Mobile ad spending is forecasted to grow by 85 per cent in India this year, as a growing demand for smartphones and strong social media usage have led to advertisers increasing their mobile ad budgets.

According to eMarketer, double-digit growth can be expected to continue over the next few years, with mobile accounting for just under 62 per cent of the $2.8bn digital ad spend in 2021.

Smartphones make up 36.6 per cent of all mobile users in India this year, this is predicted to rise to 47.4 per cent by 2021. Furthermore, this year, mobile social networking is expected to reach 26.8 per cent of all mobile phone users and 74.9 per cent of social network users.

Despite the rise of mobile, traditional media still comes out on top, with TV taking the majority of ad budgets. TV alone is expected to take $3.13bn of media ad spend in 2017, which is equivalent to 39.3 per cent of total media spend.

“While television continues to be the most popular advertising medium, digital is the fastest growing, with ad spending recording double-digit growth rates up to 2021,” said Shelleen Shum, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer.

“Driven by increasing mobile internet penetration, falling data prices and the availability of low-cost handsets, mobile will be a major contributor to the growth of digital advertising in the years to come as marketers embrace this channel to reach a new generation of young and digitally savvy consumers.”