This post highlights the growing challenge of marketing fatigue, particularly during the holiday season when customer engagement is critical. By October, over half of consumers expect to feel overwhelmed by brand messaging, putting retailers at risk of losing attention. Marketers will learn how to combat marketing fatigue by delivering personalized, relevant, and well-timed content while balancing frequency and omnichannel engagement.
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The Big Picture:
As brands ramp up holiday marketing efforts, Optimove’s Report on Consumer Shopping Intentions for Holiday 2024 reveals that 67% of consumers predict they’ll feel overwhelmed with marketing messages by November 1. This number is expected to climb to 81% by December, putting retailers at risk of losing consumer engagement just as the holiday season peaks. See depiction below:
Marketing Fatigue Defined
Marketing fatigue occurs when consumers are bombarded with too many messages, leading them to disengage or even develop negative feelings toward brands. As inboxes, social feeds, and mobile notifications overflow with promotions, consumers start tuning out—even from brands they love. For e-commerce companies, this means that brands may inadvertently drive customers away despite best intentions during the most important shopping season.
How to Combat Marketing Fatigue
Retailers must strike a delicate balance between relevance, timing, and personalization to avoid contributing to marketing overload and ensure holiday campaigns resonate with customers. Here are key recommendations to alleviate marketing fatigue and maintain strong engagement throughout the holiday season:
#1 – Deliver Personalized, Relevant Messages
Keep consumers engaged by delivering content that is tailored to them. Use data-driven insights to understand customer preferences, behaviors, and past interactions, ensuring that every message is personalized and relevant. The more targeted the message is, the more likely a customer will respond positively.
#2 – Manage Frequency Carefully
One of the primary drivers of marketing fatigue is the volume of messages. Instead of sending daily promotions to a brand’s entire database, micro-segment audiences and create tailored content for each segment based on their customer journey. This minimizes overload while increasing relevance.
Marketing fatigue often stems from relying too heavily on a single channel, such as email. Understand each customer’s preferred channel(s)—SMS, social media, or in-app notifications—and engage them where and when they’re most comfortable. Omnichannel engagement ensures brands meet consumers on their terms.
#4 – Provide Value Beyond Promotions
Rather than simply pushing one promotion after another, offer content that provides value beyond discounts. Whether it’s holiday shopping tips, gift guides, or exclusive product previews, giving customers something meaningful will help maintain their interest and engagement. Always align this content with the customer’s journey and their needs.
#5 – Respect Customer Preferences
Respecting customer preferences is more critical than ever. Allow customers to set communication preferences—including how often they want to receive messages and which channels they prefer. Empowering customers to control the frequency of marketing communications builds trust and helps prevent them from feeling overwhelmed.
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Retailers must be mindful of how they engage with customers to avoid marketing fatigue. The key takeaway from Optimove’s Report on Consumer Shopping Intentions for Holiday 2024 is that relevance, personalization, and timing are essential to keeping customers engaged without overwhelming them.
By delivering meaningful, well-timed, tailored content, retailers can capture consumer attention, drive holiday sales, and preserve long-term loyalty.
Rony Vexelman is Optimove’s VP of Marketing. Rony leads Optimove’s marketing strategy across regions and industries. Previously, Rony was Optimove's Director of Product Marketing leading product releases, customer marketing efforts and analyst relations. Rony holds a BA in Business Administration and Sociology from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
