60 must-know statistics for SMS and mobile in 2021

SMS is a secure and straightforward way to contact customers directly. There is no doubt that even in 2021, enterprise text messaging has proved its worth as a viable and robust communication tool for businesses.

Don't believe me? Check out these essential SMS statistics. Demonstrating the importance of text messaging for business, the immediacy and popularity of SMS in today's digital age impacts consumer interactions and the buyer’s journey. See for yourself!

Essential SMS messaging statistics for 2021

1. 10% of millennials would prefer to sacrifice a finger rather than live without their smartphone. (Tappable, 2018)

2. In 2020, 60% of Australian adults relied solely on a mobile phone for home telecommunication. (ACMA, 2020)

3. Over 70% of Australians between 18-44 only use a mobile phone and don't have fixed-line phone service at home. (ACMA, 2020)

4. 96% of mobile phone users in Australia use their devices for sending messages. (Statista, 2021)

5. SMS marketing is cost-effective in comparison to online advertising. The cost per click for Google Search is $2.69 and Linkedin $5.58, whereas the average cost per send is $0.07 for SMS. (SMSGlobal, 2021)

6. 3 out of 4 smartphone users expect to get immediate information while using their smartphones. (Think with Google, 2019)

7. Worldwide sales of smartphones to end-users will total 1.5 billion units in 2021, an 11.4% growth year over year. (Gartner, 2021)

8. Usage of native text messaging apps is three times higher than Facebook Messenger, six times higher than WhatsApp, and 11 times higher than Instagram. (EZTexting, 2019)

9. Text messages are 134% more likely to be read than emails. (EZTexting, 2019)

10. Consumers send four times more texts than emails on their cell phones every day. (ZipWhip, 2020)

11. 70% of customers say that SMS captures their attention. (Omnisend, 2020)

12. 74% of all new subscribers expect a welcome message upon opting in. (Omnisend, 2020)

Business SMS is growing across the globe

13. Globally, businesses will spend US$50 billion on SMS messaging by 2025. (Juniper Research, 2020)

14. In 2020, 68% of businesses used text messaging in some form. (ZipWhip, 2020)

15. 86.1% of recipients viewed SMS marketing texts within 30 minutes. (Simple Texting, 2020)

16. 39% of businesses use SMS messaging in some form to communicate with customers. (Twilio, 2016)

17. 75% of SMS recipients say they are frustrated if they can't respond to a business on the same number. (ZipWhip, 2020)

18. 54% of customers claim significant frustration if they can't send an SMS to a business at all. (EZTexting, 2019)

19. Marketing message volume will increase by 40% in 2021 as brands try to hold on to customers and drive new purchases. (Forrester, 2020)

20. SMS business messaging traffic will reach 3.5 trillion messages in 2020, rising from 3.2 trillion in 2019. This represents a growth of 7%, despite the economic impacts of COVID-19. (Juniper Research, 2020)

21. In January 2020, 51% of retail marketers said they planned to increase investment in messaging or SMS marketing; that figure grew to 56% in June 2020. (eMarketer, 2021)

22. 68% of businesses use automation in some way. (HubSpot, 2020)

23. 92% of B2B marketers now have an account-based marketing (ABM) program, and 68% use automation. (Salesforce, 2020)

24. Consumers are 35x more likely to open mobile messages than emails. (Sinch, 2020)

25. In the first half of 2020, CM platforms sent 1.6 billion messages worldwide – 53% more than the first half of 2019. (CM.com, 2021)

26. 80% of customer service organisations will abandon native mobile apps in favour of messaging by 2025 (Gartner, 2021)

27. Omnichannel campaigns that involve SMS are 47.7% more likely to end in conversion. (Omnisend, 2020)

28. SMS earned a 14.2% average CTR and an average ROI of over 2700%. (Omnisend, 2020)

29. Text message campaigns sent before Black Friday earn 75% higher order rates than Cyber Monday. (Omnisend, 2019)

30. The majority of respondents (over 45%) value two-way conversations and think having the capability to text businesses back is beneficial, including 43% of Gen X respondents. 12.9% even said they're more likely to support businesses that offer text-back capabilities. (Simple Texting, 2020)

31. 46% of respondents are more likely to opt into text messages from the eCommerce/retail industry, followed by 43% from healthcare, 41% from banking and finance, and 33% from the travel industry. (Simple Texting, 2020)

32. Over 62% of business owners and marketers believe that fast delivery of messages is the most significant benefit of texting their audience, followed by strengthened customer engagement and cost-effectiveness. (Simple Texting, 2020)

33. 84% of consumers have received a text message from a business. (EZTexting, 2019)

34. 86% of respondents indicated they'd received an appointment reminder from businesses, 67% have received a coupon or discount, and 55% have received a service notification. (EZTexting, 2019)

35. 77% of consumers said they use texting more than other messaging tools. (ZipWhip, 2020)

36. 63% of respondents would switch to a business that offered SMS messaging as a communication channel. (Avochato, 2019)

37. 91% of consumers said they had received a text from a business, which is a 20% increase from 2019. (ZipWhip, 2020)

38. 1 in 3 consumers has tried to text a company without receiving a response, which indicates they may be texting a company that does not have a text-enabled phone number. (ZipWhip, 2020)

39. 64% of consumers said they are 'unlikely' or 'very unlikely' to download a business's branded app. For those who do, 61% said they are very likely to delete it shortly after that. (ZipWhip, 2020)

40. 35% of consumers say they text with businesses once a day to once a week. (ZipWhip, 2020)

41. 25% more businesses will adopt texting software this year. (ZipWhip, 2020)

42. Consumers expect to interact with businesses via SMS, with 43% proactively texting companies. (ZipWhip, 2020)

Utilise our SMS templates for your industry

SMS is vital for multichannel communication

43. When asked what's most important when connecting with a business, 31% of consumers said they would like options when communicating. (ZipWhip, 2020)

44. Investment in SMS marketing will increase by 50%, while spending on other channels may decrease. (CommerceNext, 2020)

45. The purchase rate of omnichannel campaigns is 287% higher than single-channel campaigns. (Omnisend, 2020)

46. During 2020, SMS marketing grew by 8.5% in March and 20% in April in response to the pandemic. (eMarketer, 2021)

47. In the events and entertainment industry, recipients are five times more likely to click a link in an SMS message (12.96%) than email (2.36%). (BurstSMS, 2019)

48. 92% of marketing agencies state they are investing more time, resources, and budget into marketing automation integration. (MarketingProfs, 2019)

49. Nearly 40% of retailers and wholesalers immediately increased tech investment due to the pandemic last year, despite an overall reduction in spending. (Forrester, 2021)

50. COVID-19 fueled a 50% increase in omnichannel shopping across the US (Nielsen, 2020)

51. Email marketers use email automation campaigns as one of the top three tactics to improve performance. (HubSpot, 2020)

52. Of those who are automating marketing, 23% are automating their content delivery. (HubSpot, 2020)

53. 20% of marketers are using automated email marketing campaigns. (HubSpot, 2020)

54. The number of Click-and-Collect orders (orders placed online and picked up at brick-and-mortar stores) grew 208% during the pandemic. (Adobe Analytics, 2020)

55. Omnichannel strategies help generate around 80% of in-store visits by customers. As much as 74% of customers do online research before visiting a physical store. (Think With Google, 2017)

56. Chatbots will facilitate $142 billion in consumer retail spend by 2024, up more than 400% in annual growth from $2.8 billion in 2019. (Juniper Research, 2020)

57. 33% of all buyers desire a seller-free sales experience—a preference that climbs to 44% for millennials. (Gartner, 2020)

58. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of digital marketing leaders continue to struggle with delivering personalised experiences to their customers. (Gartner, 2019)

59. Over the next decade, service leaders foresee a significant shift from handling customer requests to using customer data to provide high-quality service for both the issue at hand and the customers' end-to-end experience. (Gartner, 2021)

60. Marketing professionals using three or more channels in campaigns see a purchase and engagement rate 250% higher than those using single-channel campaigns. (Omnisend, 2020)

Implement SMS for marketing campaigns, transactional messaging, customer communications and cybersecurity with a robust text message gateway such as SMSGlobal's MXT. Sign up for free today!

Related article: Mobile and SMS marketing strategies dominate, here’s why

Related article: Why Customer Experience (CX) is Vital to your Marketing Strategy in 2020