South Africa Mobile Advertising Market: Smartphone Penetration, Ad Innovation & Growth Outlook

According to IMARC Group's latest research publication, South Africa mobile advertising market size reached USD 1,036.04 Million in 2024. The market is projected to reach USD 2,465.00 Million by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 10.11% during 2025-2033.

How AI is Reshaping the Future of South Africa Mobile Advertising Market

• AI personalization drives relevance at scale, with up to 30% increase in engagement and 40% in conversions as brands turn to in-the-moment marketing, leveraging real-time data to drive personal messaging and offers on mobile devices based on user interests.
• Mobile ad revenues are USD 13.472 billion, and the AI tools are designed to help advertisers spend money wisely by using targeted advertising, programmatic buying, and optimizing ad performance in a mobile-first world where over 90% of internet users are mobile-first.
• Locally, tech firms like MTN Mobile Ads are forming partnerships with AI to combat advertisement wastage, improve cross-platform experiences, and leverage telco data to drive results and precision-target local audiences for South African brands.

Get In-Depth 2026 Industry Insights & Projections

South Africa Mobile Advertising Market Trends & Drivers:

Smartphones and mobile internet access are rapidly developing the mobile advertising market in South Africa. With smartphone penetration growing in appeal and mobile devices becoming a primary source of communication, entertainment and transactions, there is a sharp focus on mobile-first marketing strategies in South Africa to reach consumers via their smartphones. This enables direct engagement with consumers through apps, social media, and in-app experiences, while advertising, business opportunities, and products can be targeted to urban and rural consumers of all demographics due to inexpensive smartphones and better networks. Mobile channels are also important for engaging youth audiences who spend an important amount of their time online. Campaigns are evolving to engage audiences on formats more suited to the mobile lifestyle, so engagement rates accelerate and audiences are more likely to form deeper connections with the increasingly mobile-savvy consumer.

Mobile advertising in South Africa is being impacted by trends in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and programmatic buying. Advertisers are using these technologies to create hyper-targeted advertisements that are relevant to users based on their activities, preferences, and browsing patterns. Advertisers understand that users respond well to targeted advertising. Through the combination of location-based services with targeted content and ad optimization using automated services, advertisers can now move from bulk advertising to performance-based methods that improve return on investment, flexibility, and adaptability. Due to greater emphasis on measurability, there has been an increased interest in experimenting with new types of ad formats. These include interactive ads and customized ads that are tailored to each individual user.

With the rise of social media platforms and short-form video, advertisers are focusing on creating mobile advertising content in South Africa that is visual, interactive and community-driven, which consumers can discover, share and engage with. Advertisers are also focusing on authentic, cultural and emotion-driven storytelling to connect with consumers. The rise of influencer marketing and UGC economy has allowed brands to further spread word of mouth organically as consumers scroll through their feed. Mobile-optimized, video-based creative that is entertaining is seen as important for driving engagement and brand loyalty. This is especially true as mobile provides opportunities for highly shareable and engaging content, which provides a greater incentive to create entertaining content rather than push ads.

South Africa Mobile Advertising Industry Segmentation:

The report has segmented the market into the following categories:

Segment Insights:

• Search
• Display
• Video
• Social Media
• Websites
• Others

Regional Insights:

• Gauteng
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Western Cape
• Mpumalanga
• Eastern Cape
• Others

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players.

Recent News and Developments in South Africa Mobile Advertising Market

• 2026: mobile will account for more than 70 percent of all digital ad spend, and will be the leading medium for reach, engagement, and conversion in a mobile-first world.
• 2025: 5G, AI, and location-based technology will enable advertisers to deliver tailored mobile ads using real-time consumer data and deliver campaigns with greater relevance and immediacy.
• 2025: Google launches mobile ad tools powered by AI for South African advertisers, improving ad performance with automation and data insights.
• 2025: Meta extends its augmented reality ad formats into the region, introducing engaging AR experiences within its mobile advertising portfolio to improve user engagement with ads.
• 2025: The company joins local e-commerce players to improve targeting for in-app ads using precise data points to increase conversion rates of mobile apps.

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