According to a recent eMarketer report, digital advertising spending by retailers “parallels that of the overall U.S. digital ad market this year.” The research firm noted that it expects retailers’ digital ad spend to increase 19.1 percent. “For this industry, mobile and search advertising dominate ad spend allocation,” the eMarketer report noted.

“We expect retailers will spend $28.3 billion on digital ads in 2019,” the research firm reported. “More than two-thirds of this spend will go toward mobile advertising, with growth rates eclipsing 20 percent through the end of our forecasting period.”

Oscar Orozco, a senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer, added, “Retailers are at the forefront of mobile advertising, as strategies have shifted from a desktop-only to a dual-device approach. There has been an increased emphasis on boosting checkout conversion rates, simplifying the purchasing funnel on mobile and targeting shoppers in-store with relevant ads and promotions.”

In terms of advertising format, retailers are now prioritizing search, with companies increasing their spending with Google and Amazon “and embrace tactics like voice advertising,” eMarketer noted. Advertising spend for “search” is expected to increase 22.5 percent in 2019 to $13.1 billion, according to the research firm. Retail spending will account for the largest share of search dollars, at nearly one-fourth of the total U.S. search market.

“Google and Amazon have become online storefronts for nearly every product and service consumers are looking to purchase,” Orozco noted.