At present, mobile ad-blocking is concentrated in Asia Pacific and, as a result, some in the West have underestimated the prevalence of this trend. But as we explore in our Trends 17 report, it’s almost inevitable that mobile ad-blocking will spread westwards.
Indeed, take a look at the top 10 countries for usage of mobile ad-blockers and, at the moment, almost all of them are Asian markets. China tops the table, but India, Indonesia and Thailand also post strong figures around the 3 in 10 mark. Compare that to the likes of the UK and the US – on 15% and 16% respectively – and it’s clear why many in the West may not have recognized the power of this trend.
Capabilities and tools in APAC are ahead of what’s available elsewhere: mobile browsers like UC Browser have gained prominence in China and India and have pushed these markets ahead. Then there’s the relative importance that smartphones assume in APAC: ownership is universal and Chinese internet users, for example, are spending as long as 2hrs 45 mins on these devices each day.
But with time spent online via mobiles increasing each year in Western markets and online behaviors continuing to migrate to mobiles (especially among the youngest internet users), it’s only a matter of time before mobile users fight back – whether that’s to protect their privacy, to cut back on data usage, or to simply prevent ads interfering with their online life.
Download a free copy of our Trends 2017 report here.
