Apple’s iOS 14.5 update has arrived. And with it, a flood of changes to Facebook Ads Manager. Not to mention . uncertainty, confusion, and fear. This article contains everything we know about the new iOS changes — as well as their impact on Facebook advertising and ecommerce trends. But, let’s cut to the chase . Data on the State of Ecommerce & Online Advertising As an index, we’ve compiled data from ~200 ecommerce brands totaling +$5.9 billion in online revenue over the last two years. Those businesses are drawn from Statlas — our proprietary ecommerce growth tool; they represent Common Thread Collective (CTC) clients, ADmission members, and Statlas users. All metrics have been standardized to Facebook’s default attribution. Big Picture: Year-over-Year For clarity, the following charts represent trailing 12-month YoY data. Each metric is also calculated for the three months before iOS 14.5’s release (Feb.–Apr. 2021), and three months after (July–Sept. 2021), excluding May and June 2021 to account for iOS 14.5’s rollout. Average Facebook Reported ROAS Facebook ROAS 2020–21: 2.56 Facebook ROAS 2021–22: 2.11 Facebook ROAS YoY %-change: -17.71% iOS 14.5 Effect on Facebook Reported ROAS Pre-iOS Facebook ROAS (Feb.–Apr. 2021): 3.14 Post-iOS Facebook ROAS (July–Sept. 2021): 1.87 Pre vs Post Facebook ROAS %-change: -40.48% Average Marketing Efficiency Rating (MER) MER = total revenue ÷ total ad spend; often referred to as “blended” ROAS. MER 2020–21: 5.03 MER 2021–22: 4.82 MER YoY %-change: -4.26% iOS 14.5 Effect on Marketing Efficiency Rating Pre-iOS MER (Feb.–Apr. 2021): 5.24 Post-iOS MER (July–Sept. 2021): 4.98 Pre vs Post MER %-change: -4.90% Average Weekly Facebook Spend per Account Facebook Spend 2020–21: $14,534 Facebook Spend 2021–22: $16,365 Facebook Spend YoY %-change: +12.60% iOS 14.5 Effect on Weekly Facebook Spend Pre-iOS Spend (Feb.–Apr. 2021): $13,592 Post-iOS Spend (July–Sept. 2021): $14,454 Pre vs Post Spend %-change: +6.34% Average Facebook CPM (Cost per 1k impressions) Facebook CPMs 2020–21: $12.18 Facebook CPMs 2021–22: $13.63 Facebook CPMs YoY %-change: +11.91% iOS 14.5 Effect on Facebook CPMs Pre-iOS CPMs (Feb.–Apr. 2021): $11.13 Post-iOS CPMs (July–Sept. 2021): $12.01 Pre vs Post CPMs %-change: +7.97% Average Weekly Ecommerce Revenue Revenue 2020–21: $146,291 Revenue 2021–22: $163,913 Revenue YoY %-change: +12.05% iOS 14.5 Effect on Average Weekly Ecommerce Revenue Pre-iOS Revenue (Feb.–Apr. 2021): $138,953 Post-iOS Revenue (July–Sept. 2021): $145,445 Pre vs Post Revenue %-change: +4.67% Immediate Context: Monthly Comparing daily averages for the last four weeks year-over-year (YoY) . Facebook Spend: +0.18% Facebook CPM: -12.34% Facebook Revenue: +3.65% Facebook Conversion Rate: +3.87% Facebook ROAS: +4.02% Google CPC: -10.94% Google ROAS: -25.06% Marketing Efficiency Rating: +1.78% Total Ecommerce Revenue: +3.41% Average Order Value: +0.39% Summary of iOS 14, Privacy Updates & Facebook As of early May, Apple users on all mobile devices are receiving the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) Prompt — giving them the choice to opt-in or opt-out of data tracking. Before this update, the Pixel could directly connect Facebook users’ app-to-onsite activity — in other words, actions on Facebook with actions on a business’s website. Now, Facebook’s data, attribution, and tracking will be severely limited. Data Then: Facebook could connect users’ in-app ad views (impressions) to off-app activity — like visits, add-to-carts, purchases, etc. Now: iOS 14.5 users will be opted out by default from Facebook’s ability to connect, report, and optimize that activity Attribution Then: Facebook’s window was set to 28-d click + 1-d view; purchases and ROAS were recorded backwards to day-of impression Now: Limited to 7-d click + 1-d view; purchases and ROAS are recorded on the day-of conversion; goodbye, delayed attribution Tracking Then: Facebook’s Pixel could track — and therefore, optimize for — as many default or custom events as ...