New Intuit Mailchimp Report Highlights What Marketers Miss at Opt-in

As privacy rules tighten and traditional tracking becomes less reliable, the opt-in moment is emerging as one of the most important touchpoints in modern marketing. A new report from Intuit Mailchimp suggests that many brands are underestimating this moment, creating early friction that weakens long-term engagement and customer trust. The findings matter for the MarTech ecosystem as email and SMS remain foundational channels for building direct, permission-based relationships.

Intuit released the report titled The Art of the Opt-In: Why List Building is Only the Beginning, developed by Intuit Mailchimp in partnership with Ascend2. The study draws on insights from thousands of marketers and consumers across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. It examines how opt-in strategies often fail to align with consumer expectations and why early decisions shape the quality and longevity of subscriber relationships.

“As tracking and re-targeting become more complex, the opt-in stands out as one of the few moments when a brand can earn a direct relationship with permission,” said Matt Cimino, product manager at Intuit Mailchimp. “Sign-up is the first signal that someone is willing to engage, and what a brand does in that moment sets expectations for everything that comes next.”

The research shows a clear disconnect between marketing execution and consumer comfort. While nearly all marketers maintain email and SMS lists, fewer than one third consider those lists to be very high quality, and only eight percent report conversion rates above twenty percent. At the same time, automation remains limited. Just twenty one percent of brands say their email and text programs are fully automated, and only about a third feel confident they can accurately track which channels drive opt-ins.

From the consumer side, inbox fatigue is growing. Although many people have noticed an increase in marketing messages, only forty percent say they are paying more attention, while roughly a quarter say they are tuning out more than they did a year ago. Consumers who remain subscribed say they want messages that add real value and arrive at a frequency that does not feel overwhelming. However, the report highlights a major trust gap at sign-up. Sixty five percent of brands ask for a phone number in opt-in forms, but only twenty eight percent of consumers are willing to provide one, suggesting brands are often asking for too much, too soon.

“Most opt-ins come up short because they’re created only thinking about what the business needs, not what the customer actually wants,” Cimino said. The data indicates that timing matters as much as content. Consumers are far more likely to opt in after browsing a site or during checkout, moments that signal higher intent and readiness to engage.

Trust also varies significantly by age. Younger consumers are more likely to assume brands will follow privacy laws, while older generations remain skeptical. Visual simplicity plays a role as well, with clean, straightforward design increasing comfort levels, particularly among younger audiences.

The report concludes that automation and orchestration are key differentiators. Brands that rate their list quality as best in class are far more likely to have automated email and SMS programs and to use structured welcome and lifecycle flows. Stronger alignment across channels also correlates with higher value from social and emerging channels. “Relevance comes from clarity, not volume,” said Diana Williams, vice president of product at Intuit Mailchimp, emphasizing the need for platforms that unify data and translate signals into meaningful engagement.