Three-quarters of U.S. consumers say they buy something because of an SMS message from a company, according to a new study.
Additionally, 60% say they expect brands to text them at least once a week, according to Vibes' Mobile Consumer Insights Report. Meanwhile, 71% cite too many messages as the main reason they don't want to hear from brands. Still, 25% said the frequency of contact doesn't matter as long as it's relevant to their interests.
Why we care. Surprisingly, the popularity of SMS (and other channels) is driving improvements to email. Earlier this month, Google and Yahoo tightened their rules around authenticating outgoing emails, reporting spam rates, and the ability to easily unsubscribe from email lists. Tech companies are trying to stop the flood of emails that drive people to other channels and incur costs. The more effective text marketing is, the worse it is for them.
Let's dig deeper: New rules for bulk email senders from Google and Yahoo: What you need to know
One reason for the success of SMS is that most consumers only agree to receive messages from businesses they plan to purchase from. 68% said they would only sign up for “text message communications from brands that they are certain they would like to purchase within the next year.”
Additionally, the likelihood that someone makes a purchase as a result of an SMS increases with income, but never drops below 69% in any cohort.
Vibes Mobile Consumer Insights Report (registration required) is based on a survey of more than 1,000 “mobile-centric consumers” conducted in December last year.
