News

Mobile ad engagement doubles

Nearly 50 percent of mobile shoppers say mobile ads are informative/helpful, up 113 percent from 22 percent in 2013.

July 30, 2014

Today’s mobile shoppers are increasingly receptive to relevant ads, according to a new report from the 3rd Annual U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study released today by xAd, a global location ad platform, and Telmetrics, a call measurement technology provider. Results of the 2014 study were compiled by Nielsen from an online survey and on-device behavioral data from 6,000 U.S. smartphone and tablet users focused on the Automotive, Entertainment, Restaurant and Telecom categories.

Among the key findings, nearly 50 percent of mobile shoppers say mobile ads are informative/helpful, up 113 percent from 22 percent in 2013. Furthermore, 40 percent of respondents report clicking on ads and nearly half of those take secondary actions such as viewing the referring website and searching for additional product information. Entertainment, Retail and Restaurants are the most commonly recognized mobile ad categories.

A major factor influencing ad engagement is relevancy. More than 40 percent of mobile users say they clicked on a mobile ad because it was relevant to their interests or purchase research. Coupons are big drivers for both clicking on ads and engaging with a brand post-click, and if an ad can drive local action, then consumers are more likely to engage. More than half of respondents say that location is an important ad relevancy factor, up 44 percent over the last two years. Also, consumers are more aware of the fact that ads support free content. The majority of respondents say they prefer a free website with ads over paying for an ad-free subscription; this sentiment increased 31 percent since 2012.

The study also showed that secondary actions strongly indicate mobile shoppers’ purchase intent. Consumers who take action post-click want to convert quickly and look for businesses nearby to do so. In fact, half want to purchase within the hour, and 70 percent go on to make a purchase. Post-click secondary actions are also closely correlated with proximity expectations: 67 percent of these mobile shoppers want a business within 5 miles and 18 percent want locations within 1 mile. Also, contacting a business is strongly tied to mobile engagement, as 57 percent of those who clicked on mobile ads and 61 percent of those who took secondary actions prefer ads that provide a direct phone number for the business.