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Validity surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers to reveal what drives them to open, engage or unsubscribe from holiday emails.
This holiday season, consumers say they want transparency, real discounts and thoughtful timing, not overloaded inboxes or misleading subject lines. Retailers that continue to rely on volume rather than value risk unsubscriptions and missed opportunities.
Here’s what consumers told us what works and what doesn’t, and what brands can do to improve the effectiveness of their holiday emails.
Table of contents
Too many emails
- 49% of consumers have canceled their subscription A holiday email from a brand because they get so many of them.
- Millennials are most likely to unsubscribe (57%), followed by Gen Z and Gen X (48% each) and Baby Boomers (38%).
- Weekly is the most preferred frequency Used to receive holiday promotional emails from retailers (25% off). 21% prefer every two to three days, while 21% prefer to send emails every day.
Email overload remains the leading cause of disengagement. Consumers are overwhelmed by frequent, repetitive, and worthless information. Retailers have the opportunity to improve performance by sending less.
Aligning your sending cadence with subscriber expectations can reduce unsubscriptions and increase engagement rates. A weekly or twice-weekly schedule paired with clear, relevant offers will drive better results than daily messages that compete for attention and erode trust.
Weak or irrelevant subject lines
- Top reasons consumers open Holiday emails represent brand recognition and trust (31%).
- The next biggest driver is a subject line that mentions a specific discount percentage (25%)
- Millennials (33%) are most affected are influenced by specific discount subject lines, while Baby Boomers (38%), Gen X (34%) and Gen Z (32%) are more motivated by brand familiarity.
Consumers are more likely to open emails from brands they trust that clearly explain what’s inside. Subject lines that include a specific offer (“25% off your first order”) perform better. For younger audiences, clarity and value are most important, while older audiences rely more on recognition. Establishing a trustworthy brand image is just as important as creating a compelling theme.
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Misleading urgency or overly exaggerated information
- The most common reasons consumers cancel subscriptions Retailer emails (after email frequency) had misleading subject lines or false urgency (16%).
Consumers can tell when a brand is using artificial urgency as a pressure tactic to drive clicks, which can quickly backfire and lead to unsubscribes. Real urgency, such as limited availability of exclusive early access, must be backed up by facts. Retailers should build trust through honest and transparent messaging rather than resorting to short-term ploys that reduce credibility.
“I just want to make sure everyone knows to be careful when adding urgency to your subject line. We’ve seen some class action lawsuits against some very large brands because they put something like “Last Two Days Sale” in the subject line. But in fact, they had about eight more days planned on their calendar. If you are going to use deadline type language, make sure it is accurate.“
Lack of transparency in pricing
- 55% of consumers want full transparency Regarding information about tariffs or price changes in holiday marketing emails, 16% only want this information about the product they are viewing
- Only 13% don’t want economic/political content in marketing emails.
- Younger generation leads demand Respondents who want full transparency about tariff or price changes: Gen Z (63%), Millennials (62%), Gen X (55%), Baby Boomers (41%).
Consumers want to know the “why” behind pricing. Clarity on tariffs, fees and price adjustments enhances brand credibility. Young shoppers, in particular, want transparency from the brands they choose. Providing an honest explanation of costs, rather than overwhelming them with economic jargon, can turn pricing from a potential frustration into a trust-building opportunity.
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Bad timing for holiday news
- 24% are more willing to accept Holiday email for early November.
- 21% prefer early October18% prefer the end of October.
- Nearly 63% want to start Hear from the brand before Thanksgiving.
- 23% of baby boomers In comparison, 8% of Millennials and 9% of Gen Z prefer to send emails after Thanksgiving.
Generations have different preferences for vacation time. Most consumers want to start messaging before Thanksgiving, but younger audiences tend to start shopping earlier, while older consumers prefer brands that wait until after Thanksgiving.
Retailers can maximize impact by segmenting audiences by age and engagement history to ensure messages are received when each group is most ready to take action.
quality over quantity
Overall, consumers have set clear expectations for quality rather than quantity. They want transparency, real discounts, and emails that respect their time. Retailers that build trust, adjust timing, and reduce unnecessary sending can strengthen engagement for every generation.
While 56% of consumers said they were satisfied with retailers’ holiday email marketing (19% were very satisfied and 37% were somewhat satisfied), nearly a third were neutral and 15% were very dissatisfied—suggesting there’s plenty of room for improvement.
Retailers that avoid volume traps and focus on relevance and trust will be better positioned to stand out this holiday season.
methodology: This research is based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older conducted by Dynata in September 2025 on behalf of Validity. The sample is intended to be representative of the U.S. adult population. For the analysis of reference generation groups, the following age ranges were used: Generation Z (born 1997–2012), Millennials (born 1981–1996), Generation X (born 1965–1980), and Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964).
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