People Globally View Personalized Ads as a Valuable Tool for Finding Relevant Goods and Services

Washington, DC, June 23, 2021 - People around the world report seeing personalized ads on social media and digital apps as an important feature of modern life that helps them connect with local businesses and find goods and services that are relevant to them, according to a new Facebook, Inc. survey.

The online survey focused on perceptions of personalized ads and their role in people’s lives. This survey was conducted in 54 countries for Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) by Ipsos, interviewing more than 58,000 people age 18-plus, in April and May of 2021.

Across the 54 countries surveyed, key findings from select countries include:

• A large majority of people prefer to have free access to social media and mobile apps in exchange for seeing ads (70% of people in the US, 69% of people in the EU, 72% of people in Brazil, 82% of people in Kenya, 78% of people in Morocco, 70% of people in South Korea, 76% of people in Thailand);
• A majority of people think personalized ads help local small businesses connect with customers who find their products and services useful (60% of people in the US, 68% of people in the EU, 84% of people in Brazil, 76% of people in Kenya, 81% of people in Morocco, 72% of people in South Korea, 82% of people in Thailand);
• More than half of people think personalized ads help local small businesses attract more customers (59% of people in the US, 68% of people in the EU, 85% of people in Brazil, 72% of people in Kenya, 80% of people in Morocco, 65% of people in South Korea, 81% of people in Thailand);

Among people who have seen personalized ads:      

• A large majority agree they understand why they are being shown the ad. (84% of people in the US, 78% of people in the EU, 84% of people in Brazil, 83% of people in Kenya, 74% of people in Morocco, 74% of people in South Korea, 91% of people in Thailand);
• Most agree personalized ads show information and products of interest. (75% of people in the US, 73% of people in the EU, 85% of people in Brazil, 84% of people in Kenya, 80% of people in Morocco, 74% of people in South Korea, 91% of people in Thailand);
• Some agree personalized ads help save money (e.g., finding discounts and lower prices), with considerable variation by country. (22% of people in the US, 33% of people in the EU, 57% of people in Brazil, 64% of people in Kenya, 50% of people in Morocco, 38% of people in South Korea, 59% of people in Thailand);

Among people who use Facebook apps:

• Most agree Facebook apps are a fast way to contact small businesses (72% of people in the US, 78% of people in the EU, 96% of people in Brazil, 95% of people in Kenya, 96% of people in Morocco, 79% of people in South Korea, 96% of people in Thailand);
• Some have purchased a product after seeing it on a Facebook app, with figures varying by country (40% of people in the US, 46% of people in the EU, 75% of people in Brazil, 83% of people in Kenya, 77% of people in Morocco, 34% of people in South Korea, 84% of people in Thailand);
• Majorities have used Facebook apps to connect more with family and friends since the start of COVID-19. (60% of people in the US, 68% of people in the EU, 84% of people in Brazil, 93% of people in Kenya, 88% of people in Morocco, 62% of people in South Korea, 81% of people in Thailand);

Methodology

The online study was conducted leveraging online opt-in-panels from April 6 through May 23, 2021, among adults who are internet users.

The study fielded in 54 countries across five regions.  The sample sizes ranged from n=508 to n=3,656 per country:

Asia-Pacific: Australia (n=3,315), Bangladesh (n=543), Cambodia (n=525), Hong Kong (n=528), India (n=1,054), Indonesia (n=1,051), Japan (n=1,625), Malaysia (n=522), New Zealand (n=563), Pakistan (n=531), Philippines (n=528), Singapore (n=526), South Korea (n=1,313), Sri Lanka (n=521), Taiwan (n=1,125), Thailand (n=527), Vietnam (n=1,063)

Europe: Belgium (n=1,128), Denmark (n=1,123), France (n=3,254), Germany (n=3,153), Ireland (n=1,064), Italy (n=1,063), Lithuania (n=1,100), Netherlands (n=1,064), Norway (n=1,122), Poland (n=1,064), Portugal (n=1,039), Romania (n=1,068), Slovakia (n=1,050), Slovenia (n=1,059), Spain (n=1,063), Sweden (n=1,122), United Kingdom (n=3,254)

Latin America: Argentina (n=517), Brazil (n=1,057), Chile (n=513), Colombia (n=1,045), Mexico (n=1,042), Peru (n=526)

Middle East/Africa: Côte d'Ivoire (n=514), Egypt (n=525), Israel (n=550), Jordan (n=510), Kenya (n=521), Morocco (n=524), Nigeria (n=1,044), Saudi Arabia (n=1,063), Senegal (n=508), South Africa (n=513), Turkey (1,063), United Arab Emirates (n=524)

North America: Canada (n=1,184), United States (n=3,656)

The study was conducted in 34 languages:

Afrikaans, Arabic, Bahasa, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindu, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese

Samples were selected among opt-in panels in each country, with targets set for gender, age, and education.  The data were weighted within each country to align age, gender, education, and region to population benchmarks. The benchmark targets came from population statistics such as the Federal Census, Eurostat, and other reliable sources.

About Facebook

Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook's apps and technologies to connect with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world’s third largest Insights and Analytics company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers and employees. We serve more than 5,000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions. ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com.