App Tracking Transparency: “Advertisers need to be fully ready”

According to Blis’ iOS 14.5 Tracker, opt-in rates are currently 34.6% globally, with them closer to 16% in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia and as low as 11.8% in Sweden.

However, Shumel Lais, Founder & CEO of Appsumer, tells Performance Marketing World warns that these opt-in rates could be even lower in real terms. “Data suggests that on iOS 14.5 when you have ATT enabled and a prompt is shown, the opt-in rate can be anywhere between 20-45%.

“These are nice numbers, but don’t really tell us what access is likely to be to the entire universe of IDFAs on iOS 14.5 as ATT prompts are blocked by default at the device level in different ways by Apple and the user.

“IDFA access for apps where ATT has been implemented could be as low as around 10% and is unlikely to be higher than 20% according to various reports. However, it’s important to remember that this data has an early adopter bias on the app and user side, meaning the data could tell a very different story in the coming weeks.”

Lais also highlights a further concern for digital advertisers. He says: “For attribution and user-level targeting you need dual opt-in on the advertiser and the publisher side. As a result, the reality of IDFA access overlap is probably even lower. It might therefore be more worthwhile for advertisers to focus on getting the maximum value out of SKAdNetwork data rather than sweating ATT strategy.”

Obviously there are a number of different variables that will impact opt-in rates. Trusted brands will no doubt see higher rates, and as Blis’ Tracker indicates, countries like India (66%) and the Netherlands (63.1%) are also seeing higher than average acceptance. “Similarly, and unsurprisingly, existing users seem to opt-in at a slightly higher rate than new users as they have a more established relationship with the app,” according to Lais.

He continues: “With iOS 14.5 adoption expected to reach an inflection point in the coming weeks, advertisers now need to be fully ready with a decision on ATT implementation and a fully functioning SKAdNetwork setup.

“We are expecting costs to increase on Android in the coming weeks as iOS 14.5 adoption increases and more advertisers shift budget there. In tandem, we are expecting costs to reduce on iOS as advertisers shift budgets away and CPMs deflate. The exception to this would be on Apple-owned advertising channels where we’d expect to see an increase in costs and competition on iOS.”