Consumer Media Spending Growth Fell in 2022 After Record Breaking 2021, More Deceleration Expected for 2023

The acceleration in consumer spending that was seen in 2021 broke all records, with growth rates 6.2% in the US and 6.9% in the rest of the world. In spite of the fact that this is the case, 2022 saw this growth rate lose some of its steam, falling to 6.3% around the world. One thing that bears mentioning here is that the US was hit even worse than the rest of the world, with its own growth rate consumer spending on media falling to just 5.1%.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this trend is predicted to persist for the rest of 2023, and indeed for much of the current decade. Consumer spending on media in the US finally managed to break the half trillion dollar mark, reaching $510.2 billion back in 2022.

However, the drop in the growth rate suggests the future increases might come more slowly than might have been the case otherwise. The US is still the largest media market in the world, making up a whopping 23.3% of the total media spending that is seen around the world, but its dominance is clearly beginning to slip.

Its slow rate of expansion might be concerning because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up leaving the US behind other countries with a much faster growth rate. South Africa managed to increase its consumer media spending by a massive 9.8%, and many other emerging economies are beginning to do the same with all things having been considered and taken into account.

It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out. The US has been the single biggest consumer market in the world for decades now, but the aftermath of the pandemic which will continue well into 2027 if not longer poses a huge risk to its status. The country’s hegemony will be a thing of the past if countries like South Africa, India and China catch up to it.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World