77 SMS marketing statistics customers wish businesses knew in 2024

With the rise of mobile marketing, it is no surprise that SMS marketing has become more and more popular for businesses to implement and use.

SMS or short message service is a key component of mobile and text message marketing.

This marketing tool can help you build brand awareness, increase customer engagement and generate more sales. This tactic enables e-commerce marketers to build a better relationship with their customers and connect with them on a more personal level.

SMS marketing is practical and logical, changing how you grow your business.

By using SMS, you ensure urgency and efficiency since your message can be sent out instantly and appear on customers’ phones seconds later.

SMS also performs better than email, with a higher open rate. SMS sends a push notification to customers, giving them more incentive to open the message and read the contents inside. This can influence the customer, spark interest and even result in an influx in traffic to your landing page.

SMS has also proven to reach higher engagement rates, grabbing customers’ attention in a more efficient way than email. Text messages are not easily ignored, giving you more leeway to be noticed using SMS.

This tool is useful for advertising, promotions, special offers, sales, cart abandonment notifications, order confirmations, or shipping information.

SMS can be especially helpful to advertise time-sensitive sales or special promotional offers exclusive to your mobile customer base.

This new marketing strategy can begin to build success for your business in 2022, with a higher engagement rate and open rate through SMS.

SMS messaging can set your business apart, allowing you to reach customers on a more personal level. It is simple yet effective, helping you to interact with your customer base, build brand awareness, generate leads, and in turn, receive more clicks to your landing page.

SMS marketing statistics regarding effectiveness?

1. With SMS marketing, you are meeting clients right where they are—on their smartphones. (BusinessNewsDaily)

2. 90% of the world population has a mobile phone. (SMB)

3. In 2020, there were over 294 million smartphone users in the U.S. (Statista)

4. In January 2020, there was an anticipated $1.5 billion increase in smartphone sales value. (Statista)

5. 42% of Internet traffic in the U.S. comes from smartphones. (FinancesOnline)

6. Americans check their smartphone up to 80 times a day. (NewYorkPost)

7. There is an average of 1.3 devices per person in the U.S. (CTIA)

8. In 2019, 49% of survey respondents felt messaging was one of the apps they spent the most time on when using their smartphone. (Statista)

9. 23 billion text messages are sent daily. (PrismGlobal)

10. 97% of all text messages are opened. (PrismGlobal)

11. In 2019, wireless users sent and received over 2 trillion SMS messages. (CTIA)

12. Americans 50 and younger say texting is typically their most common form of communication. (DigitalMarketNews)

13. Internet users worldwide are switching to mobile devices to browse the web. (Statista)

14. 43% of product research is done on a mobile phone. (FinancesOnline)

15. Text message marketing is the process of communicating business news, sales, or promotions to your customers through SMS on a mobile device. (BusinessNewsDaily)

16. Text message marketing is more personal and can help your business gain necessary traction. (BusinessNewsDaily)

17. SMS is basically communicating with your customers through a text message. (Business2Community)

18. Text message marketing can be a powerful marketing tool for small businesses. (BusinessNewsDaily)

19. Immediacy is a big selling point for SMS marketing, and you want customers to be opening, reading, and responding to those messages almost immediately. (SmartDataCollective)

20. Most cellphone users have their phones set to alert them when a new SMS message arrives, with most messages being opened just a few minutes after delivery. (BusinessNewsDaily)

21. SMS gives you the chance to start a conversation with your client directly. (Entrepreneur)

22. The appeal of SMS is in its brevity, for both the consumer and the brand. (BusinessNewsDaily)

23. SMS helps eliminate paper cost while finding a faster way to communicate and interact with their target audience. (GrandviewResearch)

24. The best way to use SMS to increase your sales is to send offers to your customers. (Business2Community)

25. It is beneficial to use SMS for post-purchase notifications, time-sensitive alerts, gift distribution, customer support, order placements, and feedback gatherings. (DigitalMarketNews)

26. Another great way to use SMS is to gather feedback from existing customers. (Business2Community)

27. 70% of consumers stated they would prefer to receive promo offers via text message. (PrismGlobal)

28. In 2016, 48% of respondents said they preferred SMS messaging to receive loyalty-related communications with a company. (Statista)

29. In March 2019, more than half of responding Internet users in the U.S. signed up to receive personalized promotional messages from companies. (Statista)

30. 44% of survey respondents said they would be willing to switch to a brand that did personalization better. (Statista)

31. If businesses don’t consider personalization, then more customers may opt-out of future messages. (Business2Community)

32. In 2019, 31% of promo messages were received via mobile messaging apps. (Statista)

33. In March 2019, a survey conducted among internet users in the U.S. found that 42% of received promo text messages were opened and read. (Statista)

34. Customers who put trust in your company with their mobile number should be rewarded, with exclusive offers or promos extended to them. (SmartDataCollective)

35. Text messaging is good for coupons and flash sales, since SMS relays urgency when they are sent. (Forbes)

36. Create a sense of urgency with limited-time offers that expire soon. (SmartDataCollective)

37. Text messages can also be used to notify customers about limited-time promotions. Send a URL to your landing page to increase traffic successfully. (Forbes)

38. Text message marketing can be an effective way to reach your most loyal customers, giving them access to rewards and promos. (SmartDataCollective)

39. Top industries that already use messaging with their clients include real estate (73%), agriculture (65%), and entertainment/leisure (63%). (FinancesOnline)

40. In 2018, the U.S. saw an 18% increase in mobile ad spend due to spending in the retail industry. (Statista)

41. In 2019, the U.S. retail sector invested $19 billion on mobile advertising due to the turn towards e-commerce. (Statista)

42. SMS marketing is currently most appropriate to use for e-commerce businesses. (DigitalMarketNews)

What do consumers think of SMS marketing?

43. 70% of employees agree that companies should use SMS for internal communication. (PrismGlobal)

44. SMS isn’t saturated, and you do not have to compete for a customer’s attention. Only interested customers will add themselves to your opt-in list anyways. (Entrepreneur)

45. 48% of consumers preferred SMS to receive brand updates. (FinancesOnline)

46. 90% of consumers have gained value due to SMS loyalty programs and promo. (FinancesOnline)

47. 75% of consumers say they want offers sent via SMS. (FinancesOnline)

48. Customers may start to lose interest once they see they were sent a marketing message, so get your value proposition, instructions, and a call to action in as soon as possible, under 160 words. (SmartDataCollective)

49. When asked what motivates customers to pay attention to mobile marketing, the answers included: brand familiarity (54%), creative content (52%), good timing (41%), and promo offers (41%). (FinancesOnline)

Mobile marketing is dependent upon text messaging. 

50. Both SMS marketing and mobile marketing are critical to your overall marketing strategy. (Business)

51. Mobile marketing uses a range of advertising activities that use mobile devices like smartphones to reach customers. (Statista)

52. 23% of consumers have read an online review in the last day, and 65% have read one within the last week. (Podium)

53. 87% of consumers stated reviews influenced their discovery of a local business. (Podium)

54. 83% of consumers stated that reviews must be written recently and be relevant in order for them to be of value. (Podium)

55. Mobile marketing spend is expected to reach $146 billion by 2023. (Statista)

56. It is projected that by 2023 there will be over 23% of marketing budgets devoted to mobile marketing since it is constantly growing in popularity, especially due to Covid-19. (Statista)

57. Industries are seeing more traffic to mobile marketing, such as restaurants (54%), apparel/beauty (40%), and electronics (36%). (FinancesOnline)

58. Today’s digital landscape has paved the way for text messaging to be a successful marketing platform. (DigitalMarketNews)

SMS marketing statistics on SMS marketing vs. email marketing. 

59. The average open rate of text messages is 99%, while email is from 28-33%. (Business2Community)

60. Text messages are typically read and responded to within 3 minutes of delivery. (FinancesOnline)

61. The typical response rate for SMS is 45%, while email is 6%. (DigitalMarketNews)

62. 30% of smartphone users say they do not have access to the Internet, but they do receive SMS messages. (DigitalMarketNews)

63. With marketing platforms, such as SMS, you don’t have to worry about engagement because your customer is just one text message away. (Business2Community)

64. Unlike email, SMS does not require an internet connection, making it easier to reach customers. (DigitalMarketNews)

65. While email can communicate extensive content, it doesn’t beat the timelessness of SMS. (DigitalMarketNews)

66. By combining these two strategies, you can allow each channel to play its role, helping you to successfully market your business. (DigitalMarketNews)

SMS marketing is the future of business. 

67. Text message marketing is a wave of the future. (SmartDataCollective)

68. As technology advances, brands should consider tools that provide engaging content vis messaging using conversational commerce to interact with their customer base. (MobileMarketingMagazine)

69. Businesses are turning to this marketing strategy because it is fast, efficient, and cost-effective. (Business2Community)

70. One of the most effective digital marketing strategies looking ahead will be SMS marketing. (Entrepreneur)

71. SMS can benefit your marketing strategies with higher open rates and improved engagement rates. (Medium)

72. SMS marketing is simple and cost-efficient, making it extremely helpful for small businesses. (Forbes)

73. SMS marketing is expected to continue to grow, with an increasing amount of businesses adding it to their strategies. (Medium)

74. With the new generations, brands should consider marketing solutions that are in line with the interests of the future generations to come. (MobileMarketingMagazine)

75. Keep your target audience in mind when developing your SMS marketing strategy. (Business2Community)

76. The key is to create the right combination of offers and content to keep customers interested, visiting your website, and engaging on other platforms. (Business2Community)

77. If you have been considering texting as a marketing channel, now is the time to consider it. (DigitalMarketNews)

Implementing SMS marketing to build success in 2022.

If you are looking to connect with your customers, boost engagement, generate more leads and increase sales, then SMS marketing may be an important strategy to implement into your business for 2022 and is nearly as important as word of mouth marketing is.

With the ever-changing tech industry, the popularity of smartphones has significantly increased, making this an ideal channel to reach your customers, making these stats on SMS marketing just as vital as today’s leading digital marketing statistics are.

SMS is simple, efficient, and urgent—sparking immediate interest in customers to check out your landing page. With the use of push notifications and a high read rate, SMS is an easy way to reach your customer base.

With the occasional use of SMS, you can reach your customers and receive their genuine attention. This is the key to successfully incorporating SMS into your business’s marketing technique.

As a strategy, SMS can set your business apart, allowing you to connect and interact with your customers in a new way. You will build customer loyalty and develop a sense of authenticity regarding your brand.

If you have been considering SMS marketing, then partnering with Podium may be the next step in creating success for your business. With our free SMS marketing software, you can begin to boost your customer retention and acquisition.

SMS can be a key component in building success for your company, connecting with your target audience where they can be reached easily—their smartphone. Need more information? Check out our SMS marketing guide to learn everything you need to know about developing SMS marketing campaigns.

Take the next step in your marketing plan, finding new ways to make 2022 the best year your business has seen.