SMS text messaging has come a long way from being a simple way to contact friends and family on the go. And given the speed and reach of text messaging, businesses are increasingly turning to the humble SMS for their business comms. Especially since a global pandemic caused texting usage to surge.
We could ramble on about why we love a good text message. But we’d rather let the numbers talk.
Let’s dive in – here are the top text messaging and SMS marketing statistics for 2022.
So why is SMS so remarkable? Some basic text messaging statistics
1) Text messages are opened 5x more than email
98% of text messages are read within 2 minutes compared to 20% of emails. We can see who the clear communication winner is here.
2) 53% of consumers check their text messages 11 times daily
This may sound excessive, but not to Gen Z. New research has shown that more than half of your audience is checking their text messages at least 11 times a day. Compared with email – only 29% check their email that frequently. On top of that, more people are likely to have notifications turned on for SMS.
3) There are over 6x as many SMS users as OTT messenger apps
SMS still trumps over-the-top (OTT) apps like WhatsApp and Messenger for business purposes. Although OTT messaging apps have become increasingly popular for personal use for businesses, SMS is still the most effective mobile messaging channel, why?
OTT messaging demands an app to be downloaded and authorised, and every mobile OS needs a different version. On the other hand, SMS is the default messaging tool on all phones and is OS agnostic.
OTT messaging still doesn’t allow brands to send bulk updates or messages to their users. This makes SMS a preferred choice for bulk marketing. SMS is easy to use for all age groups among users and is accessible almost everywhere.
4) 91.54% of the population own a mobile phone
In 2022 the current number of mobile device users is 7.26 billion, meaning 91.54% of the population own a mobile phone.
5) SMS response rates trump email by 750%
Email response rates average just 6% – compared with 45% for texting. So send your customers promotions via SMS, knowing they’re more likely to be opened, responded to and convert more sales.
Mobile usage stats: how your customers use their phones
6) More than half of smartphone users prefer to use SMS
Almost 65% of smartphone owners already use SMS as their preferred messaging channel, with other popular messaging channels like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and others significantly less used.
7) 75% of Gen Z and Millennials use their smartphones to shop online
The younger generations know how to use the internet to its full potential – online shopping. This represents a fantastic opportunity for businesses. With 75% of these generations on their phones, why not send SMS messages to remind them of their abandoned cart or to send targeted promotions? 💡
8) 54% of web traffic comes from mobile
With such a large mobile audience, there’s a reason why consumers and businesses take advantage of SMS. If your customers are already on their phones, why not send them an SMS?
9) 96% of Gen Z owns a smartphone
SMS stats show that Gen Z has the highest smartphone usage out of any demographic, and what’s more interesting is that most of them have an iPhone over an Android. Yet texting remains popular over web-enabled chat services.
10) Almost half of adults believe mobile phones have become their most important shopping tool
Remember the days of calling up shops to ask for specific items or wandering through aisles? Those days are gone, all thanks to smartphones and 45% of adults say that their device is their most important shopping tool.
Why you should be texting your customers – the stats
11) Most consumers prefer to text for Customer Support
SMS is superior to email or phone calls for customer support. Your customers don’t have to wait on hold and can continue their day while receiving the help they need. 60% of consumers would rather text a business back regarding support issues.
You can also automate FAQ responses via SMS, reducing inbound calls to call centres and cutting your costs in the long term (cha-ching 💸).
12) 54% of consumers get frustrated when they can’t reply via text
And taking it one step further, 12.9% of consumers are more likely to choose companies that offer two-way messaging.
13) 75% of consumers appreciate shipping updates via text
75% of consumers want to receive texts from brands about their order tracking. If you are an e-commerce business or any business that offers to ship, try SMS to send shipping updates. Your customers will appreciate it.
14) 75% of consumers are willing to receive promotional material via SMS
SMS is not only a quicker way to communicate, but 75% of consumers are happy to receive promotional SMS, and on top of that, 41% respond to promotional offers. With all those responses, you can even get valuable customer insights.
15) In 2022, 70% of consumers subscribe to receive business texts
With 70% of consumers subscribed to receive business texts, opt-in rates have grown 12% since last year. Most of these opt-in consumers expect to receive appointment reminders, shipping notifications and special offers or discounts.
16) 64% of consumers value appointment reminder texts over other texts they receive from businesses
If you aren’t sending appointment reminder texts in 2022, let’s talk – open a live chat now! Customers can simply forget they have an appointment, but an appointment reminder via text message can significantly reduce no-shows, and consumers appreciate these reminders.
17) 61% of consumers say they want the ability to text a business back
Customers want to talk to companies, including yours. Most customers want to message businesses regarding appointments, shipping and customer support.
18) Over half of consumers are more likely to buy if they receive a marketing text message with images
SMS marketing stats show that 51% of consumers are more likely to buy from you with messages that contain GIFs, pictures or videos. MMS also has an unlimited character number and can help further engage your customers.
19) Clickthrough rate for SMS marketing is massive
Not only do customers want to send and receive SMS, but they also engage with it more. Typically SMS marketing will have clickthrough rates of 20-35% – which is incredibly powerful compared with under 3% for email marketing.
Business SMS statistics – what your peers are doing
20) 55% of businesses contact customers via text message
With 55% of businesses using SMS, chances are that your competitors are if you’re not using it. Texting was already an everyday messaging tool for consumers, so corporations getting in the mix was seamless.
21) 83% of consumers received an SMS from a business in 2020 alone
While many businesses have not tried SMS marketing, consumers are becoming more comfortable with it. In 2020 alone, 83% of consumers received a text message from a business.
22) 60% of business owners planned to increase SMS budgets this year
When surveyed, 60% of business owners using text messaging said they would increase their budgets this year. And they wouldn’t be doing that if they weren’t seeing great results!
23) COVID-19 boosted the use of SMS
Need to contact people urgently? Look to SMS, just like 34% of businesses who adopted text messaging due to COVID-19. Most companies continue to use SMS to communicate with their customers after seeing positive results.
24) Real estate is the leading industry for using SMS
73% of real estate businesses use SMS compared to 65% of agricultural, 63% of entertainment and leisure, 57% of contraction and 53% of utilities, energy and extraction businesses.
25) The number of opt-in consumers could reach 8 billion by 2023
The number of opt-in consumers continues to rise, which offers a fantastic opportunity for marketers and business owners.
26) 52.2% of marketers invested in SMS due to a large mobile audience
83.72% of the population have a smartphone, so the opportunities for SMS are endless for businesses. And that number has continued to increase year after year.
27) Over half of marketers believe that “fast delivery” is the biggest advantage of SMS
53.75% of marketers agree that speed is one of SMS’s best assets, and combined with the number of people that have mobile phones, texting has become a desirable way for businesses to get their name out there.
28) 41% of marketers have seen increasing SMS opt-in rates
As consumer preferences change, more and more marketers and businesses have steadily increased the opt-in rate.
29) 96% of marketers reported that sending text messages helped drive revenue
Nearly all marketers have increased revenue thanks to SMS, while 60% reported overwhelming revenue generation.
Tips and tricks for your next campaign
30) Time-sensitive promotions will help motivate opt-ins
49.9% of consumers will be motivated to opt-in with time-sensitive promotions. 42.5% of consumers would also opt for “back in stock” text messages – if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
31) Emojis in social media can increase engagement by 25.4%📱📈
Using emojis on your social media posts can boost your engagement rate by over 25%. Why not try it out in your next SMS campaign?
32) Omni-channel campaigns that included SMS were 47.7% more likely to end in conversion
If you are struggling with your advertising campaigns, try adding SMS to support.
33) 34% of customers texted a business without being texted first
So get your dedicated business number out there, as customers are taking the initiative to text in first.
34) Brands sent 68% more SMS on Black Friday and 47% more during the Black Friday weekend
This resulted in a 57% and 23% increase in orders respectively.
Start messaging now
If these SMS stats didn’t convince you to try text SMS, talk to us today about your business goals.
Otherwise, you know what to do…
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