Gartner expects fewer people will opt-out of personalised mobile app ads by 2023

The analyst firm, Gartner, has released an interesting prediction which we could see in 2023. It said that the opt-out rate for mobile app tracking will decline from 85% to 60% as consumers experience more untargeted ads.

With Apple rolling out more ways to opt-out of ad tracking in mobile apps, fewer people are being shown relevant ads. Gartner believes, however, that consumers can be persuaded to opt-in to tracking especially if they trust the brand or publisher requesting tracking. Explaining this a bit more, Andrew Frank, vice president and analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice, said:

“Roughly one-quarter of consumers would allow tracking if they are familiar with the brand or publisher that’s requesting tracking, especially as part of an explicit value exchange, such as in cash rewards, coupons, discounts or loyalty points. Although Apple terms prohibit developers from offering people incentives for granting permission to track on iOS devices, marketers and consumers are finding workarounds.”

Gartner has outlined several methods that marketers could and will likely try to boost opt-in rates when it comes to mobile ad tracking. First, it said that customers need a compelling reason to opt-in and it should be made clear to them what tangible value opting in provides them with. Secondly, it should be easy for customers to change their privacy settings so they can opt-out at any time. Finally, Gartner said that marketers should work with publishers to optimise contextual targeting and measurement in the absence of tracking data.

Google, one of the largest advertisers online, has already begun using some of these tips. For a while now, it has made a point of communicating to customers that at no point is their data sold on to third-parties. This sort of messaging can help build trust which should lead to more people opting in to tracking.

It’s certainly a hot topic anyway and Gartner's prediction is a little surprising. It’ll be interesting to see whether it comes to fruition.