21 Nov Avoid Email Burnout: Smarter Communication Strategies for Retailers
Have you ever felt temporarily overwhelmed or uninterested by a company or product? You’re not alone. Your inbox is a crowded space, and your customers are right there with you, navigating a constant stream of flash sales, new arrivals, and limited-time offers. Retailers are all competing for attention, but there’s a fine line between capturing interest and causing fatigue. That’s why it’s essential for brands to offer customers flexible communication options that align with their preferences and needs.
In this post, we’ll explore why giving customers more control over how they engage with your brand is no longer optional, it’s a strategic necessity.
The Problem: Email Fatigue is Real
Your customers love your brand, but even the most loyal shopper can get burned out by too many emails. Whether it’s due to busy seasons, seasonal changes, or budget constraints, sometimes you just need a break. Email fatigue is a common reason people hit “unsubscribe.”
The result? You lose a subscriber you might’ve retained, if only you’d given them more control.
The Solution: A Flexible Pause Option
By allowing customers to pause promotional communications, you respect their preferences without losing them permanently. It’s the marketing equivalent of a “see you later” instead of “goodbye.”
Retailers specifically should be providing their customers with preference options for the best way to communicate with them on an individual basis. These options include:
- Email Frequency: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or until a chosen date
- Product Interests: Women’s, Men’s, Kids’, Shoes, Home Goods, Sale Only
- Communication Types: Promotions, Order Updates, New Arrivals, In-store Events
- Channel Preferences: Email, SMS, App Notifications
SUCCESS STORY: How the World’s Largest Art Dealer Uses a 6-Month Pause to Retain Customers in Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement
Offprem Technology partnered with the world’s largest art dealer (3 million customers since 1969), to get their Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement account implemented, which included a custom preference center. To help reduce unsubscribes and retain more customers, the team introduced a “Pause for 6 Months” option in their custom preference center. This allowed users to temporarily opt out of promotional emails without fully unsubscribing. Behind the scenes, a daily automation supports this experience by checking the preference center data and updating the email suppression list accordingly—either adding users who’ve opted to pause or reactivating them once the 6-month period ends. This solution gave customers more control over their communication preferences while helping the brand maintain long-term relationships.
In closing, customers increasingly want more control over the content they receive and sometimes that simply means taking a break. Retailers who recognize and support this need can benefit by retaining more subscribers, boosting the quality of engagement, and gaining deeper insights into their audience.
If you are looking for a Salesforce Partner, look no further. This is just one of many happy partnerships that have resulted in high satisfaction.