On average, 41 percent of people are ready to hear from brands about topics unrelated to the pandemic, according to a worldwide survey conducted by Mitto, from April 15-29.

Mitto’s findings suggest that consumers appreciated hearing more often from brands at the outset of the pandemic, but that COVID fatigue has set in. Seventy-seven percent said the messages brands sent during COVID have made them feel like they care about their well-being. Similarly, 30 percent said brands made them feel less anxious about the virus.

The data shows that brands have doubled down on communication, as 53 percent of respondents said they were hearing from brands more often in the last few weeks; 73 percent agreed that this increase in communication was appropriate. Most (58 percent) welcome messaging about business changes that could affect them. While just 11 percent said they were not interested in brands communicating with them about COVID.

Though consumers welcome increased communication from brands, preferences over who they hear from and the type of messaging vary. For example, most countries surveyed ranked essential services like doctors or banks higher than delivery services for the industries they’re most interested in hearing from now. Additionally, six of the seven regions surveyed said they were more tolerant of slow communication from small businesses than large ones; China said it’s equally tolerant of slow communication from small and large brands.

Despite widespread layoffs, consumers have displayed an appetite to spend. When asked what types of messages they want to hear from brands during the pandemic, all countries surveyed ranked special offers and coupons highest, over availability of services, product updates and satisfaction surveys.

Mitto’s findings echo those from a GlobalWebIndex study, fielded between March 31-April 2, which revealed that 50 percent of people are okay with brands running “normal” ad campaigns not linked to the pandemic.

In April, Mitto surveyed 7,000 respondents across the US, China, Spain, the UAE, Australia, Brazil and Nigeria.