comScore Releases '2013 U.S. Digital Future In Focus' Report

What's Ahead In U.S. Digital Future?

COMSCORE has published their "2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus" report. This annual report examines how the prevailing trends in social media, search, online video, digital advertising, mobile and e-commerce are defining the current digital marketplace and what these trends mean for the year ahead.

"2013 is poised to be digital's most exciting year yet as the growing ubiquity of digital platforms presents marketers with nearly endless opportunities to connect and engage with consumers," said COMSCORE CMO/EVP of Global Product Development LINDA ABRAHAM. "It's clear that the dynamics of the marketplace have fundamentally evolved through the adoption of smartphones and tablets and the increasingly 'digital' nature of all media. Navigating this changing landscape requires a holistic understanding of the key trends, underlying drivers and new opportunities that the digital ecosystem will bring in the year ahead."

Social Media Market Matures as Focus Turns Toward Building Business Models and Financial Success

COMSCORE found that Americans' usage of Social Networking sites continued to be dominated by FACEBOOK, which accounted for five out of every six minutes spent online on these sites. FACEBOOK's 2012 IPO signaled a maturation of the social media market with a renewed focus on building strong business models and monetization streams. Several other social media players also made waves in the public markets this year, including LINKEDIN, YELP, ZYNGA and GROUPON. Several other notable social media players like TWITTER, TUMBLR, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM (now part of FACEBOOK) have all posted strong user growth as they begin to ramp up their revenue engines.

Online Video Brings TV Dollars To Digital As Consumers Become More Platform Agnostic

Radio has been adding more and more video to its web offerings, and that's a good move says COMSCORE. The U.S. online video market also shows signs of maturing from a consumption standpoint, but monetization is picking up steam as YOUTUBE ramps up advertising efforts while traditional media players find success with TV commercial content. "Because the demand for high-impact video advertising exceeds the available inventory, look for continued momentum on the advertising side -- particularly as targeting improves," the report notes.

Smartphone And Tablets Carve Out Space In Multi-Platform Digital Media Landscape

"Smartphones continued to drive the mobile landscape in 2012," writes COMSCORE, "finally reaching 50% market penetration in 2012. The ANDROID platform also hit a 50% milestone as it captured the majority of the smartphone market for the first time. Meanwhile, tablets continued to gain traction, with 52.4 million U.S. tablet owners as of DECEMBER 2012. The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, and consumers’ increasing use thereof, has resulted in a fragmented digital media landscape where the typical consumer now shares his time across multiple screens."

Download the report here.

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