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App Store Connect Fixes Inaccurate Analytics Data

February 13th, 2020

App Store Connect Fixes Inaccurate Analytics Data
David Bell

by David Bell

CEO at Gummicube, Inc.

App Store Connect recently started displaying a notification that there has been an issue with reporting impression and conversion data. Over the past several months, many apps saw shifts in impressions and conversions around mid-September, particularly with the Browse and Search sources. In fact, some developers had reported conversion rates of over 100%- a metric that simply is not possible. Apple has started to address this issue and reports that developers should see their analytics returned to normal soon.

App Store Connect Error

The error began on September 19th, when iOS 13 launched. App Store Connect began incorrectly reporting impression and conversion rate data from Search and Browse that essentially switched these metrics for users on iOS 13 or later.

This could have unexpected consequences on developers’ App Store Optimization strategies. The erroneous data could provide an inaccurate view of how well new keywords or creatives performed. If a developer launched new keywords with the iOS 13 update and saw a sudden drop in impression reports on App Store Connect, it could make them think that the keywords did not perform well, when the opposite may have been true.

This was addressed near the end of January. Apple announced the fix on App Store Connect under App Analytics, stating:

“Between September 19, 2019 and January 30, 2020, Impressions and Conversion Rate data from Search and Browse were reported incorrectly from devices running iOS 13 or later. The issue has been corrected and historical data is being reprocessed. You may see changes in Impressions and Conversion Rate data for the affected period until the corrected data is published. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

The issue impacted impressions and conversions on devices running iOS 13, which is a significant portion of iOS users. In October, iOS 13 adoption among iPhone users was at 50% and has only continued to grow. This resulted in inaccurate data from over half of Apple’s users.

Similar issues have occurred in the past. Between March 8th and 15th 2019, app units data went askew in a similar manner. In that instance, it was easier to spot as it did not coincide with an iOS release. The fact that only users on the latest iOS version were counted incorrectly made the more recent issue difficult for Apple to identify. In November 2019, Apple also reported inaccurate deletion data. These issues were addressed in turn.

App Store Optimization

With the issue fixed, now might be a good time to launch new iterations of an app’s creatives, description or keywords. Any trends identified now will be more accurate than over the past few months, so it’s a good time to update and start tracking new data.

It’s important that developers update their apps consistently based on performance and building upon successes. Accurate analytics data is key to this, so when App Store Connect reports inaccurate data, developers need to be aware. This fix is important to anyone who relies on App Store Connect to track their impressions and conversion.

Want more information regarding App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.

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