Mobile users show no love for accidentally clicked ads

The survey of 500 U.S. adult mobile users during January of this year reveals that, when clicking a banner ad on a smartphone or tablet, 60% say "it's usually by accident" due to the small screen size, or a slip of the finger, or a combination of the two.

But, once clicked accidentally, do mobile users pay any attention to the results? Apparently not, with 64% saying they would be unlikely to do so and just 29% "likely".

"Mobile users aren't showing any love to accidentally clicked ads," sys Pat Dermody, president of Retale. "They're too frustrated by the experience to care, which means more wasted dollars and opportunities for brands and marketers."

In fact, accidental mobile clicks illicit mostly negative emotions. Sixty-eight percent said an accident click left them feeling annoyed, 45% frustrated and 22% angry. And some wonder why ad blockers on mobile are increasingly popular!

Almost 7 in 10 (69%) of respondents said the mobile channel in which they were most likely to encounter ads that resulted in an accidental click was "while surfing the Web or reading the news", followed by "using social media" (50%), "playing games" (47%) and "watching videos" (45%).

Last year, Google introduced new measures that automatically block ad clicks in instances that frequently lead to accidental clicks including blocking clicks that happen too close to the ad image edge and making ads clickable only once they have been displayed on screen for a short period of time.

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: advertising, mobile, research