UK sees slight rise in ad blocking levels

The latest Ad Blocking Report, based on a survey of 2,000 adults conducted online by YouGov on behalf of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), revealed that ad blocking is more prevalent among men than women ( 23% vs 13%) and that the propensity to block ads decreases with age: from 35% of 18-24 year olds to 13% of people aged over 55.

Among those that have downloaded ad blocking software, 57% said their intention was to block all ads, while 20% said that the main reason was to block certain types of ads or ads from certain websites. People said they would be less likely to block ads if they didn’t interfere with what they were doing ( 48%), if there were fewer ads on a page ( 36%), or if they were more relevant ( 14%).

“The small rise in people blocking ads is not unexpected considering the publicity it’s been receiving,” said IAB UK’s CEO, Guy Phillipson. “However, it does provide some perspective on the situation for those referring to an ‘adblockalypse’.

“More importantly, it also provides a clear message to the industry – a less invasive, lighter ad experience is absolutely vital to address the main cause of ad blocking.”