One-third of consumers say holiday email volume alone is enough to make them unsubscribe
BOSTON — Sept. 30, 2026 — Validity, the leading provider of Enterprise AI solutions for digital marketers, today released its Holiday 2026 Consumer Survey. The report finds that an entire generation of buyers will end the holiday season with less trust in the brands that email them — and that volume, not content, is the biggest reason why.
The findings point to a cost that isn’t confined to retail senders or those running traditional holiday sales: 44% of consumers say they receive more promotional email during the holidays, and 36% say that volume has caused them to miss, delete or overlook an important nonpromotional message — a bill, a shipping notice, an account alert, a work email. Every sender competing for space in that inbox is contributing to, and paying for, the same crowding.
Trust, more than any discount, is what earns the open in the first place. Nearly half of consumers (47%) say already trusting a brand factors into whether they open its holiday email, ahead of the 39% who cite discounts or promotions. But once an email is opened, value still closes the deal — 42% cite exclusive discounts and promotions as the content they value most.
That trust is also fragile. Nearly 1 in 4 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. For a generation entering its peak spending years, that loyalty cost compounds well past January.
“Holiday volume doesn’t just strain retail marketers — it strains the entire inbox ecosystem every sender depends on,” said Cynthia Price, SVP 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.”
Consumers aren’t asking to be cut off entirely, though: 22% say a temporary “opt down,” or snooze option, would help them manage holiday volume without unsubscribing outright — a middle option most senders still don’t offer.
AI is starting to shape how consumers cope, but on their own terms. 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: 25% would use it to surface the best deals, 25% to highlight relevant messages, and 23% to strip out unwanted ones. Yet 36%, the single largest group, say they don’t want an AI assistant managing their inbox at all, suggesting consumers want targeted help, not a handoff.
As brands prepare for the holiday rush, the findings suggest winning the inbox will require more than bigger discounts or higher send volume. Marketers who protect trust, respect consumer preferences and deliver relevant value stand a better chance of earning attention during the holiday season without damaging the customer relationship that carries into the new year.
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About Validity
Validity created Engage, the Enterprise AI platform behind the world’s most successful email programs. For nearly 30 years, Validity has operated at the center of the email ecosystem — shaping how it works, setting the standards others follow, and earning the trust of the world’s biggest brands and mailbox providers.
That trust is built on the world’s largest email data network: proprietary signals from ISPs, exclusive mailbox provider partnerships, and more than 2.5 billion behavioral data points processed daily. This data-driven foundation powers Validity Engage, the Enterprise AI email platform for digital marketers that helps enterprise teams know what to send, when to send it, and who’s ready to receive it—so every send is smarter than the last. For more information, visit validity.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.
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