"Australian consumers are increasingly disengaging from brand communications that fail to feel timely or relevant, as new research highlights a growing gap between marketing intent and execution across Australia. The 2026 SAP Engagement Index from SAP shows that 58 per cent of Australians say most brand emails are irrelevant, while just 16 per cent report reading subject lines at all."
"The findings come as brands continue to increase the volume of messages across email, mobile and digital channels. However, SAP warns that rising output is not translating into better engagement, with fragmented data systems, disconnected platforms and siloed teams preventing true personalisation from being delivered in real time. Instead, many so-called personalised messages are arriving out of context - disconnected from live customer behaviour, service interactions or purchase intent - and are therefore being ignored."
"Despite this, consumers are still responding positively when relevance is achieved. The research found that 60 per cent of Australians value localised content, 54 per cent appreciate highly personalised engagement, and 56 per cent want personalised product recommendations, indicating that attention is still available for brands that can deliver it in the moment."
""The divide we see isn't creativity or ambition," said Sara Richter, CMO of SAP Emarsys. "When customer, operational and content systems don't talk to each other, engagement becomes guesswork. That problem only grows as we move towards agent-driven shopping, where relevance is decided instantly.""
Most brand emails are perceived as irrelevant by Australians, and few people read subject lines. Consumer attention is shifting from brand itself to the overall experience. Brands are sending more messages across email, mobile, and digital channels, but engagement is not improving. Fragmented data systems, disconnected platforms, and siloed teams prevent real-time personalisation. Many messages arrive out of context, disconnected from live customer behaviour, service interactions, or purchase intent, leading to being ignored. When relevance is achieved, consumers respond positively, valuing localised content, highly personalised engagement, and personalised product recommendations. Operational execution and the ability to act on live data quickly are central to delivering relevance, especially as shopping becomes more agent-driven.
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