New research reveals the UK’s fastest growing online sectors
Mobile phone websites was the fastest growing sector online in the UK over the past 12 months, according to new figures from The Nielsen Company.
Mobile phone websites saw a 58% increase in unique UK visitors from 7.7 million in July 2008 to 12.2 million in July 2009, with almost all players in this sector experiencing strong growth.
The second fastest growing sector online is Food and Cooking which saw a 58% increase year on year to 10.5 million unique UK visitors.
The third fastest growing sector, Coupons/Rewards, grew by 55% from 7.0 million unique UK visitors in July 2008 to 10.9 million in July 2009.
| Rank | Online Sector* | Increase in Unique UK Audience | Unique UK Audience (millions) July 2009 | Unique UK Audience (Millions) July 2008 | Sector’s Most Popular Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobile Phones | 58% | 12.2 | 7.7 | O2 |
| 2 | Food & Cooking | 56% | 10.5 | 6.7 | BBC Good Food |
| 3 | Coupons/Rewards | 55% | 10.9 | 7.0 | Nectar |
| 4 | Insurance | 53% | 7.8 | 5.1 | Confused.com |
| =5 | Car Manufacturers | 44% | 3.6 | 2.5 | Ford |
| 6 | Auto Parts & Accessories | 44% | 3.1 | 2.1 | Halfords |
| 7 | Health, Fitness & Nutrition | 40% | 12.6 | 9.0 | Optical Express |
| 8 | Hardware Manufacturers | 37% | 10.5 | 7.6 | Apple |
| 9 | Delivery/Stamps | 34% | 5.7 | 4.3 | Royal Mail |
| 10 | Parenting/Family Resources | 33% | 3.6 | 2.7 | BabyCenter |
A recent forecast from eMarketer predicted that growth in UK online ad spending will be just 0.9% this year.
However, internet spending is expected to regain some momentum in 2010, when the economy begins to rebound, and approach 10% growth in 2011.
In April, the IAB UK revealed that UK online adspend grew 17.1% in 2008, up £540 million year on year, to £3.4 billion.