China's e-commerce giant gains ground as mobile advertising industry revenues double
Alibaba gains ground Image: Alibaba Group |
Alibaba Group, which completed a record-breaking IPO on the NYSE last year, saw mobile advertising revenues surge in 2014 as advertisers clamour for attention on m-commerce platforms.
Mobile shopping tripled in China last year, reaching 929.7bn yuan ($150bn).
Alibaba's mobile ad revenues are expected to reach $4.75bn in 2015, compared to $2.19bn in 2014, a projected increase of 117%. Mobile users across Tmall and Taobao reached 265m during the same period, representing a year-on-year increase of 95%. The Group recently announced it would team up with smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi to bring mobile payments to wearable devices.
Baidu's mobile ad revenue will likely hit $4.52bn this year from $2.53bn in 2014, tracking Alibaba, but will still beat the e-commerce giant overall on total diigtal spend, including search and display advertising.
Despite the increase in mobile ad spending, marketers in China still lag behind consumers in mobile adoption, according to new findings from Forrester Research. The company constructed an index that measures marketers mobile readiness on three key metrics: Mobile Intensity Score, Mobile Expectation Score, and Mobile Behaviour Score.
As mobile adoption surges, consumers expectations are also rising. Mobile users in China, irrespective of age, have higher expectations of mobile service than their US counterparts, highlighting the need for brands to be mobile ready. With the Google "mobilegeddon" about to come into effect, the need to optimise mobile offerings has never been greater.