Offer fatigue is the decline in response that sets in when a program sends members too many promotions. Each additional offer earns a weaker reaction, members begin ignoring messages or opting out of communications, and, worse, they learn to expect a discount before buying, which erodes margin on purchases they would have made at full value.
A retailer that emails a promotion every day may see open and redemption rates fall week over week as members tune the messages out. Some unsubscribe, and others simply wait for the inevitable next discount rather than buying now, so the constant promotion trains exactly the behavior the program did not want.
For an operator, managing fatigue is about protecting the long-term responsiveness of the base, not just the results of one campaign. The defenses are contact-frequency caps, tighter targeting so members receive fewer but more relevant offers, and measuring response over time to catch fatigue setting in. A program that treats member attention as a finite resource keeps its incentives effective, while one that floods the channel spends that attention down until offers stop working.
