As brands try to connect with consumers on all levels, annual holidays such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are coming under scrutiny—because the observances do not have the same meaning for all consumers and, especially, after a year in which so many family members were lost in the pandemic. In recent weeks, personal care brand Aesop, bedding brand Parachute and craft marketplace Etsy have all emailed subscribers with the choice to opt out of marketing; experts expect more to follow.

“While our gifts are intended to honor the mother figure in its broadest sense—including all those who nurture and care—we appreciate the sensitivities that often attend this time of year,” read an email to customers this week from Aesop. It invited shoppers to alert the brand if they want to be excluded from Mother’s Day marketing. Many brands are extending the exclusion to Father’s Day, which falls on June 20, six weeks after Mother’s Day.

“There’s a lot of sensitivities around these holidays—whether the loss of a parent or a strained relationship,” says Ariel Kaye, founder of Los Angeles-based Parachute. “Given especially how much loss has happened over the past year, it became very important to us that we provide an option for our customer to relieve some pressure that these messages can feel.”

Since sending the email last week—ahead of promotions including its Mother’s Day gift guide—2,000 of Parachute's customers have opted out. While the option is new, Kaye says Parachute has been considering it for some time but did not have the internal capabilities to execute it—until the brand switched to a new email platform that allows for more customization with targeted messaging.

The option follows a trend in which brands are trying to be more sensitive to different family dynamics and also give their customers the control to choose the kind of messaging they want to receive, according to Amy Henry, president of FlashLight Insights, a brand consultancy.

“Brands are smart to empower their consumers to identify in whatever way they want, to receive the kind of communication that feels most aligned with who they are and how they want to be seen, and also to ensure they’re not communicating to someone in a way that might trigger negative feelings,” Henry says, noting that the changes may be partially related to a year of losses from COVID. “The last year has changed the rules regarding communication and the experience of almost every holiday.”

It’s a big move for brands that typically invest in heavy marketing for Mother’s Day, which often results in robust sales. Kaye says Parachute typically sees a big spike in revenue for items such as robes for the holiday. At Etsy, which emailed its subscribers the option of opting out of Mother’s Day-specific emails in March, Mother’s Day is one of the brand’s most significant campaigns after the year-end holiday season, according to a spokeswoman. She says Etsy has seen an “overwhelmingly positive response” from both buyers and sellers. The Brooklyn-based retailer plans to extend the option to Father’s Day as well.