Even though social media dominates the online world, there is a more traditional way to use digital marketing—good old texting. The process may seem a bit outdated, but it’s still a rewarding strategy.
Let’s take a look at the latest SMS marketing facts and figures.
Top SMS Marketing Statistics: Editor’s Choice
- The opening rate of SMS account for 98%.
- Texts have a 209% higher response rate than Facebook, phone, or email.
- Eight out of ten consumers like to track their orders via text.
- 65% of businesses do not have an SMS marketing plan.
- Americans aged 18–24 send and receive the most text messages per day—128.
- 56% of customers would rather message a business than call them.
- Customers click 19% of all links in SMS messages.
- A whopping 16 million texts are sent every minute.
SMS Marketing Trends: Do People Still Use Text Messages?
How involved are people in SMS texting? Here are some of the most interesting figures to get you acquainted with some of the crucial ways SMS can be used as a part of your marketing strategy.
1. 98% of Americans send text messages regularly.
Sending text messages is one of the easiest ways to communicate with other people. While the vast majority of Americans still use this traditional messaging tool, only 14% of companies text with consumers.
For this reason, these text messages statistics shouldn’t be overlooked by marketers. With so many Americans using text messages on a regular basis, there’s still great potential to reach potential customers.
2. The SMS open rate is a staggering 98%.
Especially small and mid-sized businesses can take advantage of the urgency people feel once they see text notifications. Since people are most used to receiving marketing content on social media or via email, texts give them a sense of emergency.
Compared to the open rates generated by email marketing (20%), the text message open rate sits at a booming 98%, showing its effectiveness as a marketing strategy.
3. 59% of smartphone users prefer using communications that don’t require installing third-party apps.
Most people use their phones daily, but not all phones are the same. Some applications need installing or don’t run efficiently on specific devices. The majority of users like to use pre-installed messaging apps or text messages rather than installing a third-party app.
4. SMS marketing conversion rate varies between 1.1–9.1% depending on the type of message.
On the other hand, the clickthrough rates can get up to a shocking 30.3%. However, it typically varies between 7.5–30.3%. A single message can bring as much as $20.22, with the lower margin being $0.71.
The most likely reason for texting being this successful—at least, compared to emails—is of a practical nature, as texts are one click away.
5. On average, SMS has a response time of 90 seconds.
People expect quick replies, whether they text you early in the morning or late at night. In fact, the average text response time does not exceed the minute. A Google study revealed that waiting for more than 20 minutes to reply back to a text message is often seen as rude.
When messaging their employees, team members, or customers, even businesses have high expectations. This is understandable, as companies usually tend to send the most pressing text messages to their team.
SMS Marketing Statistics 2022 in the US
Response rates for SMS texts are some of the highest across all industries. As people are more and more attached to their phones, it seems that texting is the fastest way to get your message through.
6. Text messages have a response rate higher than email, phone, and Facebook by 209%.
Not only do SMS texts have a higher response rate than email and traditional calls, but they beat some of the most influential messaging apps out there, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
SMS marketing benchmarks show that nearly one out three people tend to respond to SMS marketing messages. Out of that 30%, around half will proceed to make a purchase or do business with your company.
7. 67% of Americans choose to get service-based text messages from their banks.
As Americans are busy people, many choose to get notifications from their banks through SMS. US smartphone users find it more convenient and time-saving to receive a text with meaningful information than continually checking an app.
8. According to text messaging marketing statistics, 73% of businesses expect their budgets for text message marketing to increase next year.
More businesses are starting to use SMS marketing as part of their strategy after seeing the successes it could bring. The majority of companies expect their budget for text message promotions to increase in the next year.
9. Eight out of ten consumers like to track their orders via text.
As online shopping quickly becomes the new normal, shipping companies are using texts to offload customer service. Almost 80% of customers like to receive text updates about their parcels and their estimated delivery time.
One of the advantages of text messaging is its high opening rate, ensuring that customers are always up-to-date with their parcels’ whereabouts.
10. 55% of consumers prefer SMS for appointment reminders compared to 35% who prefer email.
When looking at customer preferences, more than half prefer to receive appointment reminders via text. Only 35% prefer email reminders.
The smaller text size usually makes it easier to digest than email notifications. As people see texts as more urgent, they open them quicker than emails. Especially for appointment reminders, this is a must.
11. 65% of brands lack an SMS marketing strategy.
Many companies are still worried about the disadvantages of text messaging. Texts have to be concise, and people respond negatively to unwanted texts. Due to the rise of texting fraud, customers are also wary of fraudulent text messages.
So, even though we spend a lot of time on our phones every day, many brands still haven’t invested in an SMS marketing strategy. However, there are plenty of other reasons why marketers should start adopting this type of marketing.
12. More than 180 billion texts are sent every month.
The latest stats revealed the average number of text messages per month for smartphone users amounts to a staggering 180 billion.
SMS is much more popular than email, especially among younger generations. Even though most people use many different social media accounts, they still use text messages to communicate with friends and family.
Texting Statistics by Age: Which Demographic Uses SMS The Most?
How much does age influence texting habits? A lot, it seems. The next stats introduce the most willing texters, as opposed to demographics that all but avoid it.
13. Text messaging takes up around 48 minutes each day for millennials.
Millennials tend to live fast and want to achieve things more quickly than the generations before them. Due to millennials’ fast-paced nature, this generation prefers texting as a communication mode. They spend almost an hour a day texting on their smartphones, according to text message statistics.
In comparison, baby boomers only spend 30 minutes sending text messages. Although the average time spent on SMS is much lower than millennials, baby boomers still use it more than phone calls.
Overall, SMS marketing will be more effective than calls when targeting millennials, as they tend to reject calls due to their hectic schedules.
14. People aged 18–34 favor text messages for receiving alerts from businesses.
Especially millennials—more precisely, 75% of them—prefer SMS communications for checking deliveries, promotions, and surveys. On the other hand, text message facts prove that the population aged 55 and over is the demographic that use this form of communication the least.
Overall, consumers of all ages are more likely to open text messages before any other social media platform or text messaging app.
Additional Statistics and Data for SMS Marketing
In case it’s not already clear—SMS texting is still very much alive and plausible for a successful marketing campaign. Here is some additional data that confirms it.
15. 70% of employees think businesses should use texting for internal communication.
Considering how staggering are the text message open rates, it’s understandable why so many employees agree with this statement.
Texting communication is the easiest and most effective way to optimize your internal communication strategy. As demonstrated by the most recent SMS marketing stats, email is not going to die any time soon, as it is the primary way of communicating in the workplace. However, texting shouldn’t be underestimated either.
For instance, text messaging is the fastest way to reach the HR department, managers, and coworkers in case of emergency. Moreover, with the rising of people working from home due to the ongoing pandemic, sending an SMS has become the best way to check in on your employees.
16. 56% of customers would rather message a business than call them.
Texting is less intrusive and can be much more flexible than making a phone call, which is one of the many benefits of text marketing.
Phone calls are not as popular anymore in a world that is shifting towards a more digital life. More than half of customers would prefer to message a business instead of calling them.
17. 58% of consumers reported that they perceive businesses better if they offered SMS notifications.
Customers perceive businesses more positively if they have an SMS notification option. It is more accessible, easy to open, and overall more effective.
In fact, an increasing number of customers look for more engagement over text message, whether this is to confirm appointments or make them aware of a sale. It’s true that companies highly rely on email for time-sensitive information, but SMS is also a great way to engage consumers with the brand.
18. Only 10% of SMS marketing messages are spam.
While some customers may be wary of fraudulent texts, only 10% of all SMS marketing messages are spam. Almost half of all emails (49.7%) are spam, making SMS marketing much more trustworthy.
These text message marketing stats indicate that there is much potential for SMS marketing that it’s hard to ignore.
19. Customers click 19% of all links in SMS messages.
The average click-through rate in email marketing sits at around 2%. Compared to the 19% click-through rate in SMS marketing, that isn’t very high.
SMS marketing could be a great way to grow website traffic and get your products in front of your customers.
20. Text response rate for the finance and banking industry is 57%.
And this is only in the first 15 minutes of the text delivery. Industry average SMS response rates for some of the more successful sectors are as follows:
- Travel and transportation—54%
- Entertainment—37%
- Betting and trading—33%
- Retail—32%
On average, text messaging accounts for a good 45% response rate. In comparison, email only makes up for a 6% response rate. For this reason, brands should consider putting more effort into engaging with their customers via text message.
21. A single SMS costs 12 Indian paise (equivalent to 0.0016 USD).
This might be the reason why, according to statistics, SMS marketing in India still isn’t used to its fullest potential in 2022. This means that a retail company, for example, could end up spending 15–20 thousand rupees ($205–$273) to reach customers in a single campaign. One promotional email, on the other hand, costs somewhere between 2–4 paise.
That considered, SMS marketing is still one of the most effective ways for marketers to deliver important messages. As SMS does not allow the usage of gifs and stickers like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and other text messaging apps, this marketing strategy makes it much easier to engage with consumers in a more straightforward manner.
What Is the Future of SMS Marketing?
With the rising of smartphone usage and purchasing during the pandemic, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the traditional SMS will continue to be influential over the past few years, and why not, even decades.
22. Globally, the SMS software marketing market size will be valued at an astonishing $24,687.10 million by 2028.
In 2020, the SMS marketing software was worth $5,592.88 million. This indicates staggering figures for the future: during the 2021–2028 decade, SMS texting marketing statistics prove that the market size will grow at a CAGR of 20.40%.
While promoting your company on social media platforms and email is equally important, marketers shouldn’t overlook how impactful SMS marketing can be.
23. About 16 million texts are sent every minute.
Even though there are many new communication apps, such as messaging apps and social media direct messages, it’s safe to say SMS marketing is still relevant in 2022. Surprisingly, a text via SMS attracts more attention among consumers than a direct message. Consumers feel that a text message shouldn’t be avoided.
The number of texts sent every minute is staggering, but how many text messages are sent a day? In the US alone, the average number of texts sent per day sits around 6 million. These figures also take into account those who have lengthy conversations via text.
SMS Marketing Statistics: The Takeaway
Knowing the statistics of SMS marketing gives businesses an edge on how they can gain new leads and keep their customers hooked at the same time. SMS marketing may be one of the old marketing methods, but it has not yet lost its effectiveness. Additional perks such as cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and less production time make SMS advertising a fascinating marketing strategy.
As people are locked up in their homes during the pandemic and spend even more time on their phones, it is advisable to take this as an opportunity to use these texting facts and statistics for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people text?
With the increasing number of people owning a smartphone, it’s not a surprise that almost 90% of survey respondents said they use text messages. Unlike emails and text messaging apps, text messaging is much more immediate and gives a higher sense of urgency. For this reason, people usually send and reply to text messages while performing other duties.
Is SMS Marketing effective?
More than 65% of Americans tend to check their phones over a hundred times a day. Text messaging marketing could play an essential role in your marketing strategy. SMS marketing efficiency is still rising, as text messages require minimal time and effort from customers.
How many SMS are sent each day?
According to global mobile marketing statistics, 23 billion text messages are sent every day. Nearly 26% of those come from the US. By the moment you’ve finished reading this, approximately two million more text messages have been sent.
Why is SMS marketing important?
There are five factors to why SMS marketing is vital in a marketing strategy. First, it is mobile-friendly, meaning all phones have an SMS feature. Secondly, the planning time is shorter than other marketing methods, making texting marketing costs lower.
Thirdly, it helps reduce a company’s carbon footprint by not using resources such as paper and tarpaulins. It also gives a company a chance to create a personal connection with their customers, as text messages can be personalized. Lastly, it is direct and less time-consuming.
What percentage of text messages are read?
A whopping 98% of SMS messages are read. This statistic shows that SMS marketing is more effective than emails, which are only opened 20% of the time.
In addition to this, when comparing SMS vs. email marketing, SMS marketing shows a much higher click-through rate. We can conclude that SMS marketing is effective and should be considered as part of a successful marketing strategy.
How long should an SMS marketing text be?
The content of the messages plays a massive role in making SMS marketing effective in 2020. SMS stands for “Short Message Service,” indicating that the message should be concise but informative. Customers often ignore boring texts with plain templates. While there is no recommended number of words, a few characteristics make eye-catching text messages, including uniqueness, wittiness, and clarity.
When do you receive the most clicks on your SMS marketing message?
According to SMS marketing statistics, the ideal time to send SMS marketing messages is between 9 AM and 12 PM or between 5 PM and 9 PM on weekdays. On Saturday, the best time to send these texts is between 10 AM and noon. On Sunday, texts sent between 4 PM and 7 PM will catch more attention from potential customers.
Sources
Attentive Mobile, Dexatel, DSIM, Earth Web, EZ Texting, Globe Newswire, Hey Market, Mitto, Mobile Monkey, SHSO, Slick Text, SMS Bump, Text Magic, Text Marks
