New report identifies growth in US digital media use in 2009
comScore has released a review looking at key trends in US digital media last year, revealing growth in the core search market, social networking and online video.
The digital measurement firm said that after years of strong growth across the digital economy, the recession introduced softness to many digital business sectors.
It added that despite this, use of digital media climbed to new heights in 2009 as the internet became an integral component of Americans’ lives.
The US core search market grew 16% in 2009, said comScore, driven by 6% growth in unique searchers and a 10% rise in search queries per searcher, while nearly 4 out of 5 US internet users visited a social networking site on a monthly basis, with Facebook and Twitter providing much of the growth.
Display ad impressions were up 21% last year, as the online advertising sector increased its share of media spending. Growth was driven by an 8% increase in ad reach and a 12% increase in average frequency.
And in the week when YouTube celebrates its fifth birthday, six out of seven US internet users now view online video content in a month, with the Google owned site and Hulu continuing to experience rapid increases in viewership.
In separate research published earlier this month, comScore revealed that nearly 178 million US internet users watched an online video in December, with YouTube remaining the top destination.
Looking at mobile, smartphone ownership increased from 11% to 17% of mobile users, while 3G phone ownership increased from 32% to 43%.
In the UK, approximately one in five UK consumers now owns a smartphone, according to a recent report from Deloitte.
It showed that 21% of consumers are using smartphones and that they ranked fourth among owners in terms of the product they value most.
Elsewhere, there was a 2% fall for US e-commerce spending, down to $209.6 billion in 2009 – the first year on record with negative growth rates.