New data from LoopMe, a leading technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve brand advertising performance, has revealed that 20% of UK consumers make a purchase from an ad, including a banner ad, on a webpage every few months, with 11% buying this way weekly or monthly.
Moreover, 17% of Millennials (ages 35 – 44) will buy from online ads each week.
Banner ad anniversary
The research was conducted in October 2024 to mark the 30th anniversary of the first online ad, which debuted on Wired magazine’s website HotWired on 27th October 1994.
That first banner ad – an ad that sits at the top of a webpage – was the start of a revolution in online advertising, leading to a range of formats being utilised by brands aiming to engage with potential customers.
While 60% of UK consumers today don’t notice the actual placement of where an ad sits on the webpage, ads embedded in the content draw 18% of attention, bottom-of-the-page ads are noticed by 9%, and the banner ad at the top of the page by 8%.
When the first online advertising campaigns appeared, most interactions on the web would have been via a desktop computer.
Now mobile accounts for over 60% of traffic and LoopMe’s data reflects the popularity of this device, with 15% of consumers interacting more with ads on mobile, compared to only 6% interacting more on desktop or laptop.
With publishers increasingly looking to digital advertising to fund their publications and journalism, 20% of respondents are happy to see non-intrusive ads if they keep online journalism free; 14% would rather see ads than pay to read content.
LoopMe surveyed 1,703 UK consumers from 15-23 September 2024 to understand sentiment regarding online advertising.