UK research reveals huge jump in mobile ad engagement in 12 months, as ads improve

Most UK consumers are finding mobile ads on their smartphones, tablets and other devices to be much more informative and helpful now than a year ago.

This is according to new report from the 2nd Annual UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study released today by xAd, the global location marketplace, and Telmetrics, a major call measurement technology provider.

Results of the 2014 study were compiled by Nielsen from an online survey of 2,000 UK smartphone and tablet users focused on the Retail, Insurance and Telecom categories.

View the xAd/Telmetrics 2014 UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Ad Receptiveness infographic here. 

Randomised mobile ads featuring irrelevant messaging are becoming a thing of the past, as brands are analysing factors such as consumer shopping behaviour patterns and real-time location to serve ads that are more personal, relevant and timely.

As a result, consumers are clicking on ads more frequently and finding them more helpful as a key tool on their path to purchase. In fact, a third of respondents who noticed mobile ads reported clicking on at least one of them in the past 30 days.

As mobile ads continue to improve, brands will continue to see an increase in ad engagement, ultimately resulting in greater influence over their target audiences and a positive impact on their bottom lines.

Relevance is the most significant driver of clicks and engagement
The advertised product must be something the consumer is interested in, the study finds. In fact, one in three respondents reported that they clicked on an ad because it was something they were interested in or looking for. The importance of geographic relevance, or how close a consumer is to a store where they can buy the product, is also significant. Its significance in determining whether or not a consumer will engage with an ad has grown 40 per cent since 2013. Readily available and easy-to-find business contact information was also important. A quarter of survey respondents specified that they prefer ads with phone numbers.

Monica Ho, SVP of marketing at xAd, said: “Through analysing historical and real-time data, brands are now able to serve ads that are much more relevant to consumers.

“Accurate location data in particular has enabled brands to serve ads that are of interest to consumers when they’re close to a store or retail location. As we’ve seen, most customers engaging with ads are looking to make immediate purchases, so this can drive significant in-store traffic and sales for brands.”

Consumers are becoming more comfortable with the free content ‘trade off’
As the mobile advertising industry matures, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that the revenue generated by ads enables their favourite sites and apps to continue producing free content. They’re also becoming more educated on location awareness and the fact that it increases relevance within mobile apps and ads. The vast majority of survey respondents said that they prefer a free website with ads over paying for an ad-free subscription, a sentiment that has increased 41 per cent since 2013.

Secondary actions are the strongest indicators of purchase intent
Secondary actions after viewing an ad, such as visiting a website or store location or calling the business, are the best indicators of purchase intent. Consumers who further engage with mobile ads post-click, have a higher purchase urgency, expectation of proximity and likelihood to convert. The frequency of these post-click activities is therefore a great measure of campaign success. 77 per cent of users who took action post-click purchased or plan to do so in the near future and 63 per cent were looking to do so within the hour. Not surprisingly, 40 per cent of respondents who took secondary actions expected the business advertised to be within 8km of their current location, once again underscoring the importance of accurate location data in mobile advertising.

Bill Dinan, president of Telmetrics, said: “Post-click mobile shoppers are 2x more likely to be looking for a specific location or contact information so advertisers that include this information can help drive more purchase activity.

“Overall, the jump in mobile ad engagement among consumers is a good sign for advertisers who can now benchmark their mobile ad performance against relevancy, timeliness and geographical trends to ensure they are maximising the mobile opportunity.”