Where consumers are almost glued to their phones, the importance of using all the channels at your disposal to the fullest for your business has never been clearer. SMS messaging is a powerful tool for marketing. But what are the real numbers? Here are 41 of the most important SMS marketing stats that will blow your mind.
SMS marketing statistics:
1. 82% of people will open each and every text they receive. It doesn’t matter if it’s an ad, a friendly hello, or a message from Mom. They will open it and read every message.
2. 81% of consumers will ignore phone calls that look like they are from marketers or businesses.
3. 75% of all mobile users have no issue with getting SMS messages from brands, as long as they opted in to the service. People don’t mind getting texts from brands.
4. Up to 64% of people want to receive more text messages from brands. Talking on the phone is getting less popular, while text messaging is the method of choice for millions of people.
5. SMS messaging for marketing has grown by 197%. Between 2016 and 2020, the SMS messaging for marketing grew by approximately 197%!
6. Only 39% of brands are texting their customers and audience, despite the big growth SMS marketing still isn’t as widely used as it should be.
7. 73% of brands are planning to increase their SMS messaging budgets in the coming year to take advantage of the channel.
8. 62% of mobile phone users check their phones immediately after waking up, and the phone is also the last thing they see before they go to bed.
9. SMS messages have an open rate of 98%.
10. The industries with the highest average SMS click rates are toys and hobbies (15.01%), electronics (14.26%), and sporting goods (13.44%). Clothing and accessories (10.98%), office supplies (10.44%), and health and beauty (10%) have the lowest click rates.
11. Food and beverage (0.20%), toys and hobbies (0.15%), and health and beauty (0.14%) have the highest SMS order placement rates by industry. The industries with the lowest placed order rates are electronics (0.06%), automotive (0.05%), and hardware and home (0.04%).
12. In SMS campaigns, the hardware and home industry has the highest unsubscribe rate at 2.03%, followed by home and garden at 1.97%, and food and beverage at 1.78%. Industries with the lowest unsubscribe rates are jewellery (1.39%), office supplies (1.30%), and clothing and accessories (1.29%).
13. An email marketing message has an average open rate of 20%.
14. Three of the largest countries by population – China, India, and the United States are the most active mobile users, in that order.
15. 75% of consumers are fine with brands texting them with special offers, promotions, and incentives.
16. 100% of your SMS messages should be attached to a special number when sending business texts. That way your recipients can reply to you easily.
17. 69% of customers want to be able to contact businesses back when they are texted.
18. Consumers are 4.5% more likely to respond to text than phone calls or other communication methods.
19. 75 to 78% of consumers would rather text with a brand than speak with them.
20. 70% of smartphone users would prefer tech support or troubleshooting to be available using text messaging.
21. 77% of consumers would have a positive opinion of a brand that contacts them using text messaging.
22. 75% of recipients will be actively frustrated or upset if they can’t respond to an email from a brand or business.
23. Links sent through text are opened 20% of the time.
24. Links sent by email are opened 4% of the time.
25. 93% of millennials use smartphones.
26. 95% of Gen-Z use smartphones
27. Millennials and Gen-Z are increasing their spending faster than any other generation.
28. Texted special offers and coupons are redeemed 32% more often than other coupons and offers.
29. Almost zero mass text messages are ever marked as spam, while close to 50% of email marketing messages get filtered to junk mail.
30. Shipping products has never been more popular, and 80% of consumers prefer to track their product using text messaging.
31. 75 percent find it helpful to receive texts for appointment reminders.
32. Other helpful texts include banking alerts (45 percent), travel updates (39 percent), deals and promotions (39 percent) and food delivery updates (36 percent).
33. Only 35% would like to get appointment reminders using email.
34. Appointment reminders decrease no-shows, which means you don’t have to waste time and money, and you lose fewer sales.
35. 72% of consumers would like several options to contact brands. Texting can be another way for them to contact you and for you to communicate directly.
36. While we’ve mentioned that most consumers want to receive texts, 18% also want to be able to easily opt-out if they choose. They feel they can trust a brand if it offers a simple opt-out.
37. 58% of consumers take more than price into consideration when choosing where to spend their money. Convenience is the next most important factor.
38. Over 10% of consumers will respond to SMS surveys sent via text message. Not only that, but they will do so within 6 minutes.
39. If you have a loyalty program, you should be using text messaging as an option to communicate. 38% of consumers would prefer to receive their loyalty messages this way.
40. The number of people who use smartphones is expected to rise to over 7 billion people.
41. In that same time period, the market for automation, including SMS marketing is expected to rise to over 83 billion.
The 5 Benefits of SMS for Marketing
We just hit you with a lot of numbers, which can understandably make your head spin. As you read them, you see the reasons why you need to bet big on SMS marketing for your brand. Here is a quick recap and guide to those numbers, and how starting an SMS marketing strategy will help you grow your business.
1. Customers Want SMS
Several of the numbers refer to what consumers want when communicating with brands. They want choices, and text messaging is one of their preferred methods of communicating in general. As a brand, it’s important to engage with customers. Individuals are texting each other every day, and your brand can be a part of their regular correspondence.
They may also contact you in other ways, such as through phone calls and emails, but having this option is incredibly important.
However, if you’re going to be contacting them via SMS, you need to ensure you are in compliance with the rules associated with sending out texts from local phone numbers. As of October 1, 2021, sending text (SMS/MMS) messages from certain local 10-Digit Long Code (10DLC) numbers requires registration and additional fees due to carrier changes.
2. SMS is Immediate
As marketers, one of the best things about SMS marketing is that you know your customers will not just get the message, but they will get it right away. That means that your powerful message is in front of eyeballs and hopefully making a difference within minutes. Since it’s targeted and they’ve opted in, you already know that they are motivated and open to messages from your brand. Immediate messaging is especially powerful if you have last-minute sales, open tables, or if you need to change appointment times.
3. There is a Gap in the Market
As the stats told you, SMS marketing is not as widely used as it should be by brands and marketers. What does this mean for you? It means you can take advantage and carve a foothold while your competitors are still on the ground. By filling in those marketing gaps, you can capture the customers who want all of the benefits from SMS marketing that they aren’t getting elsewhere. Reach out to your audience, and you will find that you are one of the few that are making contact. Once your competitors get wise and get started, you will already be way ahead.
4. SMS It’s Easy
While this benefit isn’t reflected in statistics, the truth is that sending out mass text messages is easy. You might picture the act of texting as using your thumbs on your phone keypad. But with SMS text messaging services you can send out bulk messages on your computer just like you would with email. Your audience will receive it on their phones, and be able to respond just like with any other text they receive. With scheduled text messages, you don’t even have to take time out of your busy day. You can schedule your entire strategy, and your texts will go out automatically.
5. Customer Engagement is high
As the numbers tell us, customers are much more likely to engage with SMS marketing messages. They will read and respond to your messages, giving you not just more chances at conversions, but a wealth of data and connection opportunities. You can link your customers to educational and important content, social media posts, and online surveys. Engagement will help you develop the most powerful type of customer you can have: a loyal one. Loyal customers will come back for more purchases, share your content, answer your surveys, and even recommend you to their friends.
SMS Marketing statistics tell a strong story
Text messages have become the go-to communication method for billions of people all around the world. When our phones notify us that we’ve received one, we almost immediately take our phone out and check to see who it is from. Then reply, delete, or put it away for future responding.
There’s no doubt you have a smartphone. We can say this because if you live on Earth, there is a 97% chance that you have one. Along with a mobile phone, there is an almost equally good chance that you send and receive text messages.
How to get started with SMS marketing?
After reading some of these statistics, I’m sure you can’t wait to get started with SMS marketing. The good news is, you’re not late to the party. And your audience probably loves SMS marketing. I’d advise you to check out this guide to successful SMS marketing. It has information on how to get started, which tools to use, and what strategies to build. There are many SMS marketing software out there. TextMagic is a well-known option. Find out if it’s right for you from this complete TextMagic review.
Is your brand using SMS marketing? If not, get started now and get the results you need.
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