The U.S. financial services sector appears to be compensating for its relatively slow adoption of digital media in previous years. More than $8 billion in digital advertising is now expected to come from that industry in 2016, according to a new report by digital market research company eMarketer.

Financial services digital ad spendingThe eMarketer report, “The U.S. Financial Services Industry 2016: Digital Ad Spending Forecast and Trends,” shows that the financial services sector will spend 14.5 percent more this year in digital ads than it did in 2015, which includes all forms of advertising that appear on computers as well as mobile devices.

Financial services in 2016 will account for 12.2 percent of total U.S. digital ad spends. The only other industries that will spend more in digital ads are automotive and retail, which will comprise 12.7 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively, of the total share of annual U.S. digital ad spending, according to the report.

The eMarketer report predicts the financial services industry will continue to increase its investment in digital ad spending at least through 2020, growing by an estimated 12.6 percent in 2017 and another 12 percent in 2018. However, the sector’s total digital ad spending share will likely decrease during this time, as other industries are expected to gain in digital ad spends by greater margins.

According to the report, 2015 witnessed the biggest year-over-year digital ad spend growth for the U.S. financial services sector, where financial services marketers invested $7.31 billion in paid digital media, revealing an 18.9 percent increase from the year prior.