Eighty-one percent of consumers ignore marketing messages that are not relevant to them, according to a new global study distributed by Business Wire. The same research finds that personalized experiences drive both loyalty and sales, placing personalization capability at the center of the marketing leadership agenda.

The number gives chief marketing officers a measurable baseline for a problem many have suspected but rarely quantified: generic messaging does not just underperform — most recipients discard it outright. For brands still running broad, undifferentiated campaigns, the study suggests the cost is attention itself.

What does the study actually measure?

The research, conducted globally, examines how consumers respond to marketing personalization across channels. Two findings stand out:

• 81% of consumers ignore messages they consider irrelevant.
• Personalized experiences correlate with stronger customer loyalty and higher sales.

Together, the findings frame personalization as a revenue lever rather than a creative preference. Consumers are not asking for novelty; they are demanding relevance, and they reward the brands that deliver it.

Why does this matter for marketing leaders now?

The 81% figure quantifies the penalty for getting personalization wrong. Every irrelevant message a brand sends erodes its ability to reach that customer again, because the consumer has already learned to filter the sender out.

At the same time, the loyalty and sales findings point to the upside. Brands that invest in data quality, segmentation and individualized offers can expect measurable returns in retention and conversion — the two metrics most marketing organizations are held accountable for.

For CMOs, the practical implications are straightforward:

• Audit current campaigns for relevance gaps before scaling spend.
• Prioritize first-party data collection to power segmentation.
• Treat personalization as an ROI conversation with the CFO, not a design discussion.

What should CMOs do next?

The study's core message is a consumer mandate: audiences want more personalization in marketing, not less. Companies that cannot deliver relevance at scale face a shrinking share of attention. Companies that can — using cleaner data, better targeting and individualized experiences — stand to gain loyalty and sales simultaneously.

Marketing leaders should read the 81% figure as a floor, not a ceiling. As personalization becomes standard practice across categories, consumer tolerance for generic messaging will fall further. The competitive gap between personalized and impersonal brands will widen in both directions.