Here’s a nugget of news for brand marketers: according to new research from SMS marketing software firm EZ Texting, text messaging has six times the engagement of email among consumers. The study reveals texts maintain a perfect overall open rate of 100 percent, and 90 percent of consumers open and read a text within 30 minutes of receipt.
The firm’s inaugural report, 2019 Mobile Usage Report: How Consumers Are Really Texting, reveals just how often certain segments of the population are interacting with their mobile devices in comparison to other channels.
The preference, presence and engagement statistics for texting found by the research demonstrate a level of effectiveness that solidly trumps other common forms of marketing. To prepare for the continuing shift toward mobile and the availability of a fast, wireless mobile connection with 5G’s arrival, brands and businesses should include text marketing to connect and engage with their audiences where they’re alwaysreachable—on their cellphones.
“Given consumers’ overwhelming preference for all communication to occur on their mobile device, it’s surprising more brands have not already recognized the importance and value of text messaging,” said Norman Happ, CEO of EZ Texting, in a news release. “As we continue to see more services become available on devices, the demand for mobile-friendly customer communication and advertising will undoubtedly increase. This further stresses the vitality of both directly communicating and enabling customer engagement through group and one-to-one text messaging.”
The report looks into the mobile habits of consumers, engagement rates with SMS messaging, preferences of platforms to communicate and the texting behaviors based on demographics.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- More than 50 percent of consumers check their phones 5+ times per hour
- 50 percent of those aged 18-29 check their messages at least 7+ times per hour
- 65 percent of consumers check their phones within 5 minutes of waking up
- Nearly 90 percent of consumers respond to a text message within 30 minutes
- Text messaging has 6X the engagement of email
- Consumers spend more time texting on their mobile phones than nearly any other activity including social media and online shopping
Texting isn’t just for Millennials anymore:
In its own study, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) found 93 percent of surveyed consumers believe wireless messaging is a trusted communications environment with SMS texting holding a 2.8 percent spam rate compared to the 53 percent spam rate of email. Not only is text marketing more secure, but as EZ Texting’s report finds, engagement and adoption statistics continue to rise as well. SMS marketing is an integral part of any organization’s 1:1 communication and promotions strategy, however, remaining both compliant and effective in all text marketing practices is vital.
Download the full report here.
The report is composed of survey results from 1,039 participants ranging in age from 18 to 65+.
