Mobile CPMs Now Higher And Growing Faster Than Desktop [Study]

A new study finds mobile CPMs are outpacing desktop, with growth coming foremost from iOS mobile app ads.

Ginny Marvin on October 13, 2015 at 9:00 am

Mobile CPMs are not only growing faster, but they were higher than desktop CPMs in Q3 2015, according to a new study from programmatic supply-side platform PubMatic.

Relative CPMs were 34 percent higher on mobile devices and rose 12.4 percent, compared to 10.4 percent for desktop, in the third quarter of this year. Rich media and video ad formats were leading contributors to the higher CPMs, finds the report.

CPM increased across both the mobile Web and mobile apps, the exception being tablet Web, which saw CPMs decline by 26 percent year over year.

“From our perspective, the ‘mobile gap’ between mobile usage and ad spending is closed. Improved mobile infrastructure, advanced targeting tools and better overall customer experience capabilities have enabled media organizations to take better advantage of their mobile revenue opportunities,” said Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO of PubMatic, in a statement.

The surge is driven most dramatically by in-app ads on iOS devices. Publishers saw CPMs on iOS app ads increase 109 percent year over year, compared to just 11 percent for Android app ads. In fact, the mobile Web outpaced Android’s CPM growth, with a 30 percent increase.

Looking at impression growth opportunities, iOS apps delivered a 133-percent increase in impression volume year over year. Among Android apps, impression volume increased 42 percent, and mobile Web impressions grew 24 percent. Tablet impressions jumped 44 percent, even as advertisers paid less per impression in Q3 2015 than they did the previous year.

The study finds big opportunity for growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Latin America regions. CPMs were down in these regions for the year, but largely driven by the fact that impression volume saw triple-digit growth. In these regions, mobile phone adoption and mobile content consumption are rapidly rising.

“Early phases of mobile advertising typically focus on app installs, which are heavily performance-based, but as brand advertisers come into the space, CPMs will rise” in Latin America and Asia-Pacific markets, the report predicts.

For more on the mobile advertising trends covered, the complete report is available for download here.