User Behaviors, Engagement, and Consequences

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Paper Number

2055

Paper Type

Completed

Description

A growing body of research underscores the importance of empowering online users through web customization. Yet, little research on web customization has hitherto shed light on the practice of advertisement (ad) customization and particularly ad quantity customization (AQC). To uncover the potential of AQC as a tool to foster user engagement, we conducted a large-scale randomized field experiment comprising 17,241 visits to a news website. Our findings reveal that users spend more time on the website and explore more pages when users can (vs. cannot) customize the quantity of ads. Most interestingly, users engage more with the website when given the possibility of AQC than when experiencing a website that is ad-free by default. Additionally, users respond particularly positively to AQC when using mobile (vs. stationary) devices. With our research, we contribute to literature on web customization and provide insightful guidance whether and how website providers can harness ad customization.

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Dec 12th, 12:00 AM

Ad Quantity Customization and Its Effects on User Engagement – A Randomized Field Experiment

A growing body of research underscores the importance of empowering online users through web customization. Yet, little research on web customization has hitherto shed light on the practice of advertisement (ad) customization and particularly ad quantity customization (AQC). To uncover the potential of AQC as a tool to foster user engagement, we conducted a large-scale randomized field experiment comprising 17,241 visits to a news website. Our findings reveal that users spend more time on the website and explore more pages when users can (vs. cannot) customize the quantity of ads. Most interestingly, users engage more with the website when given the possibility of AQC than when experiencing a website that is ad-free by default. Additionally, users respond particularly positively to AQC when using mobile (vs. stationary) devices. With our research, we contribute to literature on web customization and provide insightful guidance whether and how website providers can harness ad customization.

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