Survey: Here's how consumers view holiday email promotions...
Consumers have strong opinions when it comes to being contacted by brands around the holiday season.
Nearly half (44%) of consumers say they receive more promotional emails during the holidays, according to the Holiday 2026 Consumer Survey from Validity, an AI solutions provider for marketers.
More than a third (36%) say that volume has caused them to miss, delete or overlook an important non-promotional message, such as a bill, a shipping notice, an account alert or a work email. Almost a quarter (22%) of those surveyed say a temporary "opt down," or snooze option, would help them manage holiday volume without unsubscribing outright.
Nearly half (47%) of consumers say already trusting a brand factors into whether they open a holiday email. Forty-two percent of consumers cite exclusive discounts and promotions as the content they value most from brand emails during the holiday season.
Nearly one-in-four consumers overall, and nearly half of Gen Z, say a brand's holiday email practices have caused them to trust it less, buy from it less, or stop buying from it altogether.
Additionally, Validity found that artificial intelligence is starting to play a role in how consumers manage holiday emails. While just 7% currently use AI summaries or annotations to manage holiday email, interest rises sharply when AI is framed as a filter instead of a full inbox manager. A quarter (25%) said they would use it to surface the best deals, along with a quarter (25%) who said they would use it to highlight relevant messages.
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Despite this, more than a third (36%), the single largest group, say they don't want an AI assistant managing their inbox at all.
"Holiday volume doesn't just strain retail marketers – it strains the entire inbox ecosystem every sender depends on," said Cynthia Price, senior VP of marketing at Validity. "Consumers are drawing a clear line between brands that respect their attention and brands that don't. That line doesn't move for who's sending."
