ExchangeWire Research’s weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world, with additional insight provided by Rebecca Muir, head of research and analysis, ExchangeWire. In this week’s edition: Booming digital ad spend; Millennials and males lead the way with online video; and Manufacturing leading the way in IoT.

Booming digital ad spend

Digital advertising received USD$17.6bn (£14.4bn) in investment from US companies in Q3 2016, according to the IAB’s and PwC’s latest Internet Advertising Revenue announcement.

This is the highest third quarter for digital advertising on record, unsurprising given the relative nascence of the digital ad industry, the growing sophistication of ad products and services provided by ad tech firms and platforms, and the ongoing emergence of new players in the space.

Mobile will be the fastest-growing advertising channel and buoy spending on each of the digital formats. US mobile ad revenue will rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% through to 2020. Digital video ad spending is rising faster than search and display. US digital video ad revenue will rise by a CAGR of 21.9% through 2020. Mobile search will overtake desktop search ad revenue by 2019. Mobile search ad spend will rise by a 25.2% CAGR, while desktop search ad revenue will decline during the same period.

Millennials & males lead the way with online video  

Millennials and males are leading the trend toward online video viewing, according to the fourth semi-annual State of Online Video report from Limelight Networks.

More than three-quarters of respondents watch online video every week, though there are significant differences in video adoption by age and gender. While just over half of all consumers watch more than two hours of online video per week, 68% of Millennials do so. There is also a significant disparity by gender, with more than 58% of men watching more than two hours per week, compared to less than 45% of women.

Respondents ranked television shows as the top type of content they watch online, followed closely by original content/YouTube, and movies. Millennials prefer to watch TV shows and movies online, while people over 60 primarily watch original content/YouTube and news.

High prices are the most important factor influencing whether consumers will cut the cord with cable, or pay-TV providers. More than four-in-ten (41%) cite price increases as the primary reason they would abandon their subscription. However, 24% of respondents say they would cut the cord if they could directly subscribe to the channels they want online.

Manufacturing leading the way in IoT

The manufacturing sector is expected to significantly increase investment in the Internet of Things (IoT) between 2016-2023, according to market research firm Research Nester. This is largely to boost the efficiency of automated processes in manufacturing industries, ensuring a more streamlined production cycle.

The IoT market is expected to reach USD$724.2bn (£590.8bn) by 2023, registering a CAGR of 13.2% up until this date. Rising adoption of smart devices and growing awareness towards IoT among urban populations are fostering the growth.

APAC is expected to dominate the global IoT market for the next seven years. This is being driven by urbanisation and the availability of low-cost data services. Rising tech savvy populations across the region and more government initiatives to adopt advanced technology in emerging nations, such as India and China, are also helping.