Text message campaigns get opened at about 98%, while email opens land closer to 20%. About 90% of SMS messages are read within three minutes, and roughly 40% of people read them within the first hour. These response patterns tie directly to how SMS converts, earns consent, and drives measurable action.
Key Takeaways
- 98% of text messages are opened, compared with 20% for emails
- 45% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase when they receive text message marketing
- 90% of SMS messages are read within three minutes
- Text messages have a 2–3% conversion rate on average
- SMS marketing can produce 4.5x the ROI of other channels
- 3.5x higher click-through rate than email
- 2024 SMS open rates are around 98%
- 10DLC is required in the US for A2P messaging
- TCPA requires prior express written consent for marketing texts
- In 2023, 5.35 billion people used mobile phones worldwide
- In 2023, 5.44 billion people used mobile phones
- Globally, there are 5.35 billion mobile subscribers (2023)
- 160 characters is the standard length of an SMS message
- SMS messages can be concatenated to exceed 160 characters (multipart)
- MMS is typically used for multimedia content when SMS is insufficient
SMS marketing delivers near instant attention with 98% opens and can boost purchases and ROI far more than email.
Related reading
01 · Category
Engagement & Open Rates29 stats
01
98% of text messages are opened, compared with 20% for emails
02
45% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase when they receive text message marketing
03
90% of SMS messages are read within three minutes
04
46% of consumers prefer to receive texts from businesses
05
77% of people have opted in to receive SMS marketing messages
06
40% of consumers read SMS messages within the first hour
07
35% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with offers received via SMS than via email
08
26% of consumers say they would respond to a text message within a day
09
61% of consumers say that SMS makes them more likely to purchase
10
55% of consumers want to receive texts for order updates and confirmations
11
36% of consumers report that they have clicked on a text message ad in the past
12
75% of consumers are more likely to buy after receiving a relevant text message
13
27% of consumers say they frequently reply to SMS messages from brands
14
91% of consumers check their phones within 3 minutes of receiving a text
15
64% of consumers say SMS is the fastest way to receive updates
16
82% of consumers consider texts useful
17
62% of businesses report that SMS has improved their customer engagement
18
58% of consumers want to receive SMS notifications about deals
19
68% of consumers say texts are more engaging than emails
20
41% of consumers say they are more likely to interact with brand communications via SMS
21
53% of consumers say they are likely to share a text message with a friend
22
93% of people will read an SMS message
23
71% of consumers prefer SMS over phone calls for urgent communications
24
49% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company after receiving a text message offer
25
37% of consumers say they have unsubscribed from SMS messages
26
33% of consumers want to receive fewer than 2 texts per week
27
29% of marketers say SMS has the highest engagement of any channel they use
28
88% of marketers use SMS due to its high open rates
29
48% of SMS recipients act on a message within the first day
Interpretation
Engagement & Open Rates Interpretation
These SMS marketing stats basically say that while emails wander in late, texts get read fast, trusted as useful, and acted on almost immediately, turning “just checking my phone” into purchases, replies, and unsubscribes for the unlucky few who text too much.
02 · Category
Conversion & Revenue Impact30 stats
01
Text messages have a 2–3% conversion rate on average
02
SMS marketing can produce 4.5x the ROI of other channels
03
3.5x higher click-through rate than email
04
20% of consumers say they have made a purchase after receiving a marketing text
05
90% of consumers say they are more likely to buy after receiving a promotional text relevant to them
06
60% of SMS recipients are likely to act on a message containing a link
07
46% of consumers made a purchase after getting a text offer
08
49% of businesses say SMS improves sales
09
52% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase after receiving an SMS promotion
10
54% of marketers say SMS campaigns increase sales
11
18% of consumers say they have made a purchase due to a text message reminder
12
13% of consumers say text messages are responsible for their repeat purchases
13
25% higher revenue for brands using SMS vs no SMS
14
70% of consumers who received a text offer used it at least once
15
37% of consumers say SMS helps them make faster purchase decisions
16
28% of marketers report measurable revenue from SMS
17
34% of companies report increased sales after implementing SMS marketing
18
36% of consumers say they bought from a business after receiving a follow-up text
19
21% of consumers say SMS led them to a store visit
20
27% of respondents said SMS generated a tracked revenue uplift for their organization
21
32% of marketers say SMS outperforms email for ROI
22
14% higher average order value (AOV) reported by SMS users vs non-users
23
9% of consumers say they only buy after receiving SMS offers
24
16% of consumers say they used a coupon received via SMS
25
41% of consumers say SMS helps them discover products faster
26
38% of marketers said SMS increases customer lifetime value
27
22% of customers purchased after receiving a transactional text
28
45% of marketers report higher engagement leading to improved ROI from SMS
29
23% of consumers say they redeemed an SMS incentive within 24 hours
30
57% of consumers who received a text with a link clicked
Interpretation
Conversion & Revenue Impact Interpretation
SMS marketing is quietly the overachiever of digital channels, delivering stronger ROI than most others, higher click through rates than email, and enough real purchase behavior to make even skeptics check their phones again and again.
03 · Category
Audience, Opt-in & Compliance28 stats
01
2024 SMS open rates are around 98%
02
10DLC is required in the US for A2P messaging
03
TCPA requires prior express written consent for marketing texts
04
TCPA allows marketing texts only to recipients with prior express consent
05
SMS opt-in rates vary widely; 77% of people report opting in to SMS marketing
06
91% of consumers say they want to opt out easily from text messages
07
49% of consumers say they would stop SMS marketing messages if they were too frequent
08
33% of consumers say they prefer not to receive more than 1 text per week
09
52% of businesses say they use double opt-in for SMS subscriptions
10
68% of marketers collect SMS opt-ins through web forms
11
31% collect opt-ins in-store via signup forms
12
27% collect opt-ins via QR codes
13
19% collect opt-ins via social media campaigns
14
25% of marketers say they use keyword-based opt-ins (e.g., “TEXT JOIN”)
15
23% of consumers say they are more likely to opt in if they can choose the frequency
16
44% of consumers say they are likely to opt in for deals via SMS
17
38% of consumers say they opt in for appointment reminders and updates
18
46% of marketers say they segment SMS lists based on past behavior
19
53% of marketers say they provide an unsubscribe link or method in every message
20
72% of SMS recipients expect brands to honor opt-out requests
21
62% of consumers say the main reason they opt out is receiving irrelevant messages
22
59% of marketers say they include STOP/HELP instructions
23
40% of consumers say they would opt in again if messages became more relevant
24
58% of marketers use compliance-first practices like consent logging
25
24% of marketers report compliance concerns as a barrier to SMS marketing adoption
26
18% of consumers say they report spam SMS to mobile carriers
27
30% of marketers use double-confirmation (STOP confirmation)
28
41% of consumers require clear information on how they signed up before staying subscribed
Interpretation
Audience, Opt-in & Compliance Interpretation
In 2024, the real punchline of SMS marketing is that nearly everyone “opens” texts, but you still only get to keep the conversation going if you follow the rules, earn the opt in with relevance and easy opt out, and prove consent like it’s the world’s smallest paperwork audit.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Adoption & Usage28 stats
01
In 2023, 5.35 billion people used mobile phones worldwide
02
In 2023, 5.44 billion people used mobile phones
03
Globally, there are 5.35 billion mobile subscribers (2023)
04
Mobile connections worldwide reached 8.1 billion in 2023
05
SMS (including mobile messaging) is used by 3.1 billion people globally
06
In 2022, 8.05 trillion SMS/MMS messages were sent globally (estimate)
07
Worldwide person-to-person SMS traffic was 7.8 trillion messages in 2022
08
The share of people using smartphones globally was 63.2% in 2023
09
There were 4.76 billion unique mobile subscribers in 2023
10
US smartphone adoption reached 85.7% in 2023
11
US adults who own a smartphone: 90% (2021)
12
Percentage of US adults who send/receive texts: 97%
13
US adults who use SMS/text messaging at least daily: 55%
14
UK adults who use text messaging: 92%
15
UK adults who use smartphones: 84%
16
Germany SMS usage among mobile users: 77% (estimate)
17
India mobile subscriptions: 1.17 billion (2023 estimate)
18
Brazil mobile subscriptions: 241 million (2023 estimate)
19
Monthly active SMS users in the US: 216 million (estimate)
20
US monthly SMS messages per smartphone: 3.6 billion (monthly avg)
21
In-app messaging adoption continues rising; SMS remains widely used—93% of people have a phone capable of texting
22
83% of adults use the internet on their phone in the US (indirect relevance for messaging)
23
Messaging apps are used by 76% of US adults, indicating complementary behavior
24
72% of consumers use SMS for brand communications at least occasionally
25
51% of consumers use SMS marketing from brands at least once per month
26
44% of businesses use SMS for marketing outreach (survey)
27
38% of marketers plan to increase SMS spend in the next 12 months
28
27% of marketers already use SMS and MMS for marketing
Interpretation
Market Adoption & Usage Interpretation
In 2023, with billions of us carrying pocket computers that can text and sending trillions of SMS and MMS messages, SMS marketing is basically the world’s most reliable group chat, and the real story is that brands are still using it less than they should, even as adoption and spend keep inching upward.
05 · Category
SMS Channel, Timing & Best Practices30 stats
01
160 characters is the standard length of an SMS message
02
SMS messages can be concatenated to exceed 160 characters (multipart)
03
MMS is typically used for multimedia content when SMS is insufficient
04
The STOP keyword is required to support opt-out in many SMS marketing programs
05
HELP keyword usage is recommended in SMS programs
06
Best practice: send messages during morning hours for higher engagement (survey: 41%)
07
CTR is higher when SMS includes a link (benchmark: 5% vs 2%)
08
Using personalization tokens in SMS can increase revenue (study reported uplift 6%)
09
SMS personalization improves engagement by 26% (industry survey)
10
Including urgency language in SMS can increase conversions (uplift 9%)
11
Shorter SMS messages (under 70 characters) have higher engagement (survey: 62%)
12
Time-to-send benchmark: messages sent immediately after opt-in have higher CTR (survey: 18%)
13
Abandoned cart texts perform best when sent within 1 hour (benchmark 15% conversion uplift)
14
Reminder texts for appointments reduce no-shows by 20%
15
Transactional SMS have higher engagement than promotional (study shows 70% vs 30%)
16
Coupon codes in SMS increase redemption rates (uplift 12%)
17
Image-based MMS can increase engagement versus text-only (uplift 10%)
18
Sending follow-up SMS to non-openers increases revenue (uplift 8%)
19
Using segmentation improves conversions (uplift 14%)
20
Triggered SMS campaigns outperform scheduled broadcasts (uplift 22%)
21
Include a single clear call-to-action in SMS (best practice)
22
Average SMS cost per message in the US (A2P) is about $0.005–$0.01 (benchmark)
23
Deliverability depends on proper sender IDs/number and compliance; 98% target deliverability (industry target)
24
US carrier message blocking risks increase for unregistered A2P traffic
25
MMS delivery requires different handling than SMS
26
Flash SMS are typically less commonly used due to limitations and costs
27
SMS fraud/spam reduction relies on consent and sender authentication
28
Using keyword opt-in increases opt-in conversion rates (survey uplift 19%)
29
Average opt-in to first purchase time after SMS: 2–3 days (industry survey)
30
Recommended frequency is not more than 4 texts per month for promotional (survey: 46% agree)
Interpretation
SMS Channel, Timing & Best Practices Interpretation
SMS marketing stats read like a ruleset for building trust at 160 characters, where timing, segmentation, personalization, clear calls to action, and compliant STOP plus HELP keywords turn tiny texts into reliably measurable revenue.
report visual · Comparison
How quickly people engage with SMS
SMS engagement happens fast—most recipients read/check within minutes.
Check phone within 3 minutes91%
Read within three minutes90%
Act within the first day48%
Read within the first hour40%
source-verifiedmerkle.com · moengage.com · wildnet.com · litmus.com
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Daniel Varga. (2026, February 13). Text Message Marketing Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/text-message-marketing-statistics
MLA
Daniel Varga. "Text Message Marketing Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/text-message-marketing-statistics.
Chicago
Daniel Varga. 2026. "Text Message Marketing Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/text-message-marketing-statistics.
Sources & references
42 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+15 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)