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New Epsilon study reveals that only 2% of consumers choose marketing updates via. SMS as their top preference
MUMBAI: Epsilon, a global leader in creating connections between people and brands, today released the commissioned study ‘Marketing In India Is Personal, Not Just Business’ conducted by Forrester Consulting. The findings revealed the huge chasm between what marketeers believe they need to do to reach consumers, and what consumers actually prefer.
The study analysed the marketing techniques used by Indian brands and the areas they could improve to optimise their Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). The findings indicate that 74% of marketeers use marketing technologies to reach consumers via SMS while only 2% of consumers prefer to receive marketing updates through this channel.
The online survey of more than 600 people that included both consumers and senior marketing professionals in decision-making roles from retail, consumer packaged goods, financial services, insurance and travel, and hospitality brands in India. The study sought to understand the use of marketing technologies across targeted industries and its relationship with consumer expectations regarding advertisements, loyalty and brand engagement.
Key finding of the survey : (Elaborated in Annexure)
● 63% of Indian consumers prefer personalized marketing and are inclined to purchase from brands that provide relevant content and offers
● About 78% of consumers expect companies to have a mobile app (50% regularly keep in touch with their most frequently-purchased brand on their mobile apps), and 68% feel frustrated when a website is not mobile-friendly
● In the next 12 months, 60% of marketeers plan to increase their technology spends
● 71% plan to increase spending on advertising and marketing performance measurement solutions
● 72% of the 25-34 years old read product reviews online
● 63% of Indian consumers are not willing to share personal information with companies to receive more relevant advertising however over 90% will give up information for perks and benefits
● Consumers require transparency and privacy protection, but only 15% of marketers in India consider preparing for GDPR as a priority
In line with this, Ashish Sinha, Country Head, Epsilon shared, “This research is a barometer for marketeers to guide them in reorienting their strategies and priorities to serve their consumers better and more effectively. We need to help marketeers understand what they are misreading when it comes to customer engagement. The study helps understand consumers and their predilections to help marketeers evolve. For instance, the study found, although about 92% of marketeers in India consider improving their ability to personalize capabilities as priority in marketing, the Indian market is unfledged in terms of data and technology readiness, cross-channel expertise, and in bridging organizational silos.”
He further added, “It is a big challenge for marketeers to opt for and use the right technology to help them make sense of data and make triable marketing decisions as fast as possible. Matters like privacy are sensitive areas for Indians and hence, marketeers need to sustain a balance between personalization and privacy. Indian marketeers need to find good partners with proven expertise for strategic guidance around collecting, cleansing and integrating consumer data and break down the internal data layers to improve their ROMI.”
Marketeers need to better understand how consumers want to be served in order to align their (Enterprise Marketing Technology) EMT investments and optimize their omnichannel marketing.
Apple rarely announces minor updates with much fanfare, and iOS 26.4 is no exception. No dramatic redesigns, no flashy keynote moments. What it delivers instead is a focused set of improvements that sharpen the experience you already have. If that sounds underwhelming, spend a week with it. You will change your mind.
Apple Music Learns to Listen Better
The biggest shift in this update lives inside Apple Music. Apple has brought AI-powered playlist generation to the app, and it works on mood rather than genre. Type something like “rainy evening at home” or “running late on a Monday,” and it builds a playlist that actually fits. This is not algorithmic guesswork dressed up in new clothing. It genuinely reads the intent behind vague descriptions and responds well.
Alongside this, a new concerts feature scans your listening history and surfaces live events happening near you. It is a smart bridge between your digital music habits and real-world experiences. Apple is quietly making the case that a music app should do more than just play songs.
Shazam also gets a meaningful upgrade. It can now identify songs without an internet connection. This might sound like a minor convenience, but anyone who has tried to Shazam something at a crowded venue with patchy signal will tell you it is anything but minor. The feature works locally on-device, which also means it is faster.
CarPlay Gets Smarter Controls
CarPlay has been updated with deeper integration for intelligent voice assistants. The goal is to reduce how often drivers need to look at a screen or tap anything at all. You speak, things happen. It is a clear step toward making the driving experience safer without stripping away functionality. The integration feels natural rather than bolted on, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds.
The Fixes You Feel Every Day
This is where iOS 26.4 earns its keep. Keyboard responsiveness has been improved, and the difference is noticeable immediately. Typing feels more accurate and less combative. Accessibility features have been refined across the board, with better contrast options and adjusted spacing that makes the interface easier to read without forcing you into larger text sizes.
The Health app has also been updated. It now surfaces more actionable insights from your daily data rather than just displaying numbers. If your sleep patterns have shifted or your activity levels have changed, the app now contextualises that clearly instead of leaving you to interpret raw figures on your own.
These are the kinds of changes that do not photograph well for a press release. They also happen to be the ones that make your phone feel genuinely better to use.
A Few Other Additions
New emojis have been added in this update. They will find their way into your conversations faster than you expect. Family Sharing has also been updated, with more granular control over shared payments and subscriptions. If you share an Apple account with family members, this puts clearer limits on who can spend what, which has been a long-requested fix.
What This Update Actually Represents
iOS 26.4 is Apple doing what it does best when it is not trying to make headlines. Every addition here serves a clear purpose. The AI music features are genuinely useful. The CarPlay improvements address a real safety concern. The small UI fixes accumulate into a noticeably smoother daily experience.
There is no bloat. Nothing feels experimental or half-finished. That discipline is harder to maintain than it looks, especially as operating systems grow more complex with each passing year.
If you have been holding off on updating, this is the one worth installing.
