Clarity is The New Currency of Customer Trust

A new report finds customer loyalty at a tipping point in the Age of Overwhelm, urging brands to prioritise clarity, empathy, and real-time understanding over excessive communication.

As brands flood every digital channel with messages, consumers are tuning out. A new CSG report warns that in 2026, clarity, not volume, will determine which brands earn trust in a world drowning in constant communication.

The 2026 State of the Customer Experience report reveals that consumers are in an era of total digital saturation, bombarded with brand communications across every channel, 24/7. CSG’s global survey found that consumers are struggling to identify which brand messages are important—and which interactions they can trust.

“Consumer overwhelm isn’t just a feeling. It’s a business risk,” said Katie Costanzo, President of Customer Experience at CSG. “Your customers aren’t asking for more touchpoints. They want an easy, unified experience that shows the brand understands them.”

Key Findings: The Cost of Confusion

CSG partnered with Wakefield Research to field a custom quantitative study of 1,200 “digital citizens”— defined as people who have engaged with online services such as paying a bill online, using online customer support, making an online order or using an online account. 

The report highlights several insights:

• Seven out of ten consumers feel brands send so many messages, they don’t care what brands are saying anymore.
• 59% of consumers have deleted critical messages, like bills or fraud alerts, mistaking them for marketing or spam.
• Almost two-thirds of consumers worry they’ll miss critical messages because of the overwhelming number of communications that brands send today.
• 56% are uncomfortable letting AI take action on their behalf.
• More than one-third of consumers have stopped buying from a brand altogether due to excessive outreach.

The study was conducted from July to August 2025, among respondents evenly distributed across the regions of North America, Central & Latin America, and EMEA.

A New CX Mandate: Cut Through the Noise

The report serves as a field guide for brands to earn loyalty in the Age of Overwhelm. It urges companies to shift from communication quantity to quality, focusing on context, timing, and emotional relevance. 

“In 2026, the brands that can gain a holistic view of the customer and act in real time will win customers’ trust and loyalty,” added Katie Costanzo. 

“That work starts from within: break down data silos, embrace smart automations and analytics, and communicate across departments. That’s when brands will cut through the chaos with empathy, clarity and relevance.”

Key strategies to win with clarity include:

• Remember that AI-supported personalisation only works when it feels human.
• Lean on a journey analytics command centre to spot noisy, disjointed experiences in real time.
• Harmonise the tech stack, don’t just consolidate it.

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