Connected vehicles are changing the nature of transportation and mobility. Players in the traditional automotive ecosystem—including retailers and marketers—are using the massive amounts of data connected cars produce to enhance brand loyalty, create new revenue streams, and drive business growth.

Digital ad spending across several industries in the UK has been up-and-down the past two years. There will be across-the-board growth this year, but at uneven rates, ranging from 33.0% for travel to 7.8% for automotive.

After a complicated 2020, most industries in Germany will accelerate their digital ad spending growth in 2021. The rebound for travel and auto will underwhelm, but retail spend will soar.

The US auto industry's digital ad spending will rebound completely from 2020's pandemic-propelled losses, allowing for a full recovery in ad spending by the end of 2021.

The reports in this collection look at ad spending in the retail, financial services, computing products and consumer electronics, automotive, telecom, travel, health and pharma, media and entertainment, and CPG industries. Countries covered in this report series include the US, UK, and Germany.

The pandemic has caused the US automotive industry to reduce its digital ad spending by 18.2% in 2020. As car sales plummeted, dealerships closed, and manufacturing slowed, marketers backed off from performance initiatives and focused on branding efforts.

In a difficult year for advertising worldwide, digital ad spending in Germany will see only 0.8% growth. Most of the industries we break out will decelerate their digital ad spend to some degree, while travel and auto will reduce theirs dramatically.

2021 was a year of reckoning across various industries due to the worsening chip crisis. Chip and component supplies ran dry, exposing weaknesses in supply chains, while manufacturers scrambled to adjust product lines.

After an inconsistent year for digital ad spending in 2020, every industry in the US will increase their outlays in 2021. The retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and entertainment industries will provide the biggest boosts, driving up overall digital ad spending by 25.5%.

There were moments at CES when it seemed more like an auto show. Numerous companies announced electric vehicles (EVs), including GM’s Silverado EV, a slew of ebikes, a 170 mph motorcycle, and even a snow bike. Moreover, amid rumors of Apple’s car ambitions, Sony unveiled its new EV, the Vision-S 02 SUV—a prototype from its new mobility unit.

The UK’s digital advertising industry weathered the pandemic remarkably well. Among the industry sectors we track, digital ad spending will rise across the board (which was not universal last year), but these patterns of growth will fluctuate wildly across categories.