Most U.S. digital ad platforms saw slowing ad spending last quarter, in keeping with a recent report from digital marketing agency Tinuiti.
Amazon Sponsored Products, Facebook, Google search and Instagram all saw lower spending growth year-over-year in Q2 2024 than a quarter earlier. YouTube was the one major platform that saw a rise.
The video platform saw a 28% increase in ad spend last quarter, in comparison with 18% in Q1. This was in response to a 74% increase in impression volume. At the identical time, those recent impressions were relatively low-cost, which pushed average CPM down 26% year-over-year in Q2, down from a 3% decline within the previous quarter, in keeping with Tinuiti’s Q2 2024 Digital Ads Benchmark Report.
Meta
Investment in Meta properties rose by 10% year-over-year in Q2, down from a 16% increase in Q1. This deceleration is partly attributable to a tougher comparison with Q2 of the previous 12 months, where spend growth surged from 0% in Q1 2023 to 9% in Q2 2023.
Facebook’s share of total Meta ad spend dropped in comparison with last Q2 but still accounted for 68% in Q2 2024, maintaining its dominance amongst Meta’s platforms. Instagram’s spend share increased from 29% last 12 months to 32% this 12 months, as its spend growth outpaced Facebook’s in Q2. Messenger and Audience Network proceed to represent a small portion of total Meta ad spend for most advertisers.
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In the second quarter, Instagram’s promoting spend growth rate cooled to 24% year-over-year, placing it second behind YouTube. This marks a shift from Q1, where Instagram led the pack, in keeping with the report.
Across each Facebook and Instagram, AI-driven Advantage+ campaigns proceed to be a significant component in retailer promoting expenditure. However, the share of spending to this format has barely decreased because the peak holiday shopping season in Q4. This shift in ad format popularity and spending patterns reflects Meta’s ongoing efforts to optimize its promoting offerings across its platforms.
Facebook’s CPM decreased by just 1% year-over-year in Q2 2024, the fifth consecutive quarter where the year-over-year CPM decline has lessened. The report said that is partly due to increasing share of Facebook impressions from Reels videos and overlay ads, that are significantly cheaper than Feed placements, lowering the general CPM for the platform.
Google search advertisers increased their budgets by 14% year-over-year in Q2 2024, down from 17% growth within the previous, in keeping with the report. Spending on Google shopping ads, including Performance Max and standard Shopping campaigns, rose by 16% year-over-year in Q2. In contrast, click growth for Google text ads remained weak in Q2, with a notable drop in click-through rates in May as Google introduced AI Overviews to all U.S. users.
Google’s search promoting landscape showed mixed ends in Q2 2024. Advertiser spending on Google search ads increased by 14% year-over-year, a slight deceleration from the 17% growth observed within the previous quarter. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of slowing click growth for Google’s search ads, with Q2 seeing only a 3% increase.
On the pricing front, advertisers experienced some relief because the cost-per-click (CPC) growth rate slowed to 12% year-over-year, following 4 quarters of accelerating CPC growth. Despite this overall slowdown, Google shopping ads remained a vibrant spot in the corporate’s search ad portfolio.
Notably, the expansion in shopping ad spending over the past two quarters has been primarily driven by higher CPCs, indicating that advertisers are willing to pay more for these high-performing ad formats, the report found.
Amazon
Amazon Sponsored Products spending growth decelerated more significantly in Q2 in comparison with Google search, reaching 8% year-over-year. However, sales generated through Sponsored Product ads performed higher, increasing by 11% year-over-year for the quarter, leading to improved return on investment for advertisers.
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Amazon maintained its high share of Google shopping ad impressions from Q1 to Q2, reaching levels typically seen only during holiday seasons. This aggressive approach in 2024 follows Temu’s significant push to achieve US market share in 2023, which included becoming a significant buyer of Google shopping ads. Interestingly, the report found Amazon reduced its presence in Google’s text ad auctions this 12 months, suggesting a possible reallocation of spending between ad formats.
Emerging platforms
Several emerging promoting platforms experienced significant growth last quarter. Walmart Sponsored Products’ advertisers boosted their spending by 45% year-over-year, the fifth consecutive quarter of over 30% growth. TikTok saw a ten% year-over-year increase in ad spend, while Snapchat and Pinterest demonstrated more robust growth at 26% and 22% respectively.
The full report may be found here. (Registration required)
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