The world of SMS marketing has steadily been growing over the years and shows no signs of tapering off any time soon.
You will see this reflected in the SMS marketing statistics we will share with you in this article.
The average open rate of SMS text marketing is 99% and CTRs are 6% to 7%.
If you’re a marketer, you understand the significance of these numbers.
Post Contents
- 1 Key Statistics
- 2 Top SMS Marketing Statistics in 2024
- 2.1 1. Global marketers spend $327.1 billion on SMS text marketing.
- 2.2 2. 71% of consumers said they have subscribed to get text messages from businesses.
- 2.3 3. 86% of businesses have used SMS marketing over the past year.
- 2.4 4. 75% of customers want to receive SMS offers.
- 2.5 5. By 2024, marketers will have a potential reach of 7.41 billion mobile users.
- 2.6 6. 90% of mobile consumers open and read text messages within 30 minutes of receipt.
- 2.7 6. 53% of consumers want to be able to respond to business texts.
- 2.8 7. The average CTR of SMS marketing is 36%.
- 2.9 8. 55% of consumers subscribe to between 1 and 5 businesses to get texts.
- 2.10 9. 52% of consumers are subscribed to receive SMS texts from two to three brands.
- 2.11 10. 66% of consumers say they want to get customer service notifications.
- 2.12 11. SMS marketers say they are generating $71 per every dollar they spend.
- 2.13 12. SMS marketing has a response rate of 45%.
- 2.14 13. 47% of Gen-Z consumers on average check their text messages every 10 to 30 minutes.
- 2.15 14. 58% of consumers said text messaging is the quickest way to communicate with businesses.
- 2.16 15. 43% of customers are proactively texting businesses.
- 2.17 16. Almost 20% of real estate companies use SMS marketing.
- 2.18 17. 5 billion people across the world send and receive text messages.
- 2.19 18. Russia has the highest percentage of mobile users at 89%.
- 2.20 19. China and India rank first and second among those sending SMS texts.
- 2.21 20. Companies targeting Millennials via SMS marketing can see an 11% to 30% boost in engagement.
- 3 FAQs
- 4 Conclusion
Key Statistics
- Global marketers spend $327.1 billion on SMS text marketing.
- 71% of consumers said they have subscribed to get text messages from businesses.
- 86% of businesses have used SMS marketing over the past year.
- 75% of customers want to receive SMS offers.
- By 2024, marketers will have a potential reach of 7.41 billion mobile users.
- 90% of mobile consumers open and read text messages within 30 minutes of receipt.
- 53% of consumers want to be able to respond to business texts.
- The average CTR of SMS marketing is 36%.
- 55% of consumers subscribe to between 1 and 5 businesses to get texts.
- 52% of consumers are subscribed to receive SMS texts from two to three brands.
- 66% of consumers say they want to get customer service notifications.
Top SMS Marketing Statistics in 2024
1. Global marketers spend $327.1 billion on SMS text marketing.
Marketers all over the world invest in SMS marketing.
In fact, the global spend for SMS marketing accounts for $327.1 billion (USD) over 2023.
Moreover, the market size is predicted to double by 2024.
(Luisa Zhou, Statista)
2. 71% of consumers said they have subscribed to get text messages from businesses.
In a SimpleTexting survey of 1,400 consumers, digital marketers, and business owners, 71% of consumers said that they subscribed to receive text messages from businesses.
Consumers should be given the opportunity to “opt in” or “opt out” of business text messages.
A vast majority (71%) do opt to get messages.
(SimpleTexting)
3. 86% of businesses have used SMS marketing over the past year.
Most brands today are using SMS marketing.
In fact, 86% of business owners in a survey reported they use SMS marketing.
For reference, this percentage represents a 56% increase when compared to a year earlier.
(Startupbonsai)
4. 75% of customers want to receive SMS offers.
Texting statistics revealed that 75% of people 44 years old and younger prefer SMS messages for contacting and communicating with businesses.
Combine this data with the fact that SMS marketing comes with a 99% open rate, and you can see why it’s successful.
(Textedly Blog)
5. By 2024, marketers will have a potential reach of 7.41 billion mobile users.
In 2021, there were 7.26 billion mobile users all over the globe.
By 2024, it’s predicted that there will be 7.41 billion global mobile users.
Moreover, by 2025, it’s estimated that there will be 7.49 billion.
That represents a potential reach of over 7 billion for SMS marketing.
(Statista², TechJury)
6. 90% of mobile consumers open and read text messages within 30 minutes of receipt.
According to an EZ Texting 2019 mobile report regarding consumer usage, 90% of consumers open and read text messages within 30 minutes of receipt.
This data correlates with the 99% open rate for text messages.
Another 90% also respond to texts within 30 minutes.
(EZ Texting, Luisa Zhou)
6. 53% of consumers want to be able to respond to business texts.
The SimpleTexting study revealed that 53% of consumers said they want to be able to text businesses back.
In other words, over half of the study’s respondents said they want to engage in 2-way texting with businesses to have conversations.
(SimpleTexting)
7. The average CTR of SMS marketing is 36%.
Data analytics revealed that the average click-through-rate (CTR) of SMS marketing is 36%.
For reference, anything over 3% is considered a good CTR.
MailChimp says that the average CTR for email marketing is 3%.
In the Q3 of 2022, the CTR of social media ads accounted for 1.21%, which was down from the previous year’s 1.3%.
(Constant Contact, MailChimp, Statista³)
8. 55% of consumers subscribe to between 1 and 5 businesses to get texts.
Data shows that 55% of consumers subscribe to between 1 and 5 businesses to receive SMS texts.
Most of them are subscribed to receive texts for shipping notifications, special offers, promotional codes, or for reservation or appointment reminders.
(RadioInfo)
9. 52% of consumers are subscribed to receive SMS texts from two to three brands.
While 55% of consumers say they have subscribed to between one and five businesses to get texts, 52% say they are subscribed to get SMS messages from two to three brands.
Most likely they are subscribed to get special offers, shipping notifications, and other such texts like those who subscribed to one to five businesses.
(Startupbonsai)
10. 66% of consumers say they want to get customer service notifications.
Statistics show that 66% of consumers say they prefer to get customer service/support text notifications from businesses.
Unfortunately, only 23% of businesses engage in this kind of SMS messaging.
Should businesses improve their SMS marketing after seeing this feedback?
(G2, Textedly Blog)
11. SMS marketers say they are generating $71 per every dollar they spend.
According to data from Attentive, customers using Attentive Mobile say they generated $71 per dollar they spent on their text messaging marketing campaigns in 2020.
These customers were from the eCommerce and retail industries.
Moreover, they have been able to drive an average of 20.5% in online revenue due to SMS marketing.
(Attentive, LuisaZhou)
12. SMS marketing has a response rate of 45%.
Not only does SMS marketing have an almost 100% open rate and a 36% click-through-rate, it also boasts a 98% response rate.
In terms of retail, SMS marketing provides one of the highest performance rates of all marketing strategies.
It boosts customer engagement, improves customer acquisition, and it enhances sales.
(Constant Contact)
13. 47% of Gen-Z consumers on average check their text messages every 10 to 30 minutes.
More data from the SimpleTexting study revealed that 47% of Gen Z consumers on average check their text messages at least once every 10 to 30 minutes.
During an average day, most consumers check their text messages more often than they check their other phone apps, including social media.
(SimpleTexting)
14. 58% of consumers said text messaging is the quickest way to communicate with businesses.
Data shows that 58% of consumers say that SMS messaging is the most effective method of reaching them quickly.
Therefore, even most consumers feel that text messages are the most efficient way to contact and communicate with businesses.
(Blogging Wizard, Startupbonsai)
15. 43% of customers are proactively texting businesses.
Data from G2 Learning Hub revealed that 43% of customers are proactive about texting with businesses they engage with.
This includes customers who text requesting customer service or support for a product or shipping issue.
Remember, customers find it easier and faster to communicate via text.
(G2, TechJury)
16. Almost 20% of real estate companies use SMS marketing.
The real estate industry uses SMS marketing the most at 17.9% (almost 20%) to reach out to their target audience.
Agriculture follows real estate with a 15.9% share of the SMS marketing sector.
Entertainment is third in line at 15.4% and Construction follows behind at 14%.
Other industries utilizing SMS marketing include Energy (13%), Airlines (12.3%), and Education (11.5%).
(LuisaZhou, SMS Comparison)
17. 5 billion people across the world send and receive text messages.
With 5 billion mobile text message users in the world, this gives SMS marketing an edge.
Furthermore, this number represents around 65% of the global population.
That’s a significant figure for marketers who use SMS marketing as part of their overall strategy.
(SlickText)
18. Russia has the highest percentage of mobile users at 89%.
In Russia, 89% of the nation’s population sends and receives SMS text messages.
This is a sizable audience for marketers.
For perspective, 80% of North America’s total population engage in SMS texting.
These two regions aren’t the top ranked among mobile users who send texts.
(SlickText)
19. China and India rank first and second among those sending SMS texts.
In China, 1,081 million people send SMS text messages and in India that number is 730 million.
These two countries alone account for the first two ranking countries with the most people sending texts in the world.
This means they are on their phones a lot which is vital data for local and global marketers.
(SlickText)
20. Companies targeting Millennials via SMS marketing can see an 11% to 30% boost in engagement.
Data revealed that Millennials are especially interested in getting their brand updates via text message.
As a result, studies show that businesses who target Millennials in their SMS marketing campaigns can experience an increase in engagement of between 11% and 30%.
(Constant Contact)
FAQs
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS stands for “Short Message/Messaging Service” used to send text messages to mobile devices, especially mobile phones/smartphones.
Therefore, SMS marketing is one way that brands and businesses reach out with advertising, customer promotions, sales and discounts, order updates, and appointment reminders as needed.
What are Some Benefits of SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing comes with several benefits which include:
1. High Open Rates: Text messages have high open rates of over 90% (closer to 99%), which is significantly higher than email or social media.
2. Immediate Delivery: Text messages are delivered virtually instantly so customers get the message immediately after you send.
3. Personalization Options: Text messages can be personalized to the customer, which is preferred by today’s consumer.
4. Measurable Results: Text message marketing makes results easy to monitor and track so you know what is working and what isn’t. This way, businesses can make improvements and changes as needed.
How Can a Business Start SMS Marketing?
To get started with SMS text marketing, you need to select an SMS marketing platform.
There are several available today, so start by comparing prices, features, and other factors to choose one that’s a fit for your business.
Once you choose your SMS marketing platform, you need to gather subscribers which you can do by offering customers discounts or incentives for signing up to receive text messages.
Some top platforms include Salesmate, Omnisend, TextMagic, and EZ Texting.
What are Best Practices for SMS Marketing?
There are some rules businesses should adhere to when it comes to SMS marketing.
To be successful, here are some best practices for SMS marketing:
1. Get permission from subscribers before you send messages to them.
2. Keep your text messages short and get to the point.
3. Personalize your text messages as much as possible.
4. Offer valuable incentives and content in your messages.
5. Avoid sending too many text messages because it may annoy your subscribers.
Following these best practices can help you effectively and successfully use SMS marketing.
Conclusion
These statistics show the robust performance that SMS marketing can deliver.
It offers 99% open rates, 36% click-through-rates, and 45% response rates among mobile users.
Combine these marketing statistics with consumer usage of their mobile phones and you have a great marketing avenue to explore.
If you’re not already using SMS marketing for your business, it’s time to look at your options.
Remember to consider your budget, features, and other factors of choosing an SMS marketing platform to make the most of your marketing investment.
We hope you feel more enlightened after reading the above SMS marketing statistics.
Has this data helped you decide to make improvements to your current marketing strategies?
