45+ texting and SMS marketing statistics to know in 2023

SMS marketing has been on a steady rise in recent years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With Americans constantly glued to their phones, checking them once every 10 minutes each day on average, this marketing strategy puts your brand right at people’s fingertips.

To make a lasting impact in this competitive landscape, businesses must find innovative ways to capture consumers’ attention and break free from the noise. Businesses can leverage mass texting as a versatile channel for a wide range of initiatives, such as gaining early access sales, gathering customer feedback, sending timely reminders for abandoned carts, appointments, reservations, and much more.

In celebration of this thriving digital marketing channel, we’re thrilled to unveil the fourth installment of the SMS marketing report by SimpleTexting. We surveyed 1,400 consumers, business owners, and digital marketers to understand how these parties view and use SMS in 2023. 

Discover which industries boast the highest number of SMS contacts, explore how businesses are incorporating artificial intelligence into their bulk SMS strategies, and gain valuable insights into the world of SMS marketing.

Key texting and SMS marketing statistics

• Businesses that text customers are 217.33% more likely to report success than businesses that don’t use text messaging.
• 90.09% of businesses that text their customers report that their marketing is successful.
• 80.5% of consumers check their text notifications within five minutes of receiving a text.
• 47% of Gen Zers check their text messages once every 10–30 minutes.
• On an average day, consumers check their text messages more than any other app on their phones, even more than social media.
• 71% of consumers have subscribed to receive texts from businesses in the past year. 
• 53% of consumers want the capability to text a business back via two-way messaging.
• Healthcare (55%), banking/finance (46%), and e-commerce/retail (46%) are the top three industries for consumer SMS opt-ins.
• 86% of businesses have used SMS marketing to text their customers in the past year––a 56% increase in SMS adoption from the previous year. 
• 67% of businesses have increased their SMS marketing budgets in 2023. Only 4.75% say they’re not open to investing in SMS marketing in the future.
• 83% of businesses that text their customers have incorporated AI into their SMS marketing strategy. 
• 81% have used ChatGPT or other AI tools to help write SMS marketing messages to their customers.

Key consumer insights

How quickly do consumers see and reply to text messages?

When it comes to checking text notifications, consumers are lightning-fast in their responses. Over 30% of consumers check their text notifications within 60 seconds of receiving a text, and 80.5% of consumers check their text notifications within just five minutes of hearing their phone buzz.

Even for those who take a bit longer, the majority are still quite prompt. Around 13% of consumers check their text notifications within 15–30 minutes of receiving a text. 
These statistics bring great news for companies looking to leverage automated text messaging as a powerful tool.

Do reply rates differ when examining texts vs. emails? A large share of consumers (45%) reply to a text message within 5–10 minutes, followed by 32% of consumers who reply within 1–2 minutes.

In contrast, the largest share of consumers (33%) take a few hours to reply to an email. A significant disparity emerges when comparing the response rates between the two channels. An impressive 77% of consumers reply to a text within 10 minutes, while only 28% manage to reply to an email within the same timeframe.

This data underscores the importance of leveraging text marketing as an effective tool to ensure prompt and engaging communication with your target audience.

How frequently do consumers check their text messages?

In a world where consumers often delete emails without reading them or quickly scroll past social media blasts, capturing the attention of your audience is only half the battle. We found that 32% of consumers check their text messages 6–10 times per day while 46% check their email 1–5 times per day. 

As many companies wish to target younger generational cohorts, we found that 44% of both millennials and Gen Zers are highly active in checking their text messages, surpassing the 10 times per day mark. What’s more, 17% of millennials take their text message checking to the next level, exceeding 20 times per day.

Text message marketing provides a unique opportunity to bypass algorithms and overcome the clutter of junk email.

How are consumers using their smartphones?

There’s nothing more tempting than pressing the big green text icon found on most smartphones—and we have the data to back it up. 

78% of consumers state that checking, sending, and responding to text messages is the activity that they’re most engaged with throughout the day. It surpasses other popular activities like social media (66%), news or entertainment (51%), emails (50%), and even listening to music or podcasts (50%).

On an average day, consumers prioritize checking their text messages over any other app on their phones, including social media. This data emphasizes the high level of attention and engagement that text messages received from users, making it a prime channel for businesses to connect with their target audience effectively.

How many consumers are opted in to SMS marketing in 2023?

A strong majority of consumers (71%) opted in to receive texts from at least one business in the past year. An impressive 75% of Gen Xers (individuals aged 41-56 years old) have opted in to receive texts from businesses, showcasing their active engagement in this communication channel. 76% of women have subscribed to receive texts in the past year, while 65% of men have done the same.

53% of consumers want the capability to text a business back. Again, Gen Xers and women are the groups who want this capability the most. Two-way texting is a clear desire for many consumers, which gives them the ability to contact customer support and have other kinds of two-way conversations.

Consumers also don’t want to be spammed by texts, which is why timing plays a key role in SMS marketing. Most consumers (53%) who subscribe to SMS marketing want to receive texts from businesses once every other week, followed by 36% who want to receive them once a week.

Which industries have the most SMS contacts?

Consumers are most likely to receive texts in the healthcare space (55%), followed by banking/finance (46%), and e-commerce/retail (45.9%). With SMS for healthcare, you can improve patient communication, send prescription reminders, and reach staff in an instant. 

Notably, there has been a significant increase in healthcare-related opt-ins compared to the previous year’s report. In 2022, healthcare accounted for 49% of SMS opt-ins, indicating a 13% growth in healthcare-related opt-ins year over year.

Other consumer habits related to SMS marketing

As SMS marketing may be uncharted territory for many businesses, it is essential to understand consumer preferences and sentiments regarding receiving texts from companies. 

In general, the largest share of consumers (46%) don’t care if they interact with an SMS chatbot or a live agent for customer service inquiries, so long as their issue is resolved quickly and efficiently.

One in three consumers (33%) prefer to text a business when they have questions or inquiries, as text messaging is perceived as a quick, easy, and straightforward communication channel.

However, businesses may still question the effectiveness of SMS marketing and its impact on driving purchases. In the past year, 45% of consumers have purchased from a brand/business after receiving a text from them with a special offer or promo code.

Key business insights

How many businesses use SMS marketing in 2023?

In 2022, 55% of businesses texted their customers using a text messaging service. In 2023, 86% of business owners and marketing managers have used SMS marketing to text their customers in the past year, indicating a 56% increase in SMS marketing adoption, year over year.

What’s more, 67% of business owners and marketing managers have increased their SMS marketing budgets, as they’ve seen an increase in their SMS opt-in rates over the last year.

How and why are businesses using SMS marketing?

81% of business owners and marketing managers who use SMS marketing integrate SMS with other marketing platforms or channels like HubSpot, Mailchimp, or Salesforce. A Mailchimp text messaging integration can increase reach and lead to better conversion rates. 

91% of participants say they see higher conversion rates with integrated marketing campaigns that include SMS.

A majority of businesses (60%) say they use text marketing because of high engagement levels from customers. Opening up a text and following a link requires little effort, which is another reason why SMS marketing is so enticing. 

This is followed by higher open and click-through rates from customers (53%), quick and easy channels for two-way interactions with customers (43%), and younger customers preferring texting over other communication channels (28%).

How are businesses incorporating AI into their SMS marketing strategy?

Businesses are embracing the use of AI in their SMS marketing strategies, as evidenced by the fact that 83% of business owners and marketing managers who engage in texting their customers have incorporated AI into their approach.

81% have used ChatGPT or other AI tools to help write SMS marketing messages to their customers. More than half of businesses (57%) use AI such as SMS chatbots for customer satisfaction surveys and review requests, followed by appointment or reservation reminders (50%).

Wrap-up

SMS marketing doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Companies are leveraging AI in their SMS marketing strategies, customers desire two-way communication, and industries like healthcare, banking, and retail are using SMS to their advantage. 

Check out our success stories spanning various industries, showcasing how SMS marketing has empowered both small business owners and corporations to connect effectively with their target audiences.

Interested in starting your own SMS campaign or engaging customers through two-way texting? Try us out for free today!

The statistics in this report are derived from two separate surveys. We surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers across a range of demographics and regions from May 3rd to 4th, 2023, and 400 U.S. business owners and marketing managers from May 4th to 6th, 2023.