Latest SMS Marketing Statistics: The Only List You’ll Ever Need

SMS marketing is a hot topic, with many marketers calling it the best marketing tool in the industry. To reveal insights into the accuracy of this statement, we’ve curated the latest SMS marketing statistics. These statistics can guide your overall marketing strategy in 2022 and beyond. Read on!

Mind-Blowing SMS Marketing Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

1. 51% of customers buy from texts with images and media
2. Consumers answer SMS text messages at least 30x faster than an email.
3. 58% of customers want to hear from brands multiple times a week via SMS
4. 9 out of 10 customers prefer to communicate with businesses through SMS 
5. 48% of consumers prefer receiving brand updates via text messages over other channels
6. By 2025, nearly 95% of the world’s population will own mobile phones.

General SMS Marketing Statistics

7. 2.2 trillion texts were exchanged in 2020.

In 2019, 2.098 trillion messages were sent. In 2020, that number increased to a whopping 2.2 trillion messages!

SMS messaging is increasing over time--bringing exciting opportunities for businesses to build deeper relationships.

8. There are 7.26 billion mobile users in the world

(February 2022 Mobile User Statistics—BankMyCell)

To put it into context, there are roughly 7.92 billion people in the world. That means that nearly 92% of the world’s population have either a smartphone or a feature phone (the basic kind) today. 

9. Marketing message volume increased by 40% in 2021. 

(Predictions 2021: B2C Marketing—Forrester)

In 2020, predictions show that the number of SMS messages from businesses to customers will increase by 40% in the following year. The pandemic and privacy changes (by Google and Apple) spurred this growth.

10. 62% of consumers opt in to receive SMS marketing messages from at least one business. 

(2021 Text Message Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

Of these buyers, 43% receive SMS from 1 to 3 brands, and 33% receive from 4 to 6 businesses in 2020. 

Notable branded messages they receive include appointment reminders, special offers, and sales updates.

Intriguing SMS Marketing Stats

11.  78% of consumers check their text messages more than any other mobile-related activity daily. 

(2021 Text Message Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

Checking, sending, and answering texts is easily the most engaging phone activity people do throughout the day; 77.6% of respondents in the US agree.

It trumps checking social media channels (72.9%), entertainment (70%), handling emails (56.5%), and making phone calls (41.7%).

12. Americans check their phones 344 times per day.

(2022 Cell Phone Usage Statistics—Reviews.org)

That’s once every 4 minutes on average! In 2021, it averaged 262 times per day. Today that figure is up by 31%. 

There are even more statistics that support this finding:

• 70% check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up
• 74% feel uneasy when they leave their cell phones at home
• 70% check their phones within five minutes of receiving a notification.

By scaling your SMS marketing services, you can reach these customers in the place where they’re already paying the most attention.

13. 42% of millennials check their text messages at least 10 times daily. 

(2020 SMS Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

That figure means that millennials are opening up their texting app more frequently than many other apps on their phone. For brands targeting millennials, SMS marketing is one of the places where they are most active.

14. The optimal length for an SMS is between 20-30 words.

(2021 Business Trends Report—EZ texting)

Bigger isn't always better in text message marketing. Research shows that text messages within 20-30 words drive notable higher engagement. 

Statistics on the Effectiveness of Text Message Marketing

15. Over 50% of customers will take at least one action after receiving SMS marketing messages

    

Text message marketing stats reveals that customers did one of the following after getting a text from a business:

• 59% attended an appointment they would have otherwise missed. Thus, SMS reduced missed appointments.
• 56% visited a store online or in-person
• 58% paid a bill they would have forgotten 

This shows that businesses use SMS marketing to increase customer engagement and drive sales. Launching texting initiatives could help you compete with these brands--and ultimately build trust with your audience. 

16. 63% of consumers will switch to a company with SMS communication

    

(Avochato's 2019 Survey)

Did you know that SMS text messaging is now a differentiating factor for customers? In fact, nearly two-thirds of respondents in a survey would choose one brand over another if it offers SMS communication. 

Statistics on What Consumers Think of SMS Marketing

17. 90% of customers have gained value from SMS loyalty programs

(Texting Statistics 2022 USA—SMS Comparison)

While many consumers grow annoyed with every new email, studies show that they actually appreciate the ease of SMS. This is just another reason why SMS marketing is such a powerful tool for improving customer retention and loyalty. 

18. 6 out of 10 buyers want to text back businesses about customer support issues.

(2020 SMS Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

Messaging is a two-way street. While customers like to receive texts from businesses, they also want the ability to text back. According to stats, 60.8% of customers noted that they’d like to communicate freely about customer support issues, shipment tracking (39.6%), and order status confirmation or cancellation (39.4%).

One of the easiest ways to do that is by using the right tool. Smarter Contact provides 2-way messaging for all texts, so you can focus on serving customers and building authentic relationships.

19. Nearly half of consumers will opt in to receive promotional SMS from businesses.

(2020 SMS Marketing Report—Simple Texting) 

Are you only promoting your offers on online platforms? It’s time to consider text message advertising.

In a survey, 49.1% of respondents said that flash sales and time-sensitive promotions motivate them to opt in to SMS messages from businesses. The next best thing is back-in-stock notifications (42.5%).

20. 75% of customers would like to receive texts about shipment tracking. 

(2020 SMS Report—Simple Texting)

Where are my purchased items? As much as 75% of customers want to receive the answer to that question through texts. 

21. 65% of customers want to receive SMS messages for order confirmation.

(2020 SMS Report—Simple Texting)

Post-purchase activities such as order confirmations lay the foundation for a long-lasting relationship. It fosters trust, eliminates misinformation, and reduces post-purchase anxiety.

22. 46% of consumers want to receive SMS reminders and alerts. 

(2020 SMS Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

If you aren’t sending business appointment reminders over text, you are missing out. According to SMS marketing statistics, 45% of people love to schedule reminders and alerts over text.

How Does SMS Compare to Other Digital Marketing Channels?

23. 9 out of 10 customers prefer SMS messages over phone calls.

(Texting Statistics 2022 USA—SMS Comparison)

That's right--phone calls are officially in the past. Instead, customers want to text you for reminders, back-and-forth communication, offers, etc.

24. Special offers sent through SMS have a higher CTR than in other marketing channels 

Texting Statistics 2022 USA—SMS Comparison)

48% of customers want to receive exclusive offers via SMS. Notably, the average click through rates of these messages were much more impressive (19%) than email (4%) and Facebook (1%).

25. 48% of consumers prefer receiving brand updates via SMS over other channels

(Texting Statistics 2022 USA—SMS Comparison)

For brand notifications, consumers prefer SMS over:

• Email (22%)
• Apps notifications (20%)
• Direct mail (8%)

SMS Marketing Vs. Email Marketing Statistics

Text vs email marketing: which channels yield the best results?

26. Consumers answer texts at least 30x faster than an email. 

(2021 Text Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

Nearly 59.1% of consumers respond to a text within 1-2 minutes of receiving it. 

In contrast, 37% of people reply to emails within an hour; with over 32% others responding within a few hours or more. SMS is the clear winner when it comes to responses and overall engagement. 

27. SMS CTR are at least 10% higher than ‌email.

(2020 SMS Marketing Report—Simple Texting)

Besides SMS response rates, another metric to pay special attention to is CTR (click through rate). In a survey, the majority of businesses reported that their text message marketing CTR was between 20 - 30%. Whereas, for email marketing, there was a lower CTR of 10% - 20%. 

28. The open rate of a text message is 5X higher than an email 

(Texting Statistics 2022 USA—SMS Comparison)

When comparing the open rates of text messaging vs email marketing campaigns, SMS wins. According to SMS marketing statistics, 98% of all text messages are opened. For emails, only a dismal 20% actually read them. 

A key factor to this victory is push notifications on mobile devices, which alert users to new messages. On the other hand, many users don’t receive notifications for all of their email addresses. 

Statistics on SMS Marketing Best Practices

29. 51% of customers buy from text messages with images and media

(2021 SMS Marketing Consumer Trends Report—Attentive Mobile)

51.1% of customers say that they're likely to purchase if they receive a text that has a GIF, image, or video. This shows that making your messages more interactive could help you increase sales.

30. 58% of customers want to hear from brands multiple times a week via SMS

(2021 SMS Marketing Consumer Trends Report—Attentive Mobile)

Of these customers, 18.8% would like to receive marketing messages from their favorite brands as much as once per day. 39.2% are satisfied with 2-3 times per day. 

31. 91% of customers want to sign up for texts from businesses.

(2021 SMS Marketing Consumer Trends Report—Attentive Mobile)

Of these customers, 55% have already signed up for texts from businesses. However, supply isn't meeting up with demand.

The survey shows that many businesses are yet to tap into text message marketing. By getting starting with SMS marketin now, you’ll gain a competitive edge over other businesses.

Text Marketing Statistics for 2022 and Beyond

Let's look at some of the stats that highlight the latest trends that'll continue to drive the SMS boom.

32. Almost 84% of the world’s population owns a smartphone in 2022.

(February 2022 Mobile User Statistics—BankMyCell)

A staggering 6.64 billion people have a smartphone today according to phone usage data. To put this in perspective, there were only 3.668 billion smartphone users in 2016. That figure has gone up by almost 50%. 

Imagine reaching at least a fraction of these massive users. With SMS, you can get to them directly, send product links, promote offers, and grow your business.

33. By 2025, nearly 95% of the world’s population will own mobile phones.

(February 2022 Mobile User Statistics—BankMyCell)

Today, there are 7.26 billion (91.62%) mobile users in the world. By 2025, it will increase to 7.49% billion users!

Taking advantage of SMS marketing gives you the chance to reach almost anyone. With bulk SMS messaging, you can reach them with even more efficiency than ever.  

34. Global A2P SMS marketing will hit USD 64.24 billion by 2028.

(Fortune Business Insights)

A2P SMS technology which allows businesses to send messages to customers was $44.96 billion in 2020. Predictions show that it'll grow by a CAGR of 4.6% from 2021 to 2028, hitting $64.24 billion.

Fun Facts

35. 64% of Americans in a survey use their phone on the toilet.

(2022 Cell Phone Usage Statistics—Reviews.org)

Yes, you read that right. While answering nature's calls, up to 64% of adults in the United States use their cell phones. It turns out that you can catch consumers at unexpected places.

36. The best time to reach people via SMS is around bedtime.

(2021 Business Trends Report—EZ texting)

In today's modern busy world, the perfect time to reach your customers is as they're waking up or preparing for bed. According to stats, engagement was 2x higher before 9 am and after 9 pm than the hours in between.

How to Get Started with Text Message Marketing

Now you understand the value of texting, it's time to start running SMS marketing campaigns. Here are the steps to help you get started:

1. Choose a Reliable SMS Solution 

There are hundreds of texting tools out there, but choosing the right solution directly influences the success of your SMS campaigns. 

Depending on your needs, some softwares offer only 1:1 SMS messaging or only bulk texting. The top SMS solutions like Smarter Contact offer both.

Smarter Contact also gives you access to other key requirements such as accurate analytics, compliance expertise, personalized messaging, and in-depth guidance in setting up your campaign.

2. Create an SMS Marketing Strategy 

A successful campaign is built on the foundation of a clear goal. Businesses use SMS marketing to boost awareness, drive sales, and increase customer engagement. Once you establish your highest priority, you can develop a strong strategy.

Keep in mind that your plan must adhere to SMS privacy laws in your target region. For example, regulations state that you must get consent from customers and provide an opt-out option before sending them an SMS. Read more details about SMS compliance in our full guide.

3. Track Your Performance 

Once you launch your mobile marketing campaign, the next step is to review key performance indicators. This allows you to understand the ROI of your SMS marketing efforts. Depending on the texting software you choose, you should have access to advanced analytics that'll guide you.

Generally, you'd need to monitor how SMS recipients react after reading your texts. It could be through actions that reflect response rates, CTR, opt-ins/opt-outs, etc. Optimize or keep working with a high-performing strategy, and adjust ones that are not performing well enough.

SMS Marketing FAQs

• How does SMS marketing work?

SMS marketing starts when a customer opts into a campaign. Once they text a keyword to dedicated short codes, they'll be added to SMS databases. From then on, they'll receive alerts, offers, business updates, and other messages on their mobile devices. These messages stop when the customer unsubscribes or if the business ends that specific campaign.

• How can SMS be used in marketing?

SMS can be used for transactional or promotional messages in marketing. Businesses can send special offers, alerts, stock updates, order confirmation texts, shipment tracking messages, etc. 

• How often should you send SMS marketing messages to customers?

According to stats, 58% of customers want to receive marketing texts from their favorite brands multiple times a week. This ranges from once per day to at least twice a week. 

Wrapping Up 

SMS marketing is here to stay. With billions of smartphone users around the world, text messages give you an excellent opportunity to reach a huge untapped audience. If you're still reluctant to try text messaging in your business, now is a good time to start. Incorporate it into your overall marketing strategy, set up well-thought-out campaigns, and start generating positive results like other savvy businesses. 

Ready to implement these findings in your 2022 mobile marketing plan? Smarter Contact allows you to reach customers faster through bulk or personalized messages. Talk to our experts to help you automate your SMS marketing.