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SMS Text Message Stats

SMS / Text Marketing Statistics

77% of the United States population owns a smartphone. [1]

According to CNBC by 2025, nearly three-quarters of the world will exclusively use their smartphones to access the internet. Right now, the average American spends over 3 hours of their day looking at their mobile phone, and based on a survey of 500 U.S. consumers, 60% of American consumers check their text notifications within 5 minutes of receiving them [2] [3] [8].

75% of clients want to receive offers (like coupons, promo codes, etc.) through SMS [4]

Your clients and prospective clients want to hear from you! Give them what they are looking for and earn their business. The stats are in and 66% of consumers would like to receive service notifications from a business via SMS. Things like appointment reminders, special offers, and coupons. Customers say they are more likely to opt-in to text messages from businesses in the eCommerce/retail, healthcare, and financial industries,  so why is it that a meager 13% of businesses make it possible for customers to respond to marketing text messages? [5]

70% of consumers consider SMS marketing an excellent way for businesses to get their attention [5]

Did you know that 9 out of 10 consumers prefer texting with businesses over phone calls, and 95% of text messages are read and responded to within 3 minutes? Open rates are much higher for text versus email as well. Text Messaging boosts a 98% open rate whereas email has a mere 20% open rate. 65% of marketers say SMS marketing is a “very effective” part of their marketing strategy [6] [7].

The average reader has an attention span of 8 seconds, making SMS a great way to get right to the point [9]

Most consumers these days don’t have the time or bandwidth to read a lengthy marketing message. Get right to the point with text message marketing.

Additional SMS Stats:

  • Effective: 98% of recipients read their text messages, 90% within 3 minutes.
  • No need to download apps or have a smartphone.
  • 75% of teens and young adults text, sending an average of 60 texts per day!
  • 32% of respondents in TIME Mobility Poll say they would rather communicate by text than by phone, even with people they know very well.
  • 97% of Americans text at least once a day making it the most frequently used app on a smartphone. (Pew Internet)
  • In the US, over 6 billion text messages are sent each day. (Forrester)
  • Texting is the most common cell phone activity with over 80% of American adults. (Pew Internet)
  • Text messages have a 98% open rate, vs email which has only a 20% open rate. (Mobile Marketing Watch)
  • SMS messaging has a 45% response rate. Email has only a 6% response rate. (Velocify)
  • 90% of all text messages are read in under 3 minutes. (Connect Mogul)
  • 96% of smartphone users text. (Acision)
  • On average, Americans exchange twice as many texts as they do calls (Nielsen)
  • It takes the average person 90 seconds to respond to a text message – vs 90 minutes to respond to an email. (CTIA)
  • Millennials prefer automated text messaging over IVR, including speech-based solutions (Frost & Sullivan)
  • Sales prospects who are sent text messages convert at a rate 40% higher than those who are not sent any text messages. (Velocify)
  • Nearly 25% of marketers are currently using SMS messaging. Over 65% of them report texting as being “very effective.” (ExactTarget)
  • 70% of U.S. consumers appreciate getting SMS or emails from healthcare providers. (Loyalty 360)
  • 75% of people would like to have offers sent to them via text message. (Digital Marketing Magazine)
  • 44% of consumers would rather receive product details and other marketing messages through SMS over any other marketing channel. (Direct Marketing Association)
  • Nearly 70% of employees think their companies should use SMS messaging to communicate with employees, and 86% say it should not be reserved for just customer communication. (Vitiello Communications Group)
  • The average American spends over 3 hours of their day looking at their mobile phone(Comparitech)
  • 75% of clients want to receive offers (like coupons, promo codes, etc.) through SMS (Techjury)
  • 66% of consumers would like to receive service notifications from a business via SMS (LearnHub)
  • A meager 13% of businesses make it possible for customers to respond to marketing text messages (LearnHub)
  • Customers say they are more likely to opt-in to text messages from businesses in the eCommerce/retail, healthcare, and financial industries (LearnHub)
  • 70% of consumers consider SMS marketing an excellent way for businesses to get their attention (LearnHub)
  • 9 out of 10 consumers prefer texting with businesses over phone calls (SMSComparison)
  • 95% of text messages are read and responded to within 3 minutes (SMSComparison)
  • Text message recipients open 98% of all messages (SMSComparison)
  • 65% of marketers say SMS marketing is a “very effective” part of their marketing strategy (CampaignMonitor)
  • Open rates for text messages (98%) are higher than email open-rates (20%) (CampaignMonitor)
  • The average reader has an attention span of 8 seconds, making SMS a great way to get right to the point (CrossRiver)

Sources:

  1. Bankmycell
  2. DataReportal
  3. Startup Bonsai
  4. Techjury
  5. Learn Hub
  6. SMS comparison
  7. Campaign Monitor
  8. CNBC
  9. Crossriver