Commentary

Holiday Hazard: Consumers Will Feel Messaging Burnout By December

by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 7, 2024

Retailers have to be careful not to flood consumers with messages as the holidays approach.

Email is the preferred channel for many shoppers. But 23% want fewer messages and 67% expect to suffer marketing fatigue by November.

Worse, that will turn to burnout by December for 55%. And even without that, 81% expect to tire of holiday messages by December.

Here’s the danger: 87% of consumers unsubscribe from brands that send excessive texts and emails. And 41% will dump four or more firms that bombard them.

But 56% of shoppers want to know about promotions want to know about special treatment and early access to sales offers at least a month before the holiday season, and 26% want them two months in advance.

Despite the burnout factor, some consumers want more messages:

I would like to get many more — 43%
I would like to get a few more — 19%
I would like to get fewer — 23%
I get just the right amount — 15%

Email is by far the most popular method for receiving holiday promotions:

Email — 59%
Text message — 16%
Phone call — 9%
Social media — 8%
Mobile app notifications — 3%
Regular postal mail — 3%
Direct mail — 1%
Other —1%

What makes consumers open emails? They identify the leading causes as:

Personalized to me beyond just my name — 36%
Relevancy: an offer of a product I am interested in at the time — 32%
Identity of the brand — 14%
Special offers or discounts — 13%
Catchy subject line — 3%
Absolutely nothing — 2%

Meanwhile, 50% of consumers have more confidence in the economy this year, up from 26% in 2023. Another 33% have the same level as last year, and 17% have less.

As for spending, 61% are budgeting more this year, versus 35% in 2023. Only 13% will spend less.

What leads consumers to try new brands at the expense of prior ones? They cite: