The value of SMS marketing lies both in its format and proximity to consumers. Not only are mobile phones always at arms-length, but text messages are also short and easy to consume.

Add to that the fact that the target audiences of ecommerce businesses are mostly digital natives—gen Z-ers and millennials who grew up with mobile phones. That makes SMS the perfect complement to email, which has long been the established medium for digital marketing.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing stands for “short message service.” Also known as text message marketing, brands use SMS marketing to connect with their customers.

SMS differs from email in that the messages are very short, with a limit of 160 characters and more immediate delivery. The message appears on your customer’s mobile phone just seconds after it’s sent, often giving your customer a push notification that it’s arrived.

SMS marketing is great for three main things:

  • increasing brand awareness,
  • boosting engagement from customers,
  • generating more sales.

As an atypical and underused channel, SMS marketing offers ecommerce marketers a unique opportunity to build a relationship with their customers.

Why Use SMS Marketing

SMS marketing may work well during high-volume events, like the holiday season, but what makes it a good year-round channel?

The Top 3 Benefits of SMS Marketing

There are a few aspects of SMS marketing that make it stand out as a unique channel and give brands who use it correctly a competitive edge.

#1. SMS is fast

SMS campaigns are received instantly, and most importantly, they’re read almost immediately as well.

It’s no surprise that 90% of SMS are read in the first 3 minutes. This makes SMS marketing campaigns great for hyper time-sensitive offers. We’ll go over that more with SMS strategies.

#2. SMS earns higher open rates than email

Where customers have to consult their inbox for email messages, an SMS gives you an instant push notification on your phone. If customers don’t have push set up for their inboxes, your email campaign will have to wait.

Also, the notification stays in place until the message is read. This means that a customer is more likely to at least open your SMS.

#3. SMS gets a higher engagement rate

SMS marketing campaigns are eye-catchers: 70% of customers say that SMS is an attention-grabber.

Not only is the SMS typically read even before it’s opened with the notification that appears on the screen. What’s more, SMS aren’t just opened more frequently, they also earn more clicks on average over email.