Marketers Consistently Underestimate Consumers’ Concerns About Data Usage and How They Will Act Given Apple’s New Privacy Updates

AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader, and MMA Global, the industry body dedicated to driving modern marketing and shaping the future of marketing, today released Personal Data, Privacy & Smartphones: The Marketer/Consumer Disconnect, the third report in a series analyzing concerns about data and privacy. The report compares how marketers think smartphone owners view the upcoming Apple IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) opt-in requirement with how consumers think about privacy and the use of their data in general.

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The study reveals differences between the concerns of consumers and marketers and suggests marketers who are unprepared for the changes likely to come from Apple’s initiative will face significant challenges. The report is a follow up to the marketer survey, Apple, IDFA and iOS14: New Challenges, New Opportunities for Marketers, fielded in September 2020 and a survey of consumers, Personal Data, Privacy & Smartphones: The Cautious Consumer, released in February 2021.

When you compare the results of the marketer and consumer surveys, marketers underestimate just how concerned consumers are about their data and just how willing they are to act on those concerns. And while consumers are not that aware of Apple’s planned changes, when presented with the opt-in scenario that they will likely see when they open an app, they are both highly favorable to Apple’s privacy move and alarmed at the idea of being “tracked” online. What marketers think will get consumers to allow tracking (ads being less repetitive and increasing the quality of content) are important, but so is simply stating that it helps keep content free.

“While we expected marketers and consumers to have different ideas about Apple’s opt-in scenario, we were surprised by how marketers underestimated consumer concern,” said Brian Quinn, President and General Manager, North America, AppsFlyer. “AppsFlyer and MMA partnered on this series of surveys to better understand both the consumer and marketer perspectives around privacy and to also provide consumer specific insights to marketers in order to open up the conversation on how they communicate with their customers about data usage.”

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Key Findings: