Publication date: 15 Jun 2020
Average email open rates for retail marketers are just over 18%, but more than 90% of text messages are opened by recipients – typically within minutes. These data were reported by Search Engine Land with references to several studies.
Even as messaging is gaining in popularity as a marketing channel, it’s still underutilized by the majority of retail marketers. According to 2016 research conducted by Internet Retailer for OpenMarket, only 29% of retail brands were using SMS for marketing or customer service purposes, compared with 97% using email.
According to a recent Yotpo survey of 800 adults from different countries, more than half of respondents said they wanted a text relationship with their favorite brands (51%). They also were eager to receive discount offers via text (54%). The survey discovered that 48% of respondents had signed up for texts.
Learn more:
- How to write excellent subject lines so your emails get read
- How to capture email addresses of landing page visitors
- Tips from 3snet on how to create an effective email newsletter
An earlier survey from Zipwhip found that 76% of consumers were receiving texts from businesses. The Yotpo survey further explained that most loyalty program members (76%) opted-in to receive texts. And SMS came in second (41%) after email (46%) as consumers’ preferred communication channel. That was followed by social media (8%) and phone calls (6%).
One of the most compelling reasons to use text messaging is the high ROI that many brands are seeing with it. It’s a low-cost channel with very high response rates. More than two-thirds of those receiving texts from retailers have made a purchase accordingly.
Using email and SMS together can be extremely effective and have a kind of multiplier effect. Indeed, SMS is not a replacement for email but a complement to it. SMS can also be a key component of a personalization strategy for retailers.
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