35+ Interesting SMS Marketing Statistics in 2023 (+ Actionable Best Practices)

As the use of SMS increases, what are some statistics you need to know?

For example, consumers today, especially the millennials and gen-z, prefer texting and SMS as their preferred way of communication.

So to help you stay updated and inform your business plans,  we’ve compiled this SMS marketing report. We consulted many SMS marketing reporting tools and resources to assemble this report.

This text message marketing report includes vital SMS statistics categorized by industries, regions, age groups, and business sizes.

Download: SMS marketing statistics: Why is SMS still effective?

Here’s what the article will cover:

• General statistics
• SMS use by countries/regions
• Stats on why SMS is still effective
• SMS predictions
• SMS use scope
• SMS statistics by age
• SMS by industries
• How businesses use SMS
• What’s next?

SMS marketing report: How big is the SMS industry?

The SMS industry has grown massively over the years. SMS was introduced in 1980 and was only used to send weather news and essential updates.

But now, it has been adopted by businesses worldwide and touches nearly every aspect of the consumer’s lives.

Let’s take a look at how big this industry is now:

• The market value of the SMS industry is expected to reach USD 12 billion by 2025, making it one of the most widely used communication channels. 
• The SMS market is forecasted to grow at a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% until 2025. 
• Almost 2/3rd of the world’s population sends and receives SMS. Every business can directly access 2/3rd of the world’s population. 

• The SMS market is bound to increase, given the number of mobile users predicted to reach approximately 7.5 billion by 2025. 

• SMS marketing is a massively profitable marketing channel, yet only 39% of businesses use SMS marketing currently. 

See Bulk SMS Marketing: The Best Way to Fuel Your Business Growth

General SMS statistics 

To decide on whether to use SMS for marketing or not, you first need to look at some specific statistics of your industry or use case type.

There are, however, some statistics that you can consider for every industry and case type. So let’s have a look at some statistics that are generally true for every business:

• 90% of SMSes are read within the first three minutes of delivery, making it the fastest message delivery medium since the opt-in is super simple. 
• At 48%, SMS is the most preferred channel for consumers to receive brand updates due to its ease of use and accessibility. 
• 55% of people prefer using SMS over Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which shows how powerful SMS still is during the social media boom.
• 91% of customers willingly opt-in to receive promotional SMS from brands, allowing businesses to sell their products with minimal effort.
• American teens send up to 1500 texts per month. This allows businesses with teenage audiences to market their products efficiently via SMS.

Source: Maximize market research 

How can you use this SMS report? 

SMS is an ever-growing channel with tremendous potential. People are slowly moving from social media, such as Facebook Messenger, to SMS. 

Even customers are willing to opt-in for promotional SMS because it is an easy and quick channel to receive information.

Hence, without further delay, you should invest a portion of your marketing budget in having customers sign up.

SMS statistics by age

Text messaging can massively benefit your business, whether your target audience includes children, adults, or parents.

But which age groups respond the best to SMS? 

The answer is hidden in the following statistics:

• 97% of the teens who own a mobile phone actively participate in texting, thus allowing businesses to target them without putting in any significant effort.
• Adults aged 18-24 use SMS 128 times a day on average. 
• Adults aged 25-34 use SMS 75 times a day on average. 
• Adults aged 45-54 use SMS 33 times a day on average. 
• Mobile usage time of millennials that goes into texting is almost 33%. 

How can you use this SMS report? 

Armed with these, you can design an SMS promotion for your target demographic. 

As seen, 18-24-year-olds use SMS at least 128 times daily. This is your prime market for SMS promotions. Identify this age range in your existing customer base.

Start interacting with them on SMS. Conversion is easy if you ensure your content is clear and communicates with this audience. 

You could also move on to the other age groups, 25-34 and 45-54 years. 

Ensure you analyse your audience and their habits when interacting with your SMS content, as it helps with insights into customer behaviour. 

SMS statistics by country and regions

The SMS statistics by country and region hold massive importance for your business. 

You can use these statistics to determine the state of SMS usage in your targeted countries.

Here are some statistics to shed some light on the state of SMS in different regions:

• Text messages are sent by nearly 5 billion people, which equals almost 65% of the world’s population.
• The US SMS market is estimated at $16.5 billion in 2022, which shows the massive impact SMS is making in the business world.
• China is forecasted to reach $14.4 million by 2026, making it the second-highest country for SMS usage.
• Asia pacific controls 30% of the SMS market due to the presence of highly populated countries such as India and China.
• More than 272 million people own a cellphone in the US, making it one of the most accessible markets to exploit via SMS.

How can you use this SMS report? 

With this data, you now know that the USA, China and India are prime markets to launch your product using SMS marketing. 

272 million cell phones in the US? The reach and the traffic your brand gets are unimaginable. 

SMS statistics by industry 

Every industry has different uses for SMS.

To see how effective SMS has been for other players in your industry, you need to look at the data and see if SMS is successful in your industry.

This is where these statistics can help you:

• Real estate is the highest SMS usage industry at 73%. You must do that today if you run a real estate-related business and have yet to invest in an SMS solution.
• 75% of the customers think that the retail industry is the best user of SMS tools among all the other sectors. 
• The decision to invest in SMS solutions should be a no-brainer for retail businesses, as retail brands can see a return of 300% on SMS marketing. 
• 27% of logistics businesses use SMS for internal communications and customer support.

Source: Maximise Market Research

How can you use this SMS report? 

Real estate, retail and automotive businesses see the highest usage of SMS. 

It’s a no-brainer if your business is in the same sector. You need to start your SMS marketing.

Retailers have shown increased spending in their SMS budget. This means customers interact more, and the ROI is as high as 300%.

So, if you’re in the retail industry, don’t wait. Start SMS marketing now. 

SMS marketing statistics: Why is SMS still effective?

The popularity of SMS is growing for a variety of reasons, but there are a few reasons that stand out.

Here are some of the prominent SMS benchmark report that still makes SMS effective to this day:

• 98% open rate makes SMS the most effective channel to get your brand message out worldwide.
• 45% is the response rate of SMS, which is nine times higher than email.
• 90% of customers prefer that businesses contact them via SMS, forcing companies to get an SMS solution at all costs. 
• 42% of customers like to receive promotional offers via SMS because of fast and easy access to SMS.
• 75% of customers prefer that special offers be sent via SMS.

How do businesses use SMS? 

Let’s look at some statistics to see how different businesses are using SMS:

• 26% of businesses use SMS to send promotionally discounted offers to their customer, making it easy for them to stay updated.
• 63% of companies use SMS to schedule customer appointments to avoid no-shows.
• 93% of organisations use OTP to verify user logins and payment requests.
• E-commerce businesses saw a 251x return in 2021.

Source: ZipWhip

SMS marketing predictions: What’s the future of SMS? 

As things stand, SMS usage keeps increasing yearly, with no chance of decreasing soon.

Here are some statistics to show you what the future of SMS looks like:

• Around 60% of business owners say their SMS marketing budgets should be increased.
• Business SMS usage is set to reach an all-time high of 3.5 trillion by 2023.
• SMS is bound to reach new heights, with mobile phone users expected to increase to 7.5 billion users by 2026.
• A CAGR of 4.6% indicates that the A2P SMS market will be worth approximately $65 billion by 2028.

Source: SMS Market Report

What’s next for you? 

So you read through our in-depth analysis of SMS statistics by industries, age groups, business sizes, countries, and regions. You also had a look at the statistics showing the importance of SMS for your business and how to use it.

However, as important as SMS marketing is, it is also crucial that you choose the right SMS provider to run your SMS campaigns.

Check out our article “How to choose an SMS provider” for a detailed roadmap to decide which SMS service provider fits your business needs.

Learn more about SMSCountry and their all-in-one SMS services for your business. You can also contact us for a free demo or to answer any questions. 

Sign up for a free account now and get free SMS credits to try SMSCountry!