Consumers Tend to Skip Online Ads at First: Survey

Consumers are more likely to “view through” an online ad than to click on one, according to a new study by DoubleClick.

A “view through” is when people visit an advertised Web site after seeing an online ad but go directly to the site without clicking on the ad.

In some cases, viewers do click onto an ad moments after seeing it or may wait days or even weeks before doing so

Regarding online ads, respondents reported they were twice as likely to notice a Web ad, not click on it, but visit the advertised site later (61%) as they were to click on an Internet banner ad to reach a site (30%). An even greater number said that they sometimes see a Web ad and later check out the product in a physical store (67%), revealed the company’s fourth annual Touchpoints survey.

The poll also revealed that online ads are valued more for ongoing learning than discovery. Unlike other media, which showed relatively consistent percentages of consumers that valued the media for initial discovery as for ongoing learning, consumers seem to value online ads a source of further learning much more than as a source of discovery. Twice as many respondents (8%) cited Web ads a source of further learning, compared to those that cited them as a source of discovery (4%).

DoubleClick surveyed 6,121 adults aged 18 and older during July.