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In 2022, the world's biggest online industries will be e-commerce, online gambling, social media, search engines, entertainment, and advertising. With the growth of mobile devices and the ever-increasing need for web-based services, these industries are set to continue booming in the coming years. So, what are the key drivers behind this growth, and which sectors are expected to experience the most rapid expansion? Let's take a closer look.
Global e-commerce sales are forecast to reach new heights by 2022, representing an impressive annual growth rate. This is due to the rise in internet penetration rates and the increasing availability of smart mobile devices. Mobile phones are central to this growth. According to Internet World Stats, there are now 3.8 billion mobile internet users around the world. This represents almost half of all global internet users.
Therefore, it's no surprise that e-commerce shoppers are turning increasingly to their mobile phones in order to transact goods and services online. For example, in China alone there were 1 billion mobile phone shopping transactions in 2016, according to The Atlantic.
Social media platforms are also driving the growth of e-commerce, allowing consumers to purchase goods directly through their accounts on sites like Twitter and Facebook. According to Business Insider, social commerce sales in the US alone totaled $5.6 billion last year. This has developed dramatically over the years, and it is projected to continue growing strongly in the years ahead.
Online casino sites have become more and more popular over the years. This is because there are more ways today to play casino games, thanks to the rise of mobile phone and tablet devices. Online casino games are becoming increasingly advanced too, with companies adding 3D graphics, advanced audio soundtracks, and interactive bonus rounds.
It's, therefore, no surprise that the online gambling industry is expected to grow rapidly in the years ahead.
Social media use is also skyrocketing among internet users. According to CNBC, social media usage has grown by around 10% every year since 2010.
This growth is being driven by mobile devices, especially smartphones and tablets. According to Business Insider, 1 billion people worldwide now have access to high-speed mobile internet on their phones. This is good news for social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
In the coming years, Google and other search engines are also expected to benefit from this growth in online activity. This is because search engines play a critical role in guiding web users to online stores, gambling sites, and social media platforms. In fact, according to Marketing Land, Google dominates the search engine market with an estimated 86% of all searches worldwide. Moreover, it's estimated that around 77% of online retail sales go through Amazon alone. This demonstrates how powerful these platforms have become.
The number of internet users around the world is projected to grow by 5% every year until 2022. This means that there will be almost 4 billion people using social media and e-commerce sites – and more than 3 billion browsing the internet regularly.
As more people get online, there is also an increasing demand for entertainment content. This includes music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, subscription TV services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and gaming platforms like Steam.
According to Business Insider, the global entertainment industry was worth $2.3 trillion in 2015. By 2022, it is forecast to be worth $3.1 trillion – representing an annual growth rate of just under 5%.
The advertising industry is also expected to benefit from the rise of e-commerce and social media platforms. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), global spending on online ads reached a new high in the last few years and will continue to grow as time goes on.
This growth is being driven by mobile devices, which now account for around 60% of all digital media time – according to Shareaholic. According to the IAB, advertisers spent $72 billion on mobile ads in 2016 and this is set to grow by 20% every year until 2020.
There's no doubt that e-commerce and social media platforms are driving the growth of all relevant industries. According to Cisco, global online traffic will grow by 3% every year –which represents more than double the current level.
This growth will be driven by online videos, social media, and mobile browsing. All of these activities require additional bandwidth, which the internet industry is hoping to meet using high-quality virtual private networks (VPNs).
