Updated Jan 14, 2020

Mobile usage is exploding and becoming an increasingly powerful tool for marketers to connect with consumers around the world. Stats show that professional text message use is expected to continue growing through 2020. Although few in-depth studies focused on text messaging statistics have been done in the past, recent reports are beginning to shed light on the opportunities and help us grasp the size and potential impact for businesses

The point: SMS marketing can play a major role in developing a relationship with your customers and converting prospects. But don’t rely on our word for it, we’ve collected the newest and most compelling SMS texting stats for you to see for yourself. Do your research, because at the end of the day the information will lead you to build a marketing strategy that propels your business forward.

Global Text Messaging Stats

If you need to get a sense for just how many people use mobile phones these days, and just how much we are using our phones, these text messaging statistics will paint a picture.

1. 5 billion people globally send and receive SMS messages. That’s about 65% of the world’s population.

2. 292 million people in North America use text messages — that’s 80% of the total population.

3. The country with the highest percentage of mobile users is Russia where 89% of the population sends and receives text messages.

4. China and India have the most people who send sms messages — China comes first with 1,081 million people and India second with 730 million.

5. The mobile industry had a revenue of $1.05 trillion in 2017. That’s a 1.64% annual increase.

6. 3.3 billion people access the internet via mobile. It’s predicted that by 2025, 72.6% of internet users will access the web via mobile only, using their smartphones.

7. Most people are using smartphones nowadays — 57% of mobile users own a smartphone. In 2020, 3.5 billion people are expected to own a smartphone.

The Future of Texting

Stats show that text messaging and mobile usage isn’t slowing down any time soon. In fact, reports project it will keep growing at a strong pace through 2019 until at least 2025. It’s not a trend that will pass us by, mobile is a force that’s here to stay.

8. Globally, the amount of people who send and receive text messages is predicted to rise to 5.9 billion by 2025.

9. Smartphone usage is expected to increase to 77% of the global population by 2025.

10. 4G became the leading mobile network technology worldwide in 2019, with a projected 3 billion connections.

11. There are about 1.2 billion 5G connections predicted globally by the end of 2025. Most of them will be from China the U.S. and Japan, as well as most of Europe since these four areas are leading the world in 5G deployment.

12. By 2025, two-thirds of mobile connections will be on high-speed networks.

13. Researchers predict 6 billion people will send and receive SMS text messages by 2025.

14. By 2025, a predicted 61% of the world’s population will access the internet from their mobile phones.

SMS Marketing Statistics

Even if you know a lot about the market now, how does any of that apply to your business? These SMS marketing stats will give you an idea of how text messaging is catching the eye of marketers and ways they’re trying to adopt it in 2020.

15. People will definitely see what you send them — SMS open rates are as high as 98%.

16. You can start a conversation — As many as 45% of people reply to branded text message blasts they receive.

17. Gain an advantage over your competition — about 61% of marketers still don’t use SMS. If you start now you’ll be on the cutting edge.

18. Even though it hasn’t been fully utilized, across markets, mobile’s use is becoming more commonplace. 52% of business leaders in North America said it’s already a major disruption in their industry.

19. Out of all the consumer behaviors that mobile is changing, 46% of North American marketers said it’s having the most impact on mobile commerce.

20. 40% of North American marketers said the ability to make mobile payments is the most disruptive consumer behavior to come with mobile’s rise.

21. Retail is viewed as the industry in North America using the most innovative mobile marketing techniques by 47% of marketers.

22. Despite statistics on mobile’s rise, 65% of brands still don’t have a formal strategy in place for bulk SMS messaging to take advantage of the amount of time we spend on our phones.

23. Stats show that 73% of businesses expect their budgets for text message marketing and SMS short codes to increase in the next year.

24. About 33% of marketers expect to prioritize mobile loyalty schemes and coupons in their plans for next year.

Other Important SMS and MMS stats to know

One specific way to reach people on their mobile devices is through SMS and MMS marketing. Research shows this is a very effective way to talk to your consumers. More importantly, polls indicate this is the way they actually want to hear from you. People don’t enjoy receiving phone calls or emails from brands as much as text messages. They’re enthusiastic about text messages from businesses — the stats prove it.

25. 88% of people surveyed said text was the number one thing they use their phones for, and they use their phones all the time! Data on texting and driving shows that a significant number of people will use their phone to text no matter what they’re doing — even if they’re behind the wheel.

26. Don’t rely on the old methods of getting in touch — 90% of brands said they leave voicemails to talk to consumers while 29% of consumers said they don’t listen to voicemails at all. There’s a good chance that if you’re resting on outdated methods your voicemails are going into a black hole never to be heard from again.

27. 92% of U.S. adults carry text-enabled phones, 98% of smartphone users use text on a regular basis, but only 14% of companies text with consumers. There’s a huge opportunity few brands are taking advantage of to reach people in a space that isn’t yet overly crowded.

28. 85% of customers prefer receiving text messages over a phone call or email.

29. 70% of consumers want to use mobile messaging to troubleshoot issues. How would it change your business if you offered customer support over text instead of putting people on hold?

30. 68% of consumers would like to use mobile messaging to contact a company with billing questions or concerns.

31. Stats demonstrate that 64% of customers want to use text messaging to make or update a reservation.

32. When it comes to updating or changing a purchase, 64% of customers say they’d prefer to use mobile messaging.

33. A majority of people — 71% of consumers — say using text messaging to communicate with a business was effective.

34. As many as 66% of consumers say they would pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel.

35. More people send text messages than own personal computers or landline telephones.

36. 64% of consumers think companies who text value their time, are progressive and would recommend them to others.

37. 53% of consumers say they feel more positive toward a brand that uses mobile messaging to communicate.

38. 45% of consumers say the ability to send mobile messages is what could convince them to choose one brand, product or service over another.

39. Polls predict that by 2020, 85% of interactions between brands and customers will be managed without speaking.

40. 97% of companies found they communicated with consumers more efficiently after launching texting initiatives.

41. One group of early adopter of MMS for business is insurance agents. A fully 67% of agents send and receive MMS messages to send quotes and claims. They report consumers respond “within minutes” to text messages.

42. 94% of organizations already using SMS for communications would recommend mass text apps to their colleagues.

43. Interactive content, like some SMS or MMS campaigns, generates conversions very well 70% of the time, compared to passive content stats at 36%.

44. 95% of millennials send messages daily, while four out of five consumers in total send daily messages.

How to get started with SMS or MMS marketing

If reading these statistics has you interested in trying group texting or SMS marketing for your business, 2020 is year to get started. Here are a few simple actions you can take to jump on the texting bandwagon — we’re pretty sure it’s one that will be valuable for your business.

1. Find a turn-key solution

Instead of trying to do it yourself when it comes to text marketing, while you’re learning it’s a good idea to partner with a provider who has experience creating text campaigns and can walk you through a simple platform to launch your own initiatives. Find an SMS software service that can spend the 1 on 1 time to get you educated, help plan your campaigns, and set up some automated text messages.

2. Create a text marketing plan

Like any marketing initiative, it’s important to go into text marketing with a strong plan in place so that you can be decisive and cohesive with your communications to consumers. If you need some ideas on how to create a plan, check out our SMS Marketing Guide. Remember to familiarize yourself with common text marketing best practices if you’re just starting out. There are some legal requirements to fulfill when you’re sending a text message for business. For example, you must keep a record of consent that proves the people you’re texting have actually agreed to receive text messages from you. A reputable SMS marketing platform should be able to help you with this quite easily.

3. Review your strategy

Once you’ve initiated a marketing plan make sure you regularly review it against key performance indicators. You want to make sure your marketing dollars are well spent. If you find you need to go a step further with your strategies, implement advanced SMS marketing techniques to take your campaigns to the next level.

One of the great advantages of text message marketing is that you’re able to see what actions your recipients are taking after they read your text message. Even if you just start out by tracking links they click inside of your text messages this is a good way to review how strong your strategy is and make tweaks when necessary.

Adapt to mobile advantages

The text messaging statistics speak for themselves — mobile is growing and businesses that adapt are positioning themselves in the best place to make consumers happy. Don’t be afraid to embrace mobile, adapting to it gives you a strong advantage over businesses who are slower to see the potential.

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