A recently concluded study shows that Ad Blocking applications will cost advertisers around $22 billion in 2015.
The study, conducted by Adobe and PageFair, also claim that at least 200 million monthly Internet users are actively using ad blocker applications and plugins in their Internet browsers. The study also reveal that ad block users have an annual growth rate of around 41 percent.
In the United Kingdom, more than 12 million active Internet users use ad blocks. This represents a growth rate of about 82 percent in just a matter of 12 months ending in JunE.
The study was picked up by The Wall Street Journal and reported that one out of three Internet user uses applications to block online ads. The recent surge in the popularity of ad blockers have major repercussion in online advertising.
Currently, at least 77 million Internet users in Europe uses ad blockers. In the United States, more than 45 million users use ad blockers. In terms of user percentage, 36 percent of all Internet users in Greece use ad blockers.
The latest study of PageFair concluded, "Since our last report, the existential threat of ad blocking has become a pressing issue in the boardrooms of publishers across the world. A concerted response is required, founded upon a renewed focus on user experience, and enabled by secure and ad service technology like PageFair's."
Currently, there are about 198 million worldwide Internet users that use ad blocking software. Almost 98 percent of ad block software are installed on desktop computers and less than two percent are installed on mobile platforms such as Android and iOS.