Increased use of smartphones, falling data prices to spur India's digital ad spending to Rs 13,000 cr by 2018: Survey

New Delhi: Riding on growing demand for smartphones and falling data prices, digital advertising spend in the country is likely to rise to Rs 13,000 crore ($2 billion) by December 2018 at annual growth rate of 35 percent, a survey said here on Monday. According to the Assocham-KPMG joint study, the digital ad spending is expected to witness an exponential increase from the current level of Rs 9,800 crore due to widespread availability of 3G/4G services and the on-going surge in internet penetration in the country. [caption id=“attachment_4220591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image.[/caption] “The digital advertising spend was estimated to be around Rs 7,500 crore at the end of 2016,” the survey noted. “Around 50 percent of their overall advertising spend was on digital followed by e-commerce, telecom, technology, banking and financial services and insurance companies,” it added. The survey highlighted that the digital advertisement industry is growing rapidly as there is a growth in digital communication devices around the world, and the increase in smartphones, tablets is enabling advertisers to reach a wider audience. “The digital advertisements are flexible and can be adapted for any kind of device like television, laptop, tablet or smartphone,” the report said. The two-way interactive capability and the ability to customise the ad for target audience also made digital advertisements more effective, it added.