How SMS is Changing E-Commerce in 2021

Compared to the retail industry standard of 18.39% open rate for emails, on average, 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes of delivery. 

SMS, or Short Message Service, is one of the most effective channels for businesses to reach customers. This method allows customers to receive permission-based promotional messages almost immediately. It is the leading method of sending and receiving text messages. 

Why Does SMS Matter?

Looking ahead to 2021, mobile commerce will account for 54% of total e-commerce sales. Content-driven SMS campaigns can reach a broad mobile-centric and responsive audience with timely, customized alerts.

People prefer text messaging, and they have for a long time. In 2018, 70% of people opted for a ‘message us’ button over a ‘call us’ button on a company website or app. In addition, customer satisfaction rates were higher for messaging rather than calling. 

SMS leads to big rewards. It can be personalized around each contact’s activities, interests, and personal information. It is an individualized method of communication. In addition, SMS can be automated, saving time to create relevant campaigns with automatic welcomes, confirmation orders, and promotional ads. With people picking up their phones 58 times a day on average, SMS can help reach a wider demographic, showcase content-driven messages, and deliver them immediately.

Other benefits include increased customer engagement and loyalty, high conversion rates, and inexpensive, instant delivery.

How is SMS Being Used Now?

Many retailers are beginning to implement SMS campaigns and marketing in order to reach a larger consumer base. 

Uncommon Goods, an online marketplace for crafters and makers, uses SMS to offer personalized notifications such as back-in-stock alerts. According to Hashemi, head of marketing & analytics, SMS reaches a younger audience, so it was a new way for the company to drive loyalty with a group that is generally difficult to reach. 

Some other ways that retailers use SMS to reach their customers are by sending out post-purchase follow-up texts, shipping notifications and alerts, upsell opportunities, subscriptions, promotions, new customer acquisitions, and rewards and loyalty programs. A company can choose to try out one, some, or all of these methods. It’s completely customizable to your needs. Each one is a common and successful strategy. Even trying out one of these ideas could lead to massive rewards for your company. 

Keeping it Effective

SMS marketing can help a business gain traction, but it is critical to use it to be helpful and relevant, rather than intrusive and spammy. The following are some tips to accomplish this goal. 

• SMS provides the possibility of personalized messages. Don’t be afraid to communicate to a targeted audience and build meaningful connections with users
• Try to keep texts straightforward and simple. Many users opt-out of reading length messages
• Don’t overdo your efforts. Schedule texts when necessary and limit yourself 
• Make sure each message is relevant and adds value to the consumer’s experience
• Offer the option to unsubscribe

If you follow these tips, your consumers are more likely to engage with your SMS marketing strategies, and in turn, engage with your company. 

Attentive, a Personalized Mobile Messaging Platform

Attentive is an Iterate PilotPass partner. A majority of our members use it, so we have first-hand knowledge of its value. Attentive is a personalized mobile messaging platform that helps innovative brands and organizations connect with customers in a new way. It automatically sends engaging text messages to each subscriber. If you’d like to read more and see what else Attentive has to offer, please check it out here. 

Next Steps

We hope that this article will give you insight into the importance of SMS campaigning and how it is currently being used by retailers. If you’d like to delve deeper and try out a personalized session on how your business can use SMS and engage with your customers in 2021, please contact us here.