Search drives a considerable portion of the digital economy and a large share of marketing budgets, so a heavy blow to the sector offers a gloomy signal for the rest of the industry. In its previous forecast completed on March 6, eMarketer expected search ad spending would grow 14.4% in 2020, but now those figures have been upended. The coronavirus pandemic has quickly pushed the U.S. toward a recession, but the particulars of the public health crisis, including mass retail closures and the prevention of travel, are disrupting even predictably sturdy, performance-led channels.
