ExchangeWire Research’s weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world, with additional insight provided by Rebecca Muir, head of research and analysis, ExchangeWire. In this week’s edition: Ad views increasing; Marketers not confident they’ve sussed mobile; Older shoppers fear tomorrow’s robot-run high street; and Digital publishers optimistic for the year ahead.

Ad views increasing

Total video content views rose by 26% from the previous year, finds FreeWheel’s ‘Video Monetisation Report’. Ad views are up by 24%, making 2016 the sixth consecutive year of growth.

Huge global events, such as the Rio 2016 Olympics and the US elections, boosted viewership and were also linked to a general growth of popularity in live video content; although this was not replicated in Europe – where the format only accounted for 3% of views. Video consumption has shifted away from the computer screen and back to the TV set, thanks to the growth of OTT and STB VOD.

While the most ad views were recorded on desktops and laptops – 34% in the US and 31% in Europe – other devices are catching up, particularly OTT, with 27% of views in the US and 24% in Europe. Viewing on tablets proved particularly popular in Europe, with 20% of ad views recorded on these devices, as opposed to just 8% in the US. 

Marketers not confident they’ve sussed mobile

The majority of marketers admit they haven’t come to grips with how to adequately tap into the way people use mobiles today, according to a report by the Mobile Marketing Association and RadiumOne.

Although 80% agree that the rise of mobile has significantly increased the amount of data and signals at their disposal; two-thirds say they’re not confident they’ve identified the most critical signals in their customers’ journeys.

Over 6-in-10 (61%) aren’t fully confident in their ability to find new profitable customers through mobile; and 58% don’t feel their re-engagement efforts to prevent customer churn are working. Over 50% lack confidence in their ability to acquire new customers and re-engage lost ones.

Marketers cited content sharing from apps (29%), mobile site visits (28%), and app installs (27%) as the most valuable signals for improving mobile branding. 

Older shoppers fear tomorrow’s robot-run high street

Four-in-five (78%) older shoppers fear tomorrow’s robot-run high street, according to research from Mindtree. On the other hand, the ‘Sixth Sense of Retail’ report also revealed that over half (51%) of 16-24 year-old shoppers were comfortable with people-free stores. The study also states that there is a growing demand for retailers to deliver more tailored experiences with nearly one-in-five (17%) of 16-24 year olds asking for more personalised engagement from retailers throughout the purchasing cycle.

Men would prefer all-technology, people-free stores, with 44% happy with this ‘robotic’ shopping experience, compared with just 30% of women. When it comes to shopper decisions, Facebook is still the most influential social media platform, with just under one-third of consumers (32%) acknowledging it as a major influencer for their purchases.

Digital publishers optimistic for the year ahead 

Digital publishers are optimistic for the year ahead, according to latest figures from the Digital Publishers Revenue Index (DPRI), a quarterly report of UK publishers from the Association for Online Publishing (AOP) and Deloitte.

Forecasts show an increase in growth for the year ahead from 4.8% in Q3 2016, to 6.4% in Q4 2016. This has been driven by publishers’ focus transitioning away from cost-reduction initiatives and towards new revenue growth through non-advertising services.

Display advertising remains the largest revenue category across all platforms. While display advertising revenue declined £13.6m (USD$17.9m) year-on-year, it still accounts for around two-fifths (39%) of DPRI pool revenue. Sponsorship (20% of DPRI pool revenue) and subscriptions (14%) counteracted the decline of display advertising with a combined year-on-year increase of £23.3m (USD$29m).