UK Smartphone Users Broadly Resistant To Mobile Ads

Despite the growing popularity of mobile advertising, over half of UK smartphone users have never seen commercials displayed on their devices, Econsultancy said, citing findings from Nielsen’s Mobile Consumer Report. This means that this particular channel is yet to be explored by marketers or that users find no difficulties in ignoring such messages.

Currently, 97% of Britons have a mobile device, with smartphone ownership accounting for 61% of the total, the report also found.

When asked about the type of mobile ads seen most frequently, 27% said that these were adverts received while browsing the web on their gadgets, 26% were shown a commercial while using streaming music/radio platforms and 25% received an ad while playing a game online.

When compared to the nine other countries included in the survey, it turns out that British consumers are some of the least interested in mobile ads, as only 15% of those surveyed said that they would choose to open ads containing multimedia elements, compared with the average rate of 29% calculated by Nielsen. UK consumers were also found to be more reluctant to share personal details with businesses in order to get more customised ads, with just 14% saying that they would be willing to do so, compared with the global average of 27%. The Brits are not fans of receiving ads resulting from location data either, as only 26% would provide information to advertisers using GPS systems, which is down from the average 36%.

Econsultancy noted that some of the users quizzed by Nielsen could have just not understood that they have actually seen mobile ads. If this is the case, advertisers should explore new methods to make sure that their messages reach the public.