CROSS-CHANNEL EXPERIENCE
SMS
We found strong adoption of SMS-based order updates among brands, with 46% offering them as an option for customers.
Elevate SMS marketing beyond order tracking
As a result of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, many consumers have turned to email. And although it remains the main channel to communicate with customers, SMS offers brands an effective way to cut through the noise of a crowded inbox. SMS is a great way to update customers on orders because it's an immediate channel, always available in their pocket. People often use messaging rather than email as their primary form of communication. As a result of the pandemic, brands are using emails more and more and although it remains the main channel to communicate with their audiences, offering alternative channels such as SMS offers an alternative way to cut through the increasingly crowded email inbox. We found strong adoption of SMS-based order updates among brands, with 46% offering them as an option for customers. Most brands relied on their delivery partners' back-end systems to update users via this channel.
Brands need a more integrated approach to transactional SMS
We found disparities between brands' approaches to transactional SMS updates. While many brands did have SMS opt-ins available, they were buried in their account settings rather than an easy opt-in that’s available at the point of signup. Conversely, some brands including SkullCandy and Pura Vida prioritized SMS as a channel. They focused on it from the beginning of their relationship with consumers by offering it as a direct alternative to email during the account creation process. The choice of platform makes a difference to the SMS experience. Shopify offers support for SMS, allowing brands based on this platform to offer an SMS opt-in after order confirmation. Others relied on post-purchase platforms such as Narvar, which offers an SMS opt-in for delivery tracking after the order has been dispatched. With companies demonstrating increasing maturity around SMS-based order tracking, the time has come to level up usage of this valuable communications channel. SMS offers a click-through rate 9.18% higher than any other channel. Smart brands will explore the use of this channel beyond transactional texts. Possible options here include automated welcome messages, competitions and surveys, and abandoned cart notifications.
SMS offers a click-through rate 9.18% higher than any other channel.
SkullCandy prioritized SMS messages in its signup CTA, sweetening the deal with a 15% discount and gaining permission to use a high-engagement channel from the beginning of its relationship with a subscriber. It highlighted both email and text signup buttons on the same page.
Pura Vida highlighted SMS front and center in its signup CTA, offering a 20% discount coupon sent to the user's phone. This gave it a future option to use texts for promotional messaging and triggered automations. It used smart design to display succinct, clear terms and conditions that would not distract or dissuade site visitors.
