ExchangeWire Research’s weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world, with additional insight provided by Rebecca Muir, ExchangeWire, head of research and analysis. In this week’s edition: UK ad spend reaches record high of £9.42bn in first half of 2015; US accounts for global ad spend; and half of UK retailers are investing in in-store, location-based technologies.

UK ad spend reaches record high

In the UK, in the first half of 2015, ad spend grew 5.8% to reach a record high of £9.42bn, according to the Advertising Association & Warcs ‘Q2 Expenditure Report’. Digital ad spend rose 13.3% in H1 to £3.98bn, with mobile accounting for 79% of this growth. Ad spend for 2016 is predicted to grow 5.3% in 2016, reaching £20bn.

Tim Lefroy, chief executive at The Advertising Association commented: "Advertising's resilience points to the strength of the broader economy in the first half. The UK leads the world in e-commerce and the trend to mobile means serving the public better – with ads in the right place at the right time."

Mobile ad spend grew 52.1%, reaching the billion-pound barrier for the first time in a half-year period (£1.08bn). Full-year growth in mobile ad spend is forecast at 47.2%. Growth was also seen in the first half for radio (2.9%), out of home (2.3%) cinema (2.3%) and direct mail (4.5%). TV advertising grew 2.9% year-on-year to £1.14bn in Q2, with full-year forecasts for 2015 revised up to 7.1%.

US leads in programmatic spend

In the US, programmatic spend (USD$7.7bn) represents 54% of global programmatic spend, according to Magna Global’s ‘Programmatic Report 2015’ as reported in Campaign Asia. Globally, 89% of programmatic spend is represented by the largest 10 markets including: the US, the UK, Japan, China, and Germany.

Within APAC, programmatic penetration trails behind the global average, with a projected 17% of transactions to be traded programmatically in 2015. By 2019, this is set to reach 35%, trailing behind the global average of 55%.

Currently, less than a quarter (24%) of programmatic spend is on mobile, by 2019 more than half of spend will be on mobile. Within APAC, Japan (40%) and Australia (38%), are the largest mobile markets, followed by Hong Kong (24%), Singapore (23%), and Indonesia (18%).

Retailers investing to increase in-store personalisation

Within the UK, half of retailers are investing in in-store location-based technologies, such as iBeacons, according to the IDC’s ‘Differentiating Through Digital’ infobrief. Just under a third (30%) of retailers are intending to use the 'internet of things' to drive location-based consumer engagement.

When in store, over two thirds (67%) of consumers use their mobile device to look for additional product information, with 75% using the retailer’s website and 47% using the retailer’s mobile app, suggesting their needs as a consumer are not being fully met in store.

Consumers are engaging with digital experiences in store where available, with more than a third (34%) of consumers using digital signage and shelf labels, and nearly one-in-five (17%) using interactive display technology. Sales assistants still play an important role in-store, with 56% engaging with them. When sales assistants are digital enabled (such as with iPads) (34%) use them to find out more information.

Iona Walters, senior solutions consultant at Adobe commented: "Utilising digital technologies in-store to enhance customer experience is a big opportunity for retailers to stand out from the crowd. To ensure it is a success, retailers need to have a flexible creative platform at their core."