Retail SMS Marketing: Unlocking the Benefits of Smart Shopping 

Email campaigns might remain in a subscriber’s inbox for hours or days without being opened. In other cases, they may even be sent straight to the trash or the “promotions” page. 

SMS is a much more effective marketing tool for retail store owners to reach both current and potential customers because 99% of SMS marketing campaigns are read. 

Texting is the ideal approach to providing time-sensitive promotions and warnings because 78% of customers feel SMS is the fastest way to reach them. With welcoming offers, it’s also a wonderful method to greet new subscribers. 

We have you covered if you’re a retailer new to SMS marketing. 

This page discusses SMS regulations, advantages for retailers, best practices, and different SMS advertising formats. 

Bulk SMS Marketing  

Bulk SMS Marketing is a way to send campaigns or promotional messages to your consumers using text messages. Retailers use SMS Marketing to communicate updates, limited-time period offers, and other alerts. 

Unlike email, the text messages are short, with a limit of 160 characters. SMS campaigns display on your subscribers’ smartphones a few seconds after they’re sent. Depending on the Client’s mobile phone settings, they may get a push notification as soon as your message is delivered. 

When should I text my customers? 

Being SMS-legal is essential since breaking the law has consequences. The rules are simple and aid in preserving your clients’ privacy. 

You must abide by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal statute, and the rules set forth by the CTIA, a trade association for the wireless communications sector, to operate legally in the United States. 

A high-level summary of SMS compliance requirements is provided below: 

• The consent of your customer for SMS marketing must be given separately from the consent for email marketing. 
• You must make it obvious to your client’s what kinds of messages they may expect to receive as well as how they can opt out. 
• Opt-out requests must be followed. 
• Between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the recipients’ time zone, you are not permitted to send SMS marketing; these are known as “quiet hours.” 

You might have to deal with private lawsuits and fines of up to $1,500 per message if you break the TCPA rules. If CTIA criteria are not followed, customers may complain, and messages may be marked as spam. Additionally, telecom firms have the power to audit you or stop your SMS campaigns. 

Benefits of Retail SMS Marketing 

A cellphone is more often owned than a toothbrush. Try to understand that. 

Some individuals, including 78% of Gen Z, believe that their mobile phone is their most crucial tool for going online. 

SMS marketing is a certain approach to connecting with customers on their chosen channel and boosting sales for your retail business. 

Here are some other advantages of SMS marketing to take into account, in addition to the obvious one of expanding your retail business. 

1. Bulk SMS performance is higher than email marketing. 

20% is the typical open rate for email marketing. While still acceptable, SMS open rates can soar to as high as 98%. 

Email marketing has an average click-through rate (CTR) of 2.5%, while the CTR for SMS marketing is often about 19%. 

Sales rise when consumer involvement levels rise. It makes sense to experiment with SMS marketing for your retail firm because of this. 

2. Connect with your customers and increase engagement. 

Some smartphone data shows that consumers interact with their phones 2,618 times daily through clicks, swipes, and taps. On average, people use their smartphones for two hours and 51 minutes each day, and 52% of people utilize mobile internet. 

Use Retail SMS marketing to connect with your customers where they spend a significant amount of time, using their phones. 

This study from February 2020 found that 61% of Gen Z had made a mobile purchase in the previous month. 

It makes perfect sense to implement SMS marketing for your retail company. By quickly and easily getting in front of your customers where they already spend the majority of their time, you can increase engagement. 

3. SMS Marketing engages businesses with customers. 

Utilize SMS marketing to interact with current and potential clients at various points in the purchasing process. 

SMS marketing is a means to interact with and entice people who have just discovered your business to become customers. 

SMS is a good way to stay in touch with existing clients, encourage follow-up purchases, and promote client loyalty and retention. 

4. Bulk SMS Marketing can increase sales. 

According to the report, Customers who receive SMS marketing messages are 45% more likely to convert than those who do not receive this message. 

According to the same survey, retailers typically experience engagement rates for SMS marketing that are six to eight times greater than those for email marketing. 

Conclusion  

Test it out with your audience to see if SMS marketing would be effective for your retail business. Connecting with your customers and increasing engagement with them will make things easy for your business. 

Maintain TCPA and CTIA compliance, write simple messages, and use your SMS opt-in form to gather email addresses. You’ll be able to stay in touch with SMS campaign unsubscribes using this method. 

To make the most of this very powerful marketing channel, pay close attention to performance metrics and refine your strategies with each campaign.