• by Ray Schultz , June 13, 2024

UK consumers, much like their American cousins, abhor paywalls, judging by a new study from The Trade Desk, conducted by Appinio.

Of the consumers polled, 51% fear losing access to the websites and apps they like behind a paywall. 

Moreover, 65% consume news or current affairs content for freebies and 77% start looking for freebies when they land on an article behind a paywall. 

Overall, 88% would like to access as much free content as possible, and many will break the rules to do it. 

And, 34% are using services that allow them to get behind paywalls without paying.

On the positive side, 87% are willing to pay for content with their data. Of those, 26% will pay with data if they can control the data that are collected and shared. And 27% are willing to pay with data if they can’t be identified if their privacy is protected. 

“Consumers want to maintain access to the free content they know and love,” says Phil Duffield, VP UK at The Trade Desk. “As an alternative to paywalls, they need an advertising experience that benefits everyone – consumers, brands and publishers. But the current offer is often falling woefully short of that.”

Appinio surveyed 1,500 UK consumers from March 22 to April 4, 2024.