Online Ads That Follow Us from Site to Site—Are They Persuasive or Merely Annoying?

While repetitive or persistent ads arising from algorithms tracking our online behaviors are annoying, consumers may see them as helpful because they provide personally relevant information. To explore when consumers find such ads helpful or annoying, we conducted a 4 (retargeting persistence: non-retargeting, low persistence, medium persistence, and high persistence) × 2 (transparency: absence and presence) between-subjects experiment. Data indicate that consumers see the ad system as a helper, which boosts ad effectiveness and lowers avoidance. However, if the system is transparent about its targeting mechanism, it triggers surveillance concerns. We discuss theoretical and practical ideas for strategic use of persistent retargeting and transparency.