12 Astonishing SMS Marketing Stats

12 Astonishing SMS Marketing Stats

By DarkoMay 2, 2020Blog

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The short messaging service (SMS) has been with us since the 1980s, and we still use it daily. Maybe not as much as before, but if you own a mobile phone, you are still a part of the SMS community. There are many forms of texting that make life easier. Examples of such structures include iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, etc.

However, one weakness that all of these messenger services have in comparison with SMS is the fact that they all require constant network (internet) availability. We’ve mentioned some of the essential SMS marketing stats below to help you craft an effective SMS marketing strategy. Here we go.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”SMS Marketing Statistics Overview (Editor’s Pick)” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

Nearly 82% of people in the United States keep SMS notifications on at all times.
Over a day, an individual looks at their phone 150 times, on average.
Checking for SMS is part of the morning routine for 62% of cellphone users.
People are 60 times faster in responding to text messages versus responding to emails.
Approximately 65% of the world’s population (around 5 billion people) receive and send SMS messages today.
In comparison to making and receiving calls, people in the United States receive and send five times more texts.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”SMS Marketing Stats In Detail” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

1. Out of the 96% of Americans who currently own mobile devices, 15% use cellphones that have no internet access.

(Pew Research Center)

One of the best things about smartphones is their versatility. Because they represent miniature computers, smartphones can provide the same functions to users as a laptop or desktop. One thing the devices mentioned above typically cannot do, however, is to receive SMS. According to SMS marketing usage statistics, only 81% of adults in the United States own a smartphone.

This statistic demonstrates the importance of including SMS as a form of communication in your overall marketing strategy. In other words, while email, social media, and the like are highly beneficial, opting to neglect SMS marketing can cost you the edge over your competition.

If you don’t include an SMS campaign into your marketing efforts, you could lose valuable prospects that would otherwise convert into paying customers. This logic is precisely why understanding SMS marketing rates makes sense, right?

2. 48% of people want to receive brand updates through SMS.

(Omnicore Agency/Finances Online)

On average, a person that uses social media has seven different accounts across various platforms. On each platform, a person receives countless different forms of ads. As you probably know, such advertisements appear too frequently and are very often not relevant.

However, SMS was always simple. Since it can contain up to 160 characters, messages are short and straightforward. According to SMS marketing facts and statistics courtesy of a report by Finances Online, nearly one-half of consumers prefer receiving brand updates via SMS, in comparison to other channels such as email (22%), app notification (20%), or direct mail (8%).

3. The average rate of users opening SMS is 99%.

(Text Request)

If we take email as an example, email marketing campaigns have a CTR (Click-Through Rate) of between 6% and 7%. Therefore, sending tons of emails that almost nobody will open can be quite a demotivating job. However, statistics on SMS marketing show that 45% of SMS toward customers is compelling.

The logical question here is why there is such a significant gap in statistics if the internet is seemingly the only obstacle for email marketing. Well, on average, a person has 1.75 email accounts, and people always have a primary email account. It is a pure gamble to send an email to one of those accounts without knowing which is the primary one.

4. People are 60 times faster in responding to text messages versus responding to emails.

(Campaign Monitor)

Stats on SMS marketing show that a person typically uses not more than 90 seconds to reply to an SMS. There are various reasons for such a staggering disparity. For one, SMS is much more convenient, practical, easy, and simple to use.

There’s no need to access or login to your email account, follow an official form for your email body, or use any sort of formal tone for that matter. Every phone has an SMS function as a part of its basic features, making texting a swift and straightforward activity.

With email, the reply time takes much longer as a result. SMS marketing statistics for 2019 show that the average person takes up to 90 minutes to reply to an email.

5. Upon receiving a discount coupon/QR code/SMS branded text, nearly 50% of all consumers in the United States continue to make direct purchases.

(Mobivity)

SMS marketing success rate shows that, at least in the United States, smartphone users are incredibly fond of receiving discounts via SMS. As previously mentioned, recipients tend to open as much as 99% of SMS messages. In other words, choosing to inform your customers of any pending or existing discounts via SMS over other channels can result in massive increases in sales.

6. Over a day, an individual looks at their phone 150 times, on average.

(Slick Text)

One of the more exciting SMS marketing facts has to do with how frequently users tend to make direct eye contact with their smartphone devices. If we’re talking about a regular person looking at their mobile device out of habit, this statistic may not be so impressive or pertinent. If we’re talking about marketers and understanding why SMS marketing can be the driving force between the growth of your business, this statistic becomes incredibly important.

In other words, being aware that the average number of times a person looks at their phone during one day is so high that it underlines the importance of SMS marketing even further.

According to SMS text marketing statistics, the higher the number of average looks in a day, the higher the chance that the prospect will notice your SMS informing them of a discount on some of your products or services.

7. In comparison to making and receiving calls, people in the United States receive and send five times more texts.

(Text Magic)

According to SMS mobile marketing statistics, on average, people in America spend 21 minutes per day talking on the phone and 26 minutes texting. This statistic may sound illogical at first.

When you think about each activity, talking over the phone allows users to convey much more information and in a generally better way in comparison to text messages. Yet, the numbers show that texting is the activity of choice for many Americans, even though it seems inferior to voice communication.

There could be a number of reasons for this fact, but the numbers don’t lie. We suggest you take this and other SMS marketing statistics seriously and make the most of it when it comes to your overall SMS marketing strategy.

8. Checking for SMS is part of the morning routine for 62% of cellphone users.

(EZ Texting)

While a morning routine typically involves getting out of bed, heading into the shower, or brushing your teeth, more than half of cellphone users tend to do something very different. SMS marketing and millennials statistics show that the very first activity 79% of cellphone users do – we’re talking within 15 minutes of waking up – is checking for new messages.

And it doesn’t end there – while only 26% of women check that they have their purse with them before leaving home, as much as 48% check to see whether their smartphone is with them. That’s saying something, wouldn’t you agree?

9. If customers receive a personalized mobile coupon, 39% of them become more likely to make a purchase.

(Jook SMS)

In today’s day and age, every serious client is always searching for coupons and other ways to save money while buying products from specific stores they chose as their favorite. Crafting coupons for particular clients or groups of clients can be highly beneficial for increasing your sales.

According to SMS mobile marketing statistics, more than a third of customers are fans of receiving personalized mobile coupons. Such big fans that they become are substantially more likely to purchase a product from the business that issued the voucher.

10. Nearly 82% of people in the United States keep SMS notifications on at all times.

(Text Magic)

SMS marketing statistics show that it doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about Android, iMessage, or native SMS platforms; more than nine in every ten (97%, to be precise) Americans text at least once every day. Moreover, when looking at Americans under the age of 50, stats show that texting is the absolute most frequent way of communication.

Additionally, keeping their smartphones easily accessible is a habit of an overwhelming 89% of Americans. All of these previously mentioned statistics once again demonstrate the importance of crafting your SMS marketing strategy carefully and with due diligence.

11. According to clients, text messages are more appropriate than any other form of marketing.

(Jeeves Plus)

There’s no disputing the truth that first impressions are often the most important in both life and business. Coincidentally, the same applies to SMS marketing as well. SMS text marketing statistics show that, out of ten consumers, at least six had a positive impression of a company that sent them updates through SMS only.

Moreover, if clients have an option between calling and texting customer support, an ESPN survey finds that 64% of customers would opt for SMS. It just goes to show how much both prospects and existing clients tend to value their own time.

12. Approximately 65% of the world’s population (around 5 billion) receive and send SMS messages today.

(Slick Text)

When looking at bulk SMS marketing statistics, it’s easy to note the importance and convenience that such software solutions provide to marketers around the world. After all, why wouldn’t you save time and effort by having software to automate text messages to your numerous clients instead of doing it by yourself and on foot?

Another reason why SMS marketing is so invaluable these days has to do with the sheer number of people using text messaging globally.

For instance, 89% of the population in Russia receives and sends text messages. Additionally, 80% of the total population of the United States (around 292 million) also uses text messages. SMS marketing statistics by country further reveal that India is in second place with 730 million active SMS users, whereas China is the absolute global leader with 1,081 billion active texters.

The numbers will only continue to grow, emphasizing once again just how effective a good SMS marketing strategy can be when it comes to winning new markets and gaining new clients.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Frequently Asked Questions” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

1. Is SMS marketing effective?

The short answer to this question is yes – SMS marketing is effective. There are several reasons for this fact, the most important one being that SMS continues to be the messaging platform of choice for a vast majority of global users even today. Few other (if any) marketing channels can match the ability of SMS to reach even the slightly older demographics, such as boomers.

Additionally, SMS messages reach their intended audience because of the absence of a spam filter like the one that exists for emails, for instance. Whereas around 20% of people would open an email, approximately 98% of people would open and read an SMS, demonstrating the importance of the growth of SMS marketing.

Moreover, we already mentioned that people prefer SMS over email when it comes to coupons and discounts. The biggest reason, according to consumers, is the fact that an SMS containing the coupon is easier to find in a store.

2. Why is SMS marketing important?

Many different reasons contribute and demonstrate the importance of SMS marketing in comparison to various other marketing channels. Among the most important reasons is the fact that SMS does not require an internet connection, as people often don’t have data to receive different app messaging or emails.

Additionally, messages that arrive at your prospects’ phones in the form of SMS are much less likely to disappear in the digital ether. In other words, new marketing trends emerge every day, and your prospective clients likely receive tons upon tons of emails, messages, and other promotional material every minute of every day.

SMS delivers your message directly, conveniently, and in a different way to the majority of your competition. This fact is also the reason why SMS marketing response rates are so high.

3. What is an SMS marketing campaign?

There are various ways to define an SMS marketing campaign. The term describes a text message you send to a large group of recipients mainly to promote your product, service, or another aspect of your business. The most popular marketing purposes of SMS campaigns include discounts and sales messages. SMS marketing growth has been staggering over the past few years, with the onset of mobile and smartphone technologies.

Most of the time, an SMS marketing campaign delivers the best results in combination with web push or email, as well as other marketing channels. Regardless, SMS campaigns are vital and a compelling strategy you can use to deliver crucial information about your business to potential clients. In doing so, you’ll be able to raise their awareness and inspire them to take action in the form of visiting your website/store and making a purchase.

This result is one you can improve over time by paying attention to specific indicators, such as the SMS marketing open rate. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Conclusion” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]You’ll often hear that marketers have a habit of referring to SMS as the Twitter of digital marketing. There’s no escaping the apparent irony in such a saying – living in a digital age, yet making use of an innately analog tool. Regardless, the biggest and single most important reason why SMS is the go-to resource today is the fact that one does not require internet connectivity to send or receive messages.

Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the banking sector – banks use SMS, not WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or similar apps to provide instant account notifications to clients.

Anyway, we hope that the SMS marketing stats we compiled above will prove useful for your upcoming SMS marketing strategy. Good luck! [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Sources:” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]