OnAudience Report Finds US Publishers Lose over $15.8 Billion Revenue Annually Due to Ad Blocking

Latest Onaudience Report States That More Than A Quarter (26%) Of Consumers Utilize Ad Blockers In The Us, A 16% Increase On 2016

OnAudience.com has launched a global report into ad blocking. The study reveals that the use of ad blockers is on the rise in the USA, with over a quarter (26%) of consumers now using them, compared to just 22% in 2016. This accounts for a loss of more than $15.8Bin publisher revenue, an increase of almost half (43%) the $11B lost in 2016. OnAudience is a part of the Cloud Technologies S.A. group, which provides Big Data tools and services for online marketing in over 40 markets.

According to the OnAudience.com report, the USA contributes just under $45 Billion to the $100 Billion global display market. It also found that internationally, the loss of publisher revenue from ad blocking has risen to $42 Billion from $28 Billion in 2016, when the worldwide display market was valued at $84 Billion.

The results from the USA reflect a broad global increase in ad blocking, although consumers in Europe are most likely to block ads, with almost a third (32%) of internet users in the region utilisingad blockerplugins. Poland was found to have the highest rates at 46%, followed by Greece (44%), Norway (42%), Germany (41%), and Denmark (40%). The UK, Netherlands, and Irelandwere identically ranked next,with 39% of page viewsblocking ads.

Internet users in Japan are equally as likely as consumers in the USA to utilize ad blockers (26%), butthe lowest rates were found in LATAM. Paraguay recorded the least ad blocked page views (5%), while Peru and Venezuela scored the second and third lowest ad blocking rates globally (13% and 10% respectively).

The OnAudience.com report also demonstrates the impact of ad blocking on the e-commerce industry, revealing the value of the global e-commerce market exceeds $2,000 Billion, of which more than $600 Billion is generated by users with ad blockers. This indicates that ad blocking represents a significant lost opportunity for advertisers to reach a receptive audience. In the US e-commerce turnover accounted for $595 Billion, of which $155 Billion is generated by users with an ad blocker installed.

“There has been much discussion calling foradvertising to provide a better user experience, but this report clearly shows that not enough is being done as ad blocking rates continue to rise. This is causing a significant loss for publishers and the advertising industry as a whole,” commented MaciejSawa, Chief Commercial Officer at OnAudience.com. “Ultimately user experience is key, so it is extremely important for the entire digital marketing industry to keep the consumer in mind and ensure that their journey is relevant, contextual, and meaningful­– if we are to ever convince them not to install ad blockers.”

Currently, OnAudience.com data allows marketers to personalize their advertising campaigns on the internet and expand their BI solutions (data enrichment). The company has also developed its own UnBlock technology, which allows the displaying of online ads even if there is ad blocking software installed.