Chinese Advertisers Follow Audiences OnlineĀ  As readers demonstrate a clear preference for online media over print, news organizations are putting more resources into digital platforms, e-commerce is growing and advertisers, too, are spending money where they know they can find the audiences they need — online. In China, this shift has led to explosive growth for e-commerce platforms, including the largest online shopping site, Tmall. It has also meant substantial growth in online advertising in China. Data collected by iResearch, shows that from 2002 to 2012 Internet advertising rose from a negligible amount to about 79.1 billion Yuan — about a third of the more than 200 billion Yuan spent on advertising in total and second only to TV advertising (which accounts for 86.1 billion Yuan). The report found that in 2011, for the first time in China, advertisers spent more on online ads than they did on print ads. Another report, from Companies and Markets, pointed to these factors:
The rising number of tech savvy population and introduction of new technologies made online shopping safer and user-friendly and all these factors support online advertising demand in the country.
Advertisers are putting their money where the audiences are. In China, as in the rest of the world, that means online. FURTHER READING: China’s Online Ad Spend Tops Print The Quiet Driver of Economic Growth: Exports