We surveyed over 1,400 U.S. Gen Z and Millennials to learn about their texting preferences and behaviors: including how they text day to day, and what makes them opt in, click, buy, or unsubscribe from brand SMS.
Brand texting is now widely accepted, but it is also tightly regulated by consumer attention.
To better understand how Americans feel about receiving texts from businesses, we surveyed over 1,400 consumers about their texting habits and brand communication preferences. Of those surveyed, 754 were Millennials and 673 were Gen Z, which allowed us to compare where these generations align and where they diverge.
Two big themes emerged, among many:
For one: consumers are open to texting, but they are strict about volume.
69% of Americans say they opted in to receive texts from at least one business in the last 12 months. At the same time, 90% say they want brand texts once per week or less.
Secondly, your brand texts have to compete with the entire phone experience.
85% of adults say they receive 10 or more notifications per day, and 50% receive 26 or more. You’re not just competing with other brands.
So what actually works with Gen Z and Millennials, and where are they more similar than different? Here’s a deeper look at what the survey data says.
Consumers do not experience brand messages in isolation. Their personal messaging habits set the baseline for what feels normal, what feels pushy, and what feels worth opening.
In our survey, 31% of Americans send more than 25 personal texts per day, while 40% send fewer than 10. Gen Z texts more often than Millennials, but the gap is not huge:
SMS and iMessage dominate everyday communication. 93% of Americans say they use SMS or iMessage the most when messaging other people.
After texting, messaging splits across social apps: Facebook Messenger (38%), Instagram DMs (35%), Discord (22%), Snapchat (21%), WhatsApp (17%), and TikTok DMs (16%).
Key generational differences:
When consumers choose the single activity they do most on their phones, browsing social media leads at 50%. Texting and messaging come next at 17%, followed by listening to music or podcasts at 14%.
Email (3%), calls (3%), and mobile shopping (1%) barely register as the top activity.
Generational differences:
Emojis, GIFs, and stickers are nearly universal: 88% use them at least sometimes.
Gen Z is slightly more likely to use them heavily (18% vs. 14%), but both generations clearly communicate in a casual, expressive style.
Most Americans do not follow up quickly. 55% either wait until the next day (22%) or do not follow up at all (32%). Still, follow-ups are common: 45% send a follow-up the same day, and 17% do it within an hour.
Gen Z is slightly more comfortable sending follow-ups at least sometimes (70% vs. 66%).
What this means for brands: Consumers are used to fast visibility, but not constant back-and-forth. SMS works best when it is low-friction and high-value.
Texts are seen quickly: 71% check a text notification within five minutes, including 18% within 60 seconds. In total:
Generationally, Millennials are more likely to check within one minute (21% vs. 15%), while Gen Z is slightly more likely to wait 15 minutes or longer (31% vs. 27%).
Attention protection is mainstream: 52% set quiet hours or Do Not Disturb at least sometimes (29% sometimes, 23% every day). Gen Z uses these settings more (58% vs. 47%).
Notification overload is the baseline: 85% receive 10 or more notifications per day.
Gen Z is slightly more likely to fall into the 26-plus tier (53% vs. 48%).
What this means for brands: If texts are fast to be seen, they are also fast to be judged. In an overloaded environment, frequent mistakes get punished quickly.
Opting in is mainstream. 69% opted in to receive texts from a business in the past 12 months. Gen Z and Millennials are nearly identical (68% vs. 70%), suggesting a list growth opportunity exists across both cohorts.
For people who have not opted in, the biggest blockers are about noise and trust:
Gen Z non-opt-ins are more likely to say they do not see the value (19% vs. 12%). Millennials’ non-opt-ins are more likely to cite notification overload (41% vs. 35%).
Before opting in, the number one question is frequency. 28% say the biggest factor they consider is “How often will you text me?”
After frequency, the next most common decision drivers are exclusive deals (23%) and fear of being spammed (20%). Those top three account for 71% of responses.
Generational notes:
Industry matters. Nearly half (48%) are most likely to opt in to texts from ecommerce and retail brands, followed by healthcare (43%).
After that, interest drops to a second tier: travel (24%), consumer services (23%), finance (20%), and technology (20%). Construction and manufacturing are lowest at 3% each.
Consumers welcome texts that are practical or high value:
Interest drops sharply after those categories. Only 11% welcome personalized recommendations, and only 6% want requests for feedback or reviews.
Millennials are more receptive than Gen Z to service and relationship-oriented texts, including two-way customer support (27% vs. 22%), loyalty or VIP perks (32% vs. 27%), and local store offers (22% vs. 19%).
Brand texting is usually limited to a small group:
Gen Z is more likely to keep brand texting limited to one to three businesses (50% vs. 42%) and less likely to be in the seven-plus bucket (16% vs. 22%).
Most Americans want a light cadence. 90% prefer brand texts once per week or less.
Both generations land in essentially the same place. About 89% to 91% want one text per week or less, and about 21% in each group say they do not want brand texts at all. Gen Z is slightly more open to higher frequency messaging (12% vs. 9%).
When it comes to timing, the afternoon is the sweet spot. 42% say the best time for a brand to text them is 12 to 5pm. Another 28% have no preference. Among those who have a preference, afternoon accounts for about 58% of stated preferences.
Millennials lean more toward afternoon texting (44% vs. 40%). Gen Z is slightly more open to morning texts from 8 to 11am (13% vs. 11%).
Message overload is the top reason consumers tune out. 44% say they are most likely to ignore or delete a brand text when they get too many messages, and it is the number one response by a wide margin.
Relevance is the next big driver. 30% ignore or delete texts when the message is not relevant, while 17% cite messages that feel spammy or fake. Far fewer blame creative fatigue (5% say “seen similar offers”) or automation cues (4% say “it looks automated”) as their primary reason.
Gen Z is slightly more sensitive to volume (46% Gen Z vs. 42% Millennials). Millennials are slightly more sensitive to trust cues (18% Millennials vs. 15% Gen Z for “feels spammy or fake”).
Most consumers click selectively:
Millennials are more likely to click at least sometimes (44% vs. 38%).
Replies are harder than clicks:
In total, 80% reply rarely or never, which makes SMS polling a high-friction tactic for most consumers.
SMS influences real buying behavior. 42% made a purchase because of a brand text in the past 12 months (16% multiple times, 25% once).
At the same time, 58% have not purchased from a brand text in the past year (34% never, 24% not in the past 12 months). Looking beyond the last year, 66% say a brand text has influenced a purchase at some point.
Gen Z is more likely to be a one-time converter in the past year (27% vs. 24%). Millennials are slightly more likely to be repeat converters (17% vs. 15%).
Plain text still wins:
Gen Z is more SMS-first (52% vs. 47%). Millennials are more open to enhanced formats like MMS (10% vs. 7%) and RCS (7% vs. 6%).
The most compelling personalization is discounts tied to demonstrated interest. 63% are more likely to engage with discounts on items they browsed or liked.
A second tier includes product updates on items of interest (29%) and localized offers or events (26%). Personalization is not a universal win:
Gen Z is slightly more responsive to timing personalization (11% vs. 8%). Millennials are slightly more likely to opt out of personalization altogether (21% vs. 16%).
Consumers will share some information, but not everything:
Millennials are more comfortable sharing location than Gen Z (35% vs. 24%).
Channel preference depends heavily on the message.
Coupons and discounts: Email remains the default.
Shipping or order updates: Text takes the lead.
Appointment or reservation confirmations: Texting is the clear winner.
Customer service questions: Email leads.
Abandoned cart notifications: Most consumers do not want them.
Consumers are more cautious than enthusiastic about AI in brand texts:
Gen Z is more likely to be opposed (42% negative vs. 34%). Millennials are more likely to be indifferent (39% vs. 31%).
When it comes to transparency, consumers want disclosure:
Americans are largely unconvinced that texting automatically equals a better customer experience. Nearly half (48%) take a neutral stance. The rest split evenly (26% agree overall, 26% disagree overall).
Texting does not automatically build connections, either. 43% disagree that they feel more connected to brands that text (28% disagree, 15% strongly disagree), while 25% agree (20% agree, 5% strongly agree). Another 32% say neither.
Consumers respond most to two tones:
Humor has an audience, but it is secondary:
Gen Z and Millennials are remarkably aligned on tone. Friendly and conversational sits at 40% Gen Z vs. 39% Millennials, professional and informative is 37% for both, and funny or playful is 19% for both.
Gen Z and Millennials are more similar than many brands assume. Both groups opt in at nearly the same rate, both expect a light cadence, and both prefer messaging that feels either friendly or straightforward.
The opportunity is not to send more texts. It is sending fewer, better texts.
Consumers welcome updates, confirmations, and real value. They ignore messages that feel excessive, irrelevant, or spammy. They also want transparency when automation enters the conversation.
If there is one rule that shows up across the entire report, it is this: permission gets you in the door, but relevance is what keeps you there.
The statistics in this report come from a survey conducted by SimpleTexting of 1,427 Americans between December 3, 2025, and December 11, 2025. Among those surveyed, 754 were Millennials and 673 were Gen Z, answering the same set of 29 questions about their texting habits and how they prefer to be messaged by brands.
You are welcome to use, reference, and share non-commercial excerpts of this study with proper attribution. If you cite or cover our findings, please link back to this page so readers can view the full methodology, charts, and context.
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