• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, June 14, 2023

I recently purchased a few new pairs of shorts and shirts to get ready for the summer.  I chose two brands specifically because they had done a great job of targeting me, instilling a sense of quality with a “cool factor” to boot.  The brands mostly reached me through social media, which, coupled with the recommendations of friends, led me to them: Vuori and Mugsy.  I browsed, I tried them on, I bought.  I made a couple of exchanges, and the process was good.   All in all, I had a great experience with them both and was looking forward to buying from them again in the future.

And then they both went all Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” on me.

First it was the retargeting ads.  Retargeting is great when I abandon a shopping cart and you want me to come back.  I did take a day or two to buy after I initially browsed, but when I made the purchases, the ads should have stopped.  At the very least they should have changed to branding ads or recommendations.  Some of that happened, but I was still getting targeted with ads to buy the shorts I already bought.  That was tolerable.  I can ignore an ad here and there. 

Then came the video ads, targeting me on YouTube. They were trying to drive support for the brand, and I get it.  That’s great.  I am supportive of that, but maybe turn down the frequency a bit.  These ads came to dominate my video experience.

Then the emails started.  Vuori started emailing me daily.  Mugsy was a little less frequent, emailing me every two to three. At first, I was Ok with it, but it didn’t stop.  I would wake up in the morning and there was another email telling me about a new offer, or a new line of shorts.  Between these two brands and Goodr, a sunglass brand I had recently purchased from and that clearly comes up with a new set of shades every week, my inbox was overflowing with retail ads. 

If these companies were truly targeting me properly, they would realize that I only buy clothes once a year, at best.  My frequency of purchase is nowhere near enough to warrant the volume of emails they send to me, but since I enjoyed the purchases I made, I said to myself, “OK, I will just unsubscribe.” 

Have you tried to unsubscribe to anything lately?  There are so many little tricks that companies play to get you to not unsubscribe that I am amazed anyone ever successfully unsubscribes from anything.  I figured it out, and I "unsubscribed." Yet the emails are still coming.  I will likely have to unsubscribe again, assuming that I did not something wrong. 

I am pretty sure I can expect a boiled rabbit in my kitchen after this post.

I like these brands, but they are crossing the line from strategy to desperation. Too often, a retailer equates each email with a bump in sales, but the data always tells you that the more often you email, the lower that bump will become as you wear out your audience. 

Brands need to be conscious of their customers.  Timely emails, with offers, are fine.  If you train me to simply delete your emails when they arrive, your message is not going to get through.  Don’t come off so desperate.   Balance your retargeting, video and email advertising with a sense of self-confidence. 

Your product is your best marketing.  Give me a quality product, and have some confidence that I like it, and I will remain a repeat purchaser.  Overwhelm me, make me numb, and the chances of me buying again become slimmer.  Nobody I know buys clothes every day, so why email me every day?  Scale it back, and believe in your product.  I will recommend you and I will buy from you again, but right now I think need to be on a break.