The advertising group also predicts an 11% rise in 2015 in its ‘This Year, Next Year: China Media Forecasts’ report which uses data supplied by parent company WPP across its advertising, public relations and market research businesses.

TV is still the dominant media in terms of coverage and influence but the share of TV advertising will drop below 50% for the first time in 2014.

China is now the world’s largest e-commerce market with search ads contributing the largest share of internet advertising spend. Having passed the RMB100 bn mark in 2013, China’s online advertising growth rate has begun to slow down; it is expected to reach 35% this year and 33% next year.

Elsewhere, digital out of home (OOH) will increase despite traditional OOH shrinking slightly and there is a growing trend to digitise bus-stop billboards. Radio spend will also increase; GroupM predicts it will rise 3.6% this year as increased car ownership has helped radio as a medium.

Andrew Carter, president of trading and knowledge, GroupM China, said: “The internet continues to play an increasingly important role in China and the biggest revolution currently underway on the internet is the shift to mobile. Traffic to social networks, online video sites, and search are all beginning to cross the 50% mark. In 2014, brands will attempt to keep pace by funnelling more advertising spend into cross-screen mobile search and mobile video campaigns. Mobile display will also continue to ramp up as brands spend more on hero app ad buys and in-app ad networks.”