According to our July 2021 forecast, 2023 will be a pivotal year for the US B2B digital ad market: Display will overtake search, mobile will surpass nonmobile, and the split between digital and traditional will near a tipping point just beyond our forecast period.

Advertisers are increasing their upfront commitments, particularly for connected TV.

The consumption of at-home media and entertainment thrived amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the total shutdown of live events and the pause on film and TV production will cause digital ad spending to decline in 2020.

Digital ad spending in the US healthcare and pharmaceutical industry will grow by 14.2% to reach $9.53 billion in 2020. Growth is being fueled by ads related to COVID-19, including public service announcements, medical supplies and telemedicine.

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 digital advertising overall, US travel industry spending will decline faster than any other vertical. It will bring up the rear in total spending and claim the smallest market share of all industries we cover.

The CPG industry will increase its investments in digital advertising this year as strong sales of essential goods and personal care products—particularly on ecommerce platforms—gave advertisers reasons to keep spending during the pandemic.

Digital ad spend by telecom and by computing products and consumer electronics companies will outperform industry averages in 2020. In a difficult year for digital ad spending, they will be two of only three industries to maintain double-digit growth.

In a difficult year for retail sales overall, the US retail industry will remain the largest spender on digital advertising among all verticals, despite a huge deceleration in growth.

The financial services sector will continue to increase its investments in digital advertising this year despite the pandemic. Shifting consumer behavior toward digital banking services and heightened interest in personal finance has given financial services companies good reasons to continue advertising.

With the ever-changing situation surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, it is unclear how long the pandemic will last and what its effect on the economy—and therefore the TV industry—will be.

Ad dollars and viewers are pouring into digital video platforms as the TV industry continues to lose subscribers.

Retail ad budgets continue to grow at a steady pace as retail stalwarts battle disruption from Amazon and other digitally savvy companies.

The typical native display ad is mobile, social and purchased programmatically—and that’s not expected to change over the next couple years, as the native ad market continues organic growth.

YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, responding to marketers’ alarm over brand safety concerns, are ramping up efforts to block offensive content and prove they can be transparent about the process. Here’s how it’s working.