than half of marketers are looking for solutions to collect, store and effectively use 1st party data. A third of marketers are willing to include shoppable formats, advertising based on contextual targeting, and advertising in retail media in their media mix.
2. Adapting advertising formats to the audience’s media consumption forces advertisers to switch to short-term planning: 63% of marketers review approaches and make changes in strategy at least once a month. Audio advertising in podcasts and music services and video advertising on streaming platforms continue to develop steadily.
3. Alternative reality: In times of crisis, people look for new ways to escape, at least temporarily, from the harsh reality. Escapism takes many forms, including exploring the possibilities of metaverses. According to iAB, 56% of marketers are already investing or considering investing in metaverse projects.

The future of advertising platforms
According to the data from Insider Intelligence, the world’s advertising platforms could be performing better.

Google is expected to feel the best, with the main growth driver being Search Ads. By 2024, the corporation’s advertising revenue is projected to reach $201.65 billion due to the increasing popularity of Youtube Shorts.

TikTok will continue to grow steadily but at a slower rate than before.
Amazon’s advertising revenue is expected to decline, despite recent growth. However, the retail media network is predicted to be more resilient to market turbulence than Amazon Ads.

On the other hand, Twitter is anticipating a drop in advertiser investment and revenue.

Meta (formerly known as Facebook) is projected to experience its first drop in revenue and advertisers’ investments. By 2024, the forecast for advertising turnover will be 20% lower than in previous years.
Snapchat will slow down mainly due to competition with TikTok. Changes in Apple policy and the need for more apparent value for marketers are also affecting the state of the platform.

What awaits the key foreign markets
In the U.S., spending on digital advertising is expected to grow by 14%, with most of it still accounted for by Search Ads.

While TV remains the primary source of news and entertainment content in the U.S., the share of online video advertising spending is actively growing. Video streaming platforms such as YouTube, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video are becoming more popular.

In the UK, the digital market is developing in line with global trends. Retail is growing, and Paid Search and display advertising remain the most popular advertising channels.

In central Europe, France and Germany remain the main drivers of the advertising market, despite the substantial forecasted drop in advertising spending in 2023. The share of video ads in the marketing mix is also expected to decrease in 2023.

The advertising market is expected to grow actively in the MENA region due to increased purchasing power and overall market development.

See the report for more information on trends and detailed recommendations for marketers