December 23, 2014

Spending on digital ads in France is expected to pass the $3 billion mark this year and account for 20.2% of total media ad spend, with this number increasing to 21.3% in 2015, according to eMarketer’s latest forecasts. Overall, digital ad spending in France will see stronger growth this year, and eMarketer predicts an increase of 7.0% in 2014, compared with just 4.0% last year.

Mobile ad spending will help drive digital ad growth throughout the forecast period and will account for 14.7% of total digital ad spending in France in 2014, with this number expected to rise to 22.2% next year. eMarketer estimates that by 2018, investments in mobile ads will account for over half of all digital ad spend in the country.

Mobile ad spending in France continues to show significant growth and will rise by 80.0% this year to just over $448 million, up from more than $249 million in 2013, eMarketer estimates. By 2016, spending on mobile ads in the country will pass $1 billion.

“Rocketing smartphone usage continues to fuel mobile ad spending in France. eMarketer calculates that 26.7 million people in the country owned at least one smartphone in 2014, and that number is set to reach nearly 33 million in 2015—equivalent to 64.0% of all mobile phone users. In addition, more than one-third of the entire population already uses a tablet at least once a month. With so much activity taking place on mobile devices, it’s inevitable that advertisers are rushing to capture those eyeballs,” said Karin von Abrams, senior analyst at eMarketer.

eMarketer estimates that mobile will take a 3.0% share of total media ad spend in France this year, with this number expected to rise to over 12% in 2018. However, despite the spike in growth this year, France still lags behind the majority of its Western European neighbors in terms of mobile ad spending. In fact, only Spain will invest less in this media, with a mere 1.6% of total media spend going toward mobile in 2014. However, by 2016, mobile will take a larger share of total media ad spending in France than in either Spain or Italy.

eMarketer bases all of its forecasts on a multipronged approach that focuses on both worldwide and local trends in the economy, technology and population, along with company-, product-, country- and demographic-specific trends, and trends in specific consumer behaviors. We analyze quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of research firms, government agencies, media outlets and company reports, weighting each piece of information based on methodology and soundness.

In addition, every element of each eMarketer forecast fits within the larger matrix of all its forecasts, with the same assumptions and general framework used to project figures in a wide variety of areas. Regular re-evaluation of each forecast means those assumptions and framework are constantly updated to reflect new market developments and other trends.

About eMarketer’s Interactive Guide to Worldwide Ad Spending

eMarketer’s latest worldwide ad spending forecast is accompanied by an interactive tool that provides open access to data on traditional, digital and mobile ad spending in 22 countries. Explore the dynamics of the global advertising landscape and compare and contrast which countries are projected to make the fastest switch to digital, and which are staying the course with traditional outlets.

You can view the visualization tool here: emarketer.com/adspendtool