India’s online and mobile advertising market is growing at an enviable pace — 29 percent for the time period from March, 2013 to March, 2014 — but it’s still, say industry analysts, small compared to the potential market.

“Mobile advertising in India is the fastest growing among all verticals in the digital advertising space,” says Praseed Prasad, national trading head (digital media) at GroupM, the media buying agency of WPP. “This is primarily because consumers are spending more time on mobile Internet activities as compared to desktops, subsequently growth in desktop Internet is fast getting saturated.”

This information and more was published recently at LiveMint.

Mobile advertising currently accounts for a small share of about 10 percent of this market.

Nilotpal Chakravarti, associate vice-president of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), says growth prospects for mobile are substantial.

“It is one of the fastest growing channels along with social media,” Chakravarti contends. “Every brand is looking to have its presence on the mobile platform either through apps or through their mobile site.”

While mobile advertising continues to grow in India, the base still remains small, and lags usage of mobile as an Internet/data consumption device. Mobile advertising at present is a fraction of the total advertising market in India. It is expected to grow more rapidly in the coming years as advertising catches up with usage and time spent on mobile devices.

“It should definitely overtake outdoor ad spends in the next few years and radio subsequently in the coming five-seven years,” added Prasad.

Mobile advertising is currently dominated by search ads, which account for over 75 percent of mobile advertising. Display advertising on mobile devices is expected to grow significantly.