Digital media has seen a strong year-over-year growth and will likely extend its hold in the year 2012. This will come amidst challenges and evolution of newer technologies in the field. The response to smart phones and iPhones or androids further lends credence to the growth prospects of the media and marked shift towards newer avenues.
It is not just that social net work such as Facebook or Twitter that is driving the digital media, newer applications through smart phones or android also helps the growth faster. It is the percolation of the available content that would allow the web-based devices to fuel the progression of the digital consumer.
The growth would mean new opportunities; yet there are also challenges, especially when the world is passing through uncertain economic conditions on the back of European Zone debt crisis.
The year 2011 was not an easier one on the economic front especially after Standard & Poor's downgrading of the U.S. sovereign credit rating by a notch. Yet the digital media was undeterred by any ambiguity on the economic front and in fact saw the fluidity to its advantages.
It was quite evident from the way advertisers in the U.S. preferring the digital media. As much as 4.8 trillion display advertisement impressions have been recorded by the U.S. web in the year 2011 in view of the shift towards digital media.
It is no surprise that tablets and smartphones have changed the consumers' digital expenditure. Most of the mobile phone users preferred media in their instruments in 2011 in the U.S., a release from comScore indicates.
The important aspect is that mobile instrument, which is meant for communication purposes, have also been now turned into a content consumption device or tool. This is further corroborated by another data from ComScore. The research firm data says digital traffic consumption through tablets and smartphones consumed more than 8 percent of the total digital traffic at the end of 2011.
The online retail section during the 2011 holiday season also witnessed a strong growth of 15 percent compared to physical retailers' 4 percent growth. The U.S. recorded $256 billion in 2011, registering a 12 percent growth in its retail and travel-bound e-commerce activities.
Online video viewership too witnessed 43 percent jump in 2011 indicating a shift. ComScore data reveal that100 million plus Americans viewed video contents through online on an average day during the year 2011.
Social Networking seemed to have taken more online minutes in 2011 as it 16.6 percent represented the total online minutes. This is also expected to make further inroads and become the most sought after online activity in 2012 too. Facebook, which filed its IPO, is likely to maintain its lead over others and could fuel a shift in consumer preference.
Google (GOOG), which is dominating the search engine, will likely to extend its share at the cost of Yahoo (YHOO). But the year 2011 witnessed Microsoft's Bing recording uptick trajectory and toppled Yahoo to become the number two in core search engine segment. Meanwhile, Pricewaterhouse Coopers expects worldwide online television ad to witness 22.6 percent compounded annual growth rate by 2015, while mobile TV ad spends would grow at 33.0 percent during the same period.