UK consumers still unwilling to pay for content online, says report

Research suggests ad-funded model is the way forward in the UK

UK consumers are less willing to pay for online content than consumers globally

UK consumers are still unwilling to pay for digital content but are more willing to accept targeted advertising, according to a report from financial services agency KPMG.

The report, Consumers & Convergence IV, found that 81 per cent of UK consumers would go elsewhere for content if a previously free site began charging.

However, a much higher proportion of international consumers – 43 per cent – would pay for content. This figure increased to 59 per cent among the Asia-Pacific countries.

In addition, almost three quarters of UK consumers say they are willing to receive online ads in exchange for lower content costs and almost half (48 per cent) of UK consumers are willing to allow their personal profile data to be tracked.

Some 94 per cent of UK consumers have no plans to discontinue landline telephony connections and use mobile only, and mobile banking usage has doubled in the past 18 months, claims KPMG.

Tudor Aw, head of technology at KPMG Europe, said: “While these results are bad news for newspaper paywalls, there is better news for videos, music and games creators, as these are the most popular types of content for which people are willing to pay – 50 per cent will pay for games, 44 per cent for music and 35 per cent for video.”

Aw added that UK consumers are becoming more accepting of viewing advertising and for their profile information to be tracked, suggesting that an ad-funded model for content will eventually succeed.