Reports: Ad space, E-Commerce rebounding in Q1

Have we finally reached the point where advertising numbers are coming back? Where consumers have shrugged off savings for purchases? We may be closer, at least. In both ad spending and ecommerce, more money was spent in Q1 2010 than in Q1 2009.

by Kristina Knight

According to the latest information from vertical ad network Adify five of eleven advertising categories saw large increases in Q1 2010. The biggest increases were seen in the Food and Sports categories with CPMs in Food increasing by 129% (year over year) and CPMs in Sports up 121% for the year.

Also showing increases were Entertainment, Affluent, Real Estate and Beauty & Fashion. Categories which showed either a decline or held steady at 2009 rates were News, Travel, Moms & Parents and Business.

"Five of the eleven key verticals experienced major growth in Q1 this year," said Russ Fradin, Adify President. "Now that the Adify Vertical Guage (AVG) has measured five quarters we're able to get a full view of how vertical eCPMs have fared year over year. Seven of the eleven verticals have higher eCPMs in Q1 2010 than in Q1 2009, signaling a strong and consistent rebound."

According to information from comScore, ecommerce as a whole saw growth in Q1 2010. For the quarter ecommerce spending reached nearly $34 billion, a 10% increase year over year. One reason to show caution moving forward, however, is that the bulk of the increased spending is being done by affluent households.

comScore's chairman Gian Fulgoni said, "Upper-income households are shouldering much of the growth. Should the economy falter in the second half of the year and upper-income consumers return to a savings mode, we could still see growth decelerate."

Tags: ad forecast, Adify, comScore, ecommerce, online advertising, online shopping