3 in 4 mobile web surfers pay attention to ads

According to Prosper‘s survey, of the 331 people surveyed 74% said they pay full attention to ads on their device. Of those, just over a third (35.3%) “regularly” pay attention to mobile ads and 38.7% “occasionally”.

Men were found to have higher engagement levels with ads – 38.2% of males regularly paid attention to ads compared with 32.8% of females. Furthermore, over half (51%) of men said ads on their mobile device had prompted them to make a purchase, falling to 43.7% among women. This is despite more men than women opting for ad-free apps experiences.

“While men are more likely than women to pay attention to mobile ads, they are less likely than their female counterparts to use smartphones and tablets for shopping-related activities,” said Pam Goodfellow, BIGinsight’s consumer insights director.

However, attention levels vary depending on what the mobile user is doing. When visiting social media sites, 59.5% “regularly” or “occasionally” fully pay attention to ads. Those downloading music are also likely to pay attention with 55.2% paying attention and 53.2% among video watchers.

On the other hand, when conducting activities such as shopping, playing games and watching full television episodes on a mobile device, consumers are less likely to pay attention to ads, found Prosper.

Almost two-thirds (63.7%) never pay attention of mobile ads while watching TV episodes, 49.2% never pay attention while playing games and, surprisingly, almost half (47.1%) pay no attention when shopping from their mobile.

This final finding jars with that of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s “Mobile Phone Shopping Diaries” research. It reveals that mobile ads aren’t seen as being intrusive. Instead, 71% of their respondents agreed that mobile ads were welcome and viewed them as a personal invitation from brands.

Not only that, over half (51%), want a brand’s mobile ads to connect them to their company’s wider product range. Thirty percent said they like personalized ads, but 27% said personalized ads are good thing as long as they have given permission to receive those ads.

Mobile ads were second only to convenience at encouraging consumers to shop on their devices. A quarter (24%) cited convenience as the main reason for using their mobile to shop while 22% said they were responding to a mobile ad.