Webcomics Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the webcomics market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global webcomics market reached a value of nearly $8.63 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $8.63 billion in 2023 to $11.39 billion in 2028 at a rate of 5.7%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2028 and reach $15.38 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the increasing internet penetration in rural and urban areas, increasing adoption of digital comic books and advances in non-fungible tokens (NFT) comics. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were increase in websites showcasing pirated content and preference for physical books over webcomics.

Going forward, increase in social media influencers, increasing availability of smartphones and tablets and rise in consumer spending per capita will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the webcomics market in the future include increasing availability of substitute products.

The webcomics market is segmented by type into subscription webcomic and advertising webcomic. The subscription webcomic market was the largest segment of the webcomics market segmented by type, accounting for 59.3% or $5.11 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, it is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the webcomics market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 6.3% during 2023-2028.

The webcomics market is segmented by application into mobile phone, laptop, tablet and other applications. The mobile phone market was the largest segment of the webcomics market segmented by application, accounting for 52.2% or $4.5 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, it is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the webcomics market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 6% during 2023-2028.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the webcomics market, accounting for 44% or $3.79 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the webcomics market will be North America and Western Europe where growth will be at CAGRs of 6.7% and 5.9% respectively. These will be followed by Asia Pacific and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 5.8% and 4.7% respectively.

The global webcomics market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 20.55% of the total market in 2022. The market concentration can be attributed to the presence of large number of players in different geographies. Prominent players are acquiring the products and entering into partnerships with the other companies to consolidate their market positions across the globe, while others are distributing products. The Walt Disney Company was the largest competitor with a 6.21% share of the market, followed by Naver Corp with 4.68%, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc with 2.71%,

The top opportunities in the webcomics market segmented by type will arise in the subscription webcomic segment, which will gain $1.82 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the webcomics market segmented by application will arise in the mobile phone segment, which will gain $1.53 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The webcomics market size will gain the most in China at $737.1 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the webcomics market include launch of online applications and platforms to boost sales and extend reach, strategic collaborations and partnerships to provide new content, leveraging new product development to meet shifting customer demands, adaption of novels and comic books to webcomics and transforming webcomics into interactive video games.

Player-adopted strategies in the webcomics market include expanding operational capabilities through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the webcomics companies to focus on new product development, focus on strategic adaptation initiatives, focus on engaging video game adaptations, focus on enhanced accessibility through innovative apps, focus on subscription webcomics, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic collaborations for market expansion, focus on optimal distribution channels for webcomics, provide competitively priced offerings, focus on strategic pricing for webcomics, focus on comprehensive promotion strategies for webcomics and focus on mobile phone users.