Ads within smartphone applications such as the popular puzzle game Angry Birds are turning into a key driver for mobile advertising, as apps become the main distribution method for media on mobile phones, according to a report.<\/p>\n
In-app spending by advertisers in the United States and western Europe, where there is a high concentration of smartphones owned by affluent consumers, is set to overtake spending on display ads on mobile websites this year, research firm Strategy Analytics<\/a> says.<\/p>\n The economy in apps, many of which are free, has taken time to establish itself since Apple<\/a> first launched the App Store for the iPhone in 2007. Google<\/a> also has a thriving app store for its Android phones.<\/p>\n At first it seemed that most developers would have a hard time making enough money from their small software programs, which were made for anything from playing games to checking the weather or recognizing songs.<\/p>\n But advertisers are now increasingly using them to reach the consumers of those apps. Strategy Analytics estimates that advertisers will spend $2.9 billion on in-app advertising this year, while consumers will spend $26.1 billion buying them.<\/p>\n The number of apps downloaded globally is expected to grow 38 percent to more than 32 billion this year.<\/p>\n “Advertisers chase eyeballs, so the fact that brands spend more on in-app advertising than the mobile Web is a clear sign that apps are what consumers are glued to for an increasing range of activities,” said David MacQueen, the firm’s director of wireless media strategies.<\/p>\n In less affluent economies, consumers tend to use more basic phones that may not have access to app stores, but browse the Web instead.<\/p>\n