ct these emails can have on customers and take a different approach to Mother’s Day marketing. “Brands are increasingly choosing to allow consumers to opt out of their Mother’s Day emails,” Jana Bowden, an expert in consumer psychology at Macquarie University Business School, told Inside Retail. British florist Bloom and Wild is often credited with starting the opt-out trend in 2019, but Bowden believes it really gained steam during Covid-19, when many businesses became more attuned to consumers’ emotional well-being.   “This trend took hold in 2021 in response to the sheer emotional toll that the pandemic took on our collective well-being. It has, however, continued this year with more brands suggesting that their marketing emails might be emotionally ‘triggering’ for those who do not wish to be reminded of the date,” she observed.  “With the statistics demonstrating that three out of five women find Mother’s Day emotionally difficult, maybe they have a point.” This year, a number of big and small brands around the world gave customers the option to opt out of Mother’s Day emails, such as global online marketplace Etsy and US luggage brand Away. What it really means to be customer-first For Australian online flower and gift brand Lvly, the opt-out trend is all about being customer first.  “Lots of businesses talk-the-talk about being customer-centric but very few walk the walk,” Hannah Spilva, the brand’s co-founder and CEO, told Inside Retail.  Lvly started letting customers opt out of marketing emails around potentially painful holidays, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, last year with the launch of its Thoughtful Marketing Movement.  “Pro-actively reaching out to our customers asking them if they’d like to opt out of marketing breaks all the usual marketing rules, but it feels like the right thing to do – the human thing to do. It’s what our values of ‘being a goodie’ and ‘making someone’s day’ are all about,” Spilva said. The move has been well-received by Lvly’s customers. “We’ve been overwhelmed by how positively our customers have responded to our approach – our customer service team has been inundated with messages of thanks and support. It’s a great feeling to know that you’re making a positive impact in people’s lives,” she said. Lvly is encouraging other retailers and brands to join its Thoughtful Marketing Movement, and Spilva noted that it’s not only about recognising how difficult certain holidays can be for some people.  “It’s also about being sympathetic to a diverse customer base who don’t all celebrate the same occasions,” she said.   Why intention is everything  According to Spilva, it’s relatively easy to segment a database to ensure certain people don’t receive marketing emails for Mother’s Day “If you have the right marketing tools it’s not a complex process to set up. It’s a simple sequence of asking customers if they’d like to press pause on communications and then making sure customer segments accurately reflect those preferences,” she said.  “It’s all about intention; as a business, if you feel strongly enough about doing it, there are a bunch of ways to make it happen.” It could be well worth the effort, with Bowden noting that the opt-out trend can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. “Brands offering an opt-out are simply recognising that we are not homogenous fomo-driven buyers with a voracious appetite for gifting, but that we are rather sensitive and mindful individuals whose needs should be understood and valued,” she said.  “Delivering a ‘human-touch’ in this context can lift customer satisfaction and boost loyalty. Personalisation, after all, is king, as is inclusive marketing.” However, she cautioned that it can also backfire if brands aren’t guided by authentic values, but just want the benefits of being perceived to be caring and inclusive. “Opt-out emails done without a clearly demonstrated, fundamental set of enduring underlying brand values which put the customer first, every single time, may in fact reinforce the very thing they seek to avoid – cynicism, contempt and negative emotional triggers,” she said.  “Fakeholding can only get you so far in your marketing communications before they create negative sentiment and start to disengage your customer base. Consumers are smart, they’re savvy and they also have a finely honed BS detector.”