YOUR RETAIL BUSINESSCAN DOBETTER5 Ways SMS Can Drive More Profitable Customer Engagement

The quality, convenience

and usefulness of the

consumer experience

provided by online

retailers directly impacts

customer retention,

loyalty and share of

wallet. A big part

of providing such a

seamless retail journey

is allowing consumers

to use familiar, everyday

technologies, like SMS,

to browse, shop, buy and

place orders.

Don't Get Lost in the Noise.

Text messages reach almost twice as many customers as any other mobile marketing medium.

Source: Ericsson Mobility Report 2017.

Text is the most widely and frequently used app on a smartphone, with 97% of Americans texting at least once a day.

Source: Pew Research Center. U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015

97%2x

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SMS Captures Consumers' Attention.

More than 90% of text messages are read within three minutes.

Source: ConnectMogul. Texting Statistics

3 min.

Over 82% of consumers surveyed say they open every SMS text message they receive.

Source: Shift Communications. What is the Open Rate of SMS Text Messaging?

Response rates from text are 209% higher than those from phone calls.

Source: Crucial New Study Brings Light to Franchise Texting. 2016.

209%

82%

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The New Payment Channel.

SMS is the perfect

channel to initiate remote

mobile payments or

deliver hyperlinks to

secure mobile apps that

enable customers to carry

out transactions and then

get on with their day.

Once a purchase has

been made, businesses

can send receipts and

payment confirmations all

in the same SMS thread,

so there is no need for

customers to move to a

different channel or take

any extra steps.

56% of smartphone users would be more encouraged to make a payment via mobile phone if it was as simple as paying with a single click.

Source: Oxygen8. Focus: Financial Services

Approximately 50% of consumers in the U.S. make direct purchases after receiving a branded text, QR code or discount coupon.

Source: 10 Amazing SMS Marketing Facts and Stats

50%

56%

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79% of Millennials said mobile devices introduced them to a new brand or product.

75% of Millennials chose texting over talking.

Source: OpenMarket. Why Millennials Still Love Text.

Embrace the Millennial Mindset.

Source: Current Trends Among Millennials and Online Shopping.

Millennials would rather

text with a business than

talk because they have

more control over the

interaction and view phone

calls as intrusive. In fact,

smartphone users aged 18-

24 send and receive almost

4,000 texts per month.1

Why is it so important for

retail businesses to focus

on Millennials? Because

Millennials are first-

generation digital natives,

and they will total more

than $1.4 trillion in spending

power by 2020.2

1. MarketingCharts. 18-24-Year-Old Smartphone Owners Send and Receive Almost 4K Texts Per Month.

2. NewsCred. The Millennial Mind: How Content Drives Brand Loyalty.

VS.

75%

79%

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80% of Baby Boomers think it’s frustrating being tied to the phone or computer for customer service.

By 2020, 67% of 65+ seniors who use the internet will also have a smartphone.

Millennials aren’t the

only digital disruptors.

Seniors actually rival them

when it comes to digital

engagement. With more

and more older adults

finding their comfort zone

in the digital arena, it is up

to brands to reach out and

engage this essential and

fast-growing Baby Boomer

market before a competitor

does — and wins and keeps

their loyalty.

Empower Savvy Seniors.

Source: Accenture. Seniors Use Digital Channels and Expect Very Specific Things Across These Channels.

Source: OneReach. The High Demand for Customer Service via Text Message.

67%80%

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75% of people like offers sent via text.

59% of consumers said their opinion of a retailer would shift positively if they received offers that could be saved on their mobile devices.

Source: Consumers Prefer Retailers that Offer Mobile Coupons.

Consumers open mobile apps on a whim. SMS, on the other

hand, lets businesses proactively reach out to customers with

personalized offers based on past purchases, such as the

newest version of their favorite running shoe or sports watch.

SMS can also be used to provide rewards program updates in

an easy-to-access channel that doesn’t require them to log in

to their account or email.

SOLUTION #1. SMS PERSONALIZATION

Source: Digital Marketing Magazine. 7 Key Statistics for SMS Marketing.

59%

SMS produces engagement rates six to eight times higher than retailers normally achieve via email marketing.

Source: SMS Has Eight Times the Response Rate of Email: Study

6-8xHELLO

MY NAME IS:

75%

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91% of users who opted-in to receive texts from a brand see those messages as somewhat or very useful.

Push notification open rates range between 47-80%.

Source: Thanx. Push Notification Open Rate Statistics.SMS can be used at each stage of the customer’s shopping

and ordering process -- and beyond. Personalized alerts and

reminders about product availability, shipping information and

purchase history can go a long way toward keeping customers

happily engaged. Plus, it’s simply easier to check a text

message than log into a website or app.

SOLUTION #2. AUTOMATED REMINDERS & NOTIFICATIONS

Source: Salesforce. Mobile Behavior Report.

47-80%

91%

More than 50% choose SMS to receive delivery updates.

Source: InternetRetailing. Think Text If You Want to Reach Customers in Real Time, Study Suggests.

50%

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Consumers are looking for the capability to do more than just

reply to businesses with one-word responses such as “yes”

or “no”. With interactive text response and natural language

understanding technology, businesses can deliver natural,

conversational text responses and messages to customers.

Businesses can also use SMS to deliver hyperlinks that direct

them to informative videos and pictures on social channels such

as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.

SOLUTION #3. CONVERSATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

40% of global YouTube views are on a mobile device.

Source: Forbes. SMS Marketing: Start with Service and Add Promotion Carefully.

Source: More than 40 percent of YouTube traffic now comes from mobile.

70%

40%

70% of respondents agree that using SMS text messaging is a good way for an organization to get their attention.

70% of consumers found all types of push notifications, including order updates and location-based messages, to be valuable.

Source: Responsys. Give Mobile Marketing a Push.

70%

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50% customers would rather text a customer support agent instead of using other available options.

44% of consumers prefer to press a button and initiate a text conversation, rather than wait on hold with an agent.

Source: Harris. Can Text Messaging Boost Custsomer Engagement?

Sometimes not everything goes according to plan: deliveries

are misplaced; items turn up damaged—and customers want

a refund or need to return an order. Whatever happens,

business can set themselves apart from the competition

by enabling customers to receive help on a channel that is

best suited to the issue they're trying to resolve and is most

convenient for them.

SOLUTION #4. BETTER SERVICE & SUPPORT

Source: eWeek. Consumers Like Using Text Messages to Solve Customer Service Issues.

44%

50%

?

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SOLUTION #5. IMPROVED CONVENIENCE THROUGH EASE OF USE

Keeping customers happy and loyal is simply good business.

Investing in self-service based technologies, such as SMS,

makes things easier for customers; ultimately leading to

increased sales and spawning brand advocates. With SMS,

consumers can get things done fast just by making a simple

‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision; and unlike apps, SMS enables customers

to complete multiple tasks in one place.

50% of U.S. consumers make direct purchases after receiving an SMS from a brand.

Only about 10% of SMS marketing messages received are considered spam.

Source: Borrell.

Source: Moto Message.

10%

50%

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Integrate SMS into Customer EngagementBusinesses can fully leverage the power of SMS by integrating it with all other

aspects of their consumer engagement technology. SMS interactions can be

fully automated around simple tasks and can connect customers to real-time

information – at a low cost.

Demo: eCommerce Solutions — Pre- and Post-Sale Experience

Video: Transformative Retail Experiences - Know Your Customers

Ready to find out how SMS can benefit your organization? Let’s talk!

CONTACT USTRY ITSEE IT

Experience how Aspect's SMS solutions work to

achieve better retail business outcomes.

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