Survey: Weekly emails are consumers' preferred brand marketing method
Brands appear to be wearing out consumers with excessive digital messaging.
Seven-in-10 consumers feel brands send so many messages, they “don’t care what they are saying anymore,” according to CSG’s 2026 State of the Customer Experience Report. A third (34%) of those surveyed said they have gone as far as to stop buying from brands due to excessive contact, with 42% of Gen Z having done so.
Brand messaging can be so excessive that nearly six-in-10 (59%) consumers say they have deleted critical messages, such as bills or notices, because they mistook them for marketing.
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Eighty-three percent of consumers could receive messages from a brand once a week without it being overwhelming, according to CSG’s report. Email (73%) is by far the most preferred channel for consumers to receive messages, with text (31%), WhatsApp (30%), in-app notifications (23%), social media messages (22%) and postal mail (14%) lagging far behind.
When it comes to the reasons that consumers choose to stay subscribed to brand communications, deals and discounts (60%) are the top factor. More than half (53%) said that they stay subscribed when messages are brief and easy to understand, and a similar number (52%) do so when they are rewarded for engaging.
Consumers say that relevant messages are key for them to stay subscribed to a brand’s marketing content. Messages that are uniquely crafted or sent by a real person (51%) and tailored to recent activity (50%) feel the most relevant to consumers. Consumers also respond positively to messages that use their name and preferences (44%). Thirteen percent of those surveyed said that nothing can make a brand’s marketing messages relevant.
“Consumer overwhelm isn’t just a feeling. It’s a business risk,” said Katie Costanzo, president of customer experience at CSG. “Your customers aren’t asking for more touchpoints. They want an easy, unified experience that shows the brand understands them. In 2026, the brands that can gain a holistic view of the customer and act in real time will win customers’ trust and loyalty. That work starts from within: break down data silos, embrace smart automations and analytics, and communicate across departments. That’s when brands will cut through the chaos with empathy, clarity and relevance.”
CSG partnered with Wakefield Research to field a custom quantitative study of 1,200 “digital citizens” – defined as people who have engaged with online services such as paying a bill online, using online customer support, making an online order or using an online account. The study was fielded July 24 to Aug. 6, 2025, to respondents evenly distributed across the regions of North America, Central & Latin America, and EMEA.
