A new study has found that online privacy concerns still loom large among consumers, with the majority of people more concerned with their privacy than if online ads are relevant.
The survey from CloudSense – which looked at attitudes towards online content and ads – found that 51 per cent of respondents do not want advertisers to know more about them in exchange for personalised ads.
The majority of respondents (74 per cent) said they currently do not pay to access any digital media sites or apps, with 46 per cent stating advertising around content was their preferred way of ‘paying for’ access. A further 28 per cent were happy to view advertising before reaching content
The minority, 12 per cent, said they were prepared to pay to have no ads.
Richard Britton, CloudSense CEO, said of the results: “It is now more important than ever for publishers to attract advertisers relevant to the audience, provide a positive user experience and ultimately, this will give publishers the ammunition to sell more advertising.
“This may involve a radical transformation of purchasing models and the infrastructure surrounding billing and payment and a need to redefine the approach to ad-selling to meet consumer expectations. The days of inefficient siloed print and digital ad-selling need to be left behind to survive in today’s industry. In other words, these firms need to rebuild to achieve the flexibility required for the digital future.”
In the UK, TV remains the preferred way (74 per cent) to access news, fashion, sports and business content, slightly ahead of online at 65 per cent.
The study involved 4,000 UK and US consumers. It was conducted in May 2014
