Apple gains momentum in digital ads, breaks duopoly of Google, Facebook

Apple seems to be gaining momentum in digital ads giving Google and Facebook a good competition, according to a study published by Appsumer, a performance insights platform on Tuesday (September 6).

This can be attributed to Apple’s privacy change in the App Store called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) update. The 2021 iOS privacy update has made it difficult for companies like Facebook to track users across the internet. This has helped the company break Google and Facebook’s duopoly in the ad business.

Also Read: iPhone 14 launch: Apple reins in prices despite inflation

Apple through its search ads, enables people to advertise on the Apple App Store. According to Appsumer, Apple’s advertisement adoption rate when compared to the previous year, rose almost four per cent to reach 94.8 per cent while Facebook’s adoption rate fell by three percent to reach 82.8 per cent. Google’s rate declined by two percentage points to reach 94.8 per cent.

Reasons for rise in adoption rate

Firstly, a number of app developers are willing to pay Apple huge sums of money to bolster their downloads on the Apple App Store.

Also Read: Apple puts on first in-person event since start of pandemic

Secondly, the company’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) update limits the amount of user data that can be accessed by ad-based apps like Facebook. This hinders Facebook’s ability to help brands with their online ad campaigns, thus giving Apple an edge in the advertisement business.

Shumel Lais, general manager at Appsumer, revealed to the media, “One of the things that is quite interesting is that the ATT measurement limitations that are kind of put on the wider network do not exist in the same way for Apple. So, you could say Apple has slightly more visibility or an advantage across the other channels on iOS.”

Also Read: Apple iPhone 14 to be made in India from November: Report

The overall money spent by app developers on online advertising is known as wallet share. In terms of wallet share, Google remains at the top with 34 per cent share. Facebook comes next with 28 per cent share. Apple follows with 15 per cent share.

Facebook benefits from the serendipity of ads, versus Google and Apple, which serve ads based on search terms, said Shumel Lais.