Adblockers on the rise again in Germany for the first time since 2015
The percentage of online display ads blocked on desktops stood at 19.92 percent in the first quarter of this year. This is according to the latest survey by the Online Marketing Association (OVK) within the German Digital Economy Association (BVDW).
After the adblocker rate was 17.04 percent in the previous quarter, this represents the first increase since 2015.
Stefan Schumacher (Gruner + Jahr), Vice Chairman of the OVK, explains: "We expected that there might be fluctuations from measurement to measurement. Even though we have succeeded in ensuring that the adblocker rate has not risen further in the past two years, the current development shows that the issue is still very present and that we must continue to deal with the topic very intensively. Adblocking is still a serious problem, the effects of which unfortunately extend far beyond the boundaries of the advertising industry and jeopardize the financing of content accessible free of charge on the Internet. However, against the backdrop of mobile Internet usage, which is still rising very strongly, it is pleasing that the problem is hardly developing any relevance here and that the adblocker rate is in the low single digits."
About the adblocker rate survey
To determine the central adblocker rate, around two thirds of the OVK member houses continuously and independently collect the proportion of blocked online advertising on their sites and report this to the BVDW. The association publishes updates on the current rate at regular intervals.
The adblocker rates published so far:
Q1 2017: 19.92 percent
Q4 2016: 17.04 percent
Q3 2016: 19.11 percent
Q2 2016: 19.43 percent
Q1 2016: 20.09 percent
Q4 2015: 21.52 percent
Q3 2015: 21.16 percent
Q2 2015: 21.49 percent
