The Missing Piece in Mobile Monetization

by Amy Vale

With the surge in US mobile commerce sales and with the explosive growth of smartphones, tablets and e-readers, more companies are reaping the benefits of mobile advertising than ever before. When you take a look at the statistics, which show the increasing amount of sales happening through mobile devices, we predict that there are going to be a huge increase in the number of mobile ads coming from large multinational companies. Have you monetized your mobile properties, your mobile website, app or destination? Now is the time to be doing so. 


Mobile commerce is soaring. According to e-marketer research, in 2011 US mobile commerce sales surged 91.4% to reach a massive $6.7 billion.  It is expected that this boost will continue growing with an anticipated $31 billion by the year 2015. 


Of the seven most common business models that brands, retailers, publishers and developers use to monetize applications, research has shown mobile commerce demonstrates the most gains, according to a study by Appcelerator and IDC. Mobile commerce showed 86% year-over-year growth, the biggest jump out of the seven monetization tactics. The other six tactics include app store sales, advertising, in-app purchases, brand loyalty and engagement, subscription and coupons/loyalty. By far, the standout tactic is mobile commerce. 

Mobile ad spend worldwide is predicted to be US$3.3 billion in 2011 sky rocketing to $20.6 billion in 2015, driven by search ads and local ads. In the US over half of U.S. mobile ad spending is local. Asia – Japan particularly – continues to dominate global mobile ad spend. With this data, we can see that there is going to need to be a lot of new mobile ads coming from companies big and small if these numbers are to be realized. We predict that it will not just be the big multinational companies that increase their mobile ad spend. Driving the growth in local mobile advertising will be the increasing number of small and medium-sized businesses that will begin adopting mobile advertising. 


The missing piece in mobile monetization is you. With such massive growth expected, now is the time for you to be monetizing your mobile properties.  If you have a mobile site, application or destination that isn’t monetized with mobile advertising get to it.  For the industry to grow, and you to benefit from the boom, it is essential to be out there monetizing your mobile work. It really is a win-win situation.