Three-quarters of consumers say the marketing they receive is irrelevant

LONDON, August 4, 2026 – Three-quarters (75%) of UK consumers regularly receive marketing that is irrelevant to them. That’s according to new research from Optimizely, highlighting a growing disconnect between what brands send and what customers actually want to receive. 

The findings, from The Marketer's Survival Guide, based on a survey of 1,000 UK consumers and 100 UK marketers, show consumers are increasingly frustrated with generic, repetitive, and poorly targeted marketing. At the same time, marketers admit they're often working with limited time, fragmented data, and disconnected systems, making it harder to deliver the quality of content customers expect. 

According to the data, more than two-thirds (69%) of consumers often receive duplicate messages or emails from brands, while the same proportion feel marketing is frequently generic or not tailored to them. A further 61% feel overwhelmed by the amount of marketing they receive, and 56% say it is becoming harder to find brands that communicate in a useful and engaging way. 

As a result, many consumers are becoming less engaged with brand communications. Nearly half (42%) say they disengage when content feels irrelevant to them, while more than a third (35%) are more likely to unsubscribe from emails and other marketing communications after a poor or irrelevant experience. 

The findings also highlight the challenges marketers face in meeting growing consumer expectations. 60% of UK marketers say they often have to launch campaigns without the time or data needed to optimise them, while 54% move from campaign to campaign without enough time to properly evaluate performance. Meanwhile, 66% say managing multiple tools and platforms creates unnecessary work, making it harder to deliver the relevant, personalized experiences consumers increasingly expect. 

“Consumers can tell when marketing wasn't made for them, and our research shows they're tuning it out because of it,” said Tara Corey, SVP, Marketing at Optimizely. “The irony is that AI was supposed to help fix this, but so far, it's mostly just helped marketers make more of the same. The real opportunity isn't more content, it's better content, and that means using AI to clear away the busywork so marketers can actually focus on strategy and creativity again.” 

Read The Marketer’s Survival Guide here to learn more.